QUANTIFYING THE UNDERWATER TRAJECTORY OF A SWIMMING START

Abstract

The underwater phase of the swimming start has been found to be the most important factor in determining overall start performance. This research project aimed to find the minimum number of anatomical landmarks, which when digitised still provide a sufficient characterisation of the whole body centre of gravity (CoG) trajectory during the underwater phase of a swimming start. In order to assess this, 10 dive trials were analysed using a variety of combinations of anatomical landmarks to allow for determination of the 2D CoG of each body segment. It was found that five landmarks is the most accurate representation of total body CoG, however fewer can be used. The findings from this study will allow for a more efficient and less time consuming method of quantifying the underwater trajectory of a swimming start in future studies.