Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objectives: This study aimed to compare the hydrodynamic profile between triathletes and competitive swimmers and to establish associations with short- and middle-distance performance. Methods: A total of 18 male athletes, including 10 swimmers and 8 triathletes, all registered in their respective federations, underwent assessments of passive drag, active drag and power, tethered swimming force, kinematics, and performance over a 200 m and 25 m front crawl. Group comparisons were performed using either Student’s t-test or the Mann–Whitney U test at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Results: The triathletes presented higher passive drag and lower levels of force and power to overcome drag. Correlation analysis showed that, among the triathletes, both times at 200 m and 25 m were associated with mean passive drag (r = 0.68 to 0.86) and power (r = −0.58 to −0.80), whereas in swimmers, the mean in-water force was the single variable associated with time at 25 m (r = −0.51). Conclusions: There is a clear hydrodynamic superiority of swimmers compared to triathletes, reflecting their higher mean swimming velocity due to a greater ability to apply force. This suggests that specific technical interventions for triathletes, focusing on drag reduction and improvements in propulsive power, are needed to close this gap with swimmers.
DOI: 10.3390/jfmk11010010
Language: English
Subfield: Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,930
OpenAlex ID: W7117323039