Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Handbook of Human Motion pp 1703–1717Cite as

The Segmental Movements in Front Crawl Swimming

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:

Abstract

This chapter explores the cooperative coordination of segmental motions that optimizes performance in front crawl swimming. The chapter reveals how understanding of swimming technique and performance has advanced through the application of technology. The mystery of how propulsion is achieved in human swimming is being unraveled through observation of water flow associated with upper and lower limb motions using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) combined with video-based three-dimensional analysis of swimming motions. These methods are supplemented with direct pressure measurement of forces acting on the hands and feet and in combination provide input for computer simulations and programmed swimming actions of robots. Improved understanding of the mechanisms of propulsion emerging from these coordinated approaches will translate into improved coaching methods for sprint and distance swimming with consideration of the energy cost and physiological constraints.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Alberty M, Sidney M, Huot-Marchand F, Hespel JM, Pelayo P (2005) Intracyclic velocity variations and arm coordination during exhaustive exercise in front crawl stroke. Int J Sports Med 26(06):471–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alberty M, Sidney M, Pelayo P, Toussaint HM (2009) Stroking characteristics during time to exhaustion tests. Med Sci Sports Exerc 41(3):637–644. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e31818acfba

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arellano R (1999) Vortices and propulsion. In: Sanders R, Linsten J (eds) Applied proceedings: swimming. XVII International symposium on biomechanics in sport, Perth, 1999. Edith Cowan University Press, pp 53–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Arellano R, Pardillo S, Gavilán A (2002) Underwater undulatory swimming: kinematic characteristics, vortex generation and application during the start, turn and swimming strokes. In: Proceedings of the XXth international symposium on biomechanics in sports, Universidad de Granada

    Google Scholar 

  • Aujouannet YA, Bonifazi M, Hintzy F, Vuillerme N, Rouard AH (2006) Effects of a high-intensity swim test on kinematic parameters in high-level athletes. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 31(2):150–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbosa TM, de Jesus K, Abraldes JA, Ribeiro J, Figueiredo P, Vilas-Boas JP, Fernandes R (2015) Effects of protocol step length on biomechanical measures in swimming. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 10(2):211–218

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger MA, de Groot G, Hollander AP (1995) Hydrodynamic drag and lift forces on human hand/arm models. J Biomech 28(2):125–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chollet D, Chalies S, Chatard JC (2000) A new index of coordination for the crawl: description and usefulness. Int J Sports Med 21(1):54–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chollet D, Seifert L (2011) Inter-limb coordination in the four competitive strokes. In: Seifert L, Chollet D, Mujika I (eds) The world book of swimming: from science to performance. Nova Science, New York, pp 153–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen R, Cleary PW, Mason BR (2009) Simulations of human swimming using smoothed particle hydrodynamics. In: 7th international conference on CFD in the minerals and process industries, Melbourne, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Colwin C (1992) Swimming into the 21st century. Human Kinetics Publishers, Champaign

    Google Scholar 

  • Counsilman JE (1968) The science of swimming. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Fantozzi S, Giovanardi A, Borra D, Gatta G (2015) Gait kinematic analysis in water using wearable inertial magnetic sensors. PLoS One 10(9):e0138105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fantozzi S, Giovanardi A, Magalhães FA, Di Michele R, Cortesi M, Gatta G (2016) Assessment of three-dimensional joint kinematics of the upper limb during simulated swimming using wearable inertial-magnetic measurement units. J Sports Sci 34(11):1073–1080

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Figueiredo P, Nazário R, Cereja A, Vilas-Boas JP, Fernandes R (2011) The effect of fatigue on the 200 m front crawl underwaterstroke pattern. In: Vilas Boas JP, Machado L, Kim W et al. (eds) XXIX international conference on biomechanics in sports, Porto, Portugal, vol 1, ISBS-conference proceedings archive

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueiredo P, Sanders R, Gorski T, Vilas-Boas JP, Fernandes R (2013a) Kinematic and electromyographic changes during 200 m front crawl at race pace. Int J Sports Med 34(01):49–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueiredo P, Toussaint H, Vilas-Boas JP, Fernandes R (2013b) Relation between efficiency and energy cost with coordination in aquatic locomotion. Eur J Appl Physiol 113(3):651–659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulton SK, Pyne DB, Burkett B (2009) Quantifying freestyle kick-count and kick-rate patterns in paralympic swimming. J Sports Sci 27(13):1455–1461. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410903062936

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hay JG, Liu Q, Andrews JG (1993) Body roll and handpath in freestyle swimming: a computer simulation study. J Appl Biomech 9(3):227–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hochstein S, Blickhan R (2011) Vortex re-capturing and kinematics in human underwater undulatory swimming. Hum Mov Sci 30(5):998–1007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2010.07.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmer I (1974) Energy cost of arm stroke, leg kick, and the whole stroke in competitive swimming styles. Eur J Appl Physiol 33(2):105–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kawai E, Tsunokawa T, Tsubakimoto S, Takagi H (2016) A study of fluid forces acting on a foot during eggbeater kicks of water polo players. In: ISBS-conference proceedings archive, vol 1

    Google Scholar 

  • Kudo S, Vennell R, Wilson B (2013) The effect of unsteady flow due to acceleration on hydrodynamic forces acting on the hand in swimming. J Biomech 46(10):1697–1704

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Q, Hay JG, Andrews JG (1993) Body roll and handpath in freestyle swimming: an experimental study. J Appl Biomech 9(3):238–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maglischo EW (2003) Swimming fastest. Human Kinetics, Champaign

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsuda Y, Hirano M, Yamada Y, Ikuta Y, Nomura T, Tanaka H, Oda S (2016) Lower muscle co-contraction in flutter kicking for competitive swimmers. Hum Mov Sci 45:40–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsuuchi K, Miwa T, Nomura T, Sakakibara J, Shintani H, 04/888) Unsteady flow field around a human hand and propulsive force in swimming. J Biomech 42 (1):42–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsuuchi K, Muramatsu Y (2011) Investigation of the unsteady mechanism in the generation of propulsive force while swimming using a synchronized flow visualization and motion analysis system. In: Biomechanics in applications. InTech, Rijeka, pp 389–408

    Google Scholar 

  • McCabe CB, Psycharakis S, Sanders RH (2011) Kinematic differences between front crawl sprint and distance swimmers at sprint pace. J Sports Sci 29(2):115–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2010.523090

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe CB, Sanders RH (2012) Kinematic differences between front crawl sprint and distance swimmers at a distance pace. J Sports Sci 30(6):601–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.660186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough AS, Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Solomon-Hill GF Jr, Hatfield DL, Vingren JL, Ho JY, Fragala MS, Thomas GA, Hakkinen K, Maresh CM (2009) Factors affecting flutter kicking speed in women who are competitive and recreational swimmers. J Strength Cond Res 23(7):2130–2136. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31819ab977

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashima M, Maeda S, Miwa T, Ichikawa H (2012) Optimizing simulation of the arm stroke in crawl swimming considering muscle strength characteristics of athlete swimmers. J Biomech Sci Eng 7(2):102–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakashima M, Satou K, Miura Y (2007) Development of swimming human simulation model considering rigid body dynamics and unsteady fluid force for whole body. J Fluid Sci Technol 2(1):56–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pacholak S, Hochstein S, Rudert A, Brücker C (2014) Unsteady flow phenomena in human undulatory swimming: a numerical approach. Sports Biomech 13(2):176–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palmer B (2009) Why is michael phelps tinkering with success? Wasn't his old stroke good enough for Olympic gold. The Slate Group. http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2009/05/why_is_michael_phelps_tinkering_with_success.html. Accessed 23 Aug 2016

  • Payton C, Baltzopoulos V, Bartlett R (2002) Contributions of rotations of the trunk and upper extremity to hand velocity during front crawl swimming. J Appl Biomech 18(3):243–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Payton C, Bartlett RM, Baltzopoulos V, Coombs R (1999) Upper extremity kinematics and body roll during preferred-side breathing and breath-holding front crawl swimming. J Sports Sci 17(9):689–696

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Psycharakis SG, McCabe C (2011) Shoulder and hip roll differences between breathing and non-breathing conditions in front crawl swimming. J Biomech 44(9):1752–1756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Psycharakis SG, Sanders RH (2008) Shoulder and hip roll changes during 200-m front crawl swimming. Medi Sci Sport Exerc 40(12):2129–2136. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e31818160bc

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders RH (1999) Hydrodynamic characteristics of a swimmer’s hand. J Appl Biomech 15(1):3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders RH (2002) New analysis procedures for giving feedback to swimming coaches and swimmers. In: Gianikellis KE (ed) XX international symposium on biomechanics in Sports, Caceres, Spain, 2002, ISBS – Conference proceedings archive, pp 1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders RH (2007) Rock and roll rhythms in swimming. In: Menzel HJ, Chagas MH (eds) XXV international symposium on biomechanics in sports, Ouro Preto, Brazil, 2007, ISBS – Conference proceedings archive

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders RH, Cappaert JM, Devlin RK (1995) Wave characteristics of butterfly swimming. J Biomech 28(1):9–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders RH, Psycharakis SG (2009) Rolling rhythms in front crawl swimming with six-beat kick. J Biomech 42(3):273–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.10.037

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sato Y, Hino T (2013) A computational fluid dynamics analysis of hydrodynamic force acting on a swimmer's hand in a swimming competition. J Sports Sci Med 12(4):679–689

    Google Scholar 

  • Schleihauf R (1979) A hydrodynamic analysis of swimming propulsion. Swimming III 8:70–109

    Google Scholar 

  • Schnitzler C, Seifert L, Ernwein V, Chollet D (2008) Arm coordination adaptations assessment in swimming. Int J Sports Med 29(6):480–486. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-989235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seifert L, Chollet D, Allard P (2005) Arm coordination symmetry and breathing effect in front crawl. Hum Mov Sci 24(2):234–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seifert L, Chollet D, Chatard JC (2007) Kinematic changes during a 100-m front crawl: effects of performance level and gender. Med Sci Sports Exerc 39(10):1784–1793. [Erratum appears in Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Mar;40(3):591]

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sfakiotakis M, Lane DM, Davies JBC (1999) Review of fish swimming modes for aquatic locomotion. IEEE J Ocean Eng 24(2):237–252. https://doi.org/10.1109/48.757275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suito H, Ikegami Y, Nunome H, Sano S, Shinkai H, Tsujimoto N (2008) The effect of fatigue on the underwater arm stroke motion in the 100-m front crawl. J Appl Biomech 24(4):316–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SwimOutlet.com How & when to swim straight-arm freestyle. https://www.swimoutlet.com/guides/how-when-to-swim-straight-arm-freestyle. Accessed 23 Aug 2016

  • Takagi H, Nakashima M, Ozaki T, Matsuuchi K (2014) Unsteady hydrodynamic forces acting on a robotic arm and its flow field: application to the crawl stroke. J Biomech 47(6):1401–1408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takagi H, Nakashima M, Sato Y, Matsuuchi K, Sanders RH (2016) Numerical and experimental investigations of human swimming motions. J Sports Sci 34(16):1564–1580. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1123284

  • Takagi H, Sanders R (2002) Measurement of propulsion by the hand during competitive swimming. In: The engineering of sport, vol 4, pp 631–637

    Google Scholar 

  • Takagi H, Wilson B (1999) Calculating hydrodynamic force by using pressure differences in swimming. In: Keskinen K, Komi P, Hollander AP (eds) Biomechanics and medicine in swimming VIII. Gummerus Printing, Jyvaskyla, pp 101–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Toussaint HM, Van den Berg C, Beek WJ (2002) “pumped-up propulsion” during front crawl swimming. Med Sci Sports Exerc 34(2):314–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsunokawa T, Nakashima M, Takagi H (2015) Use of pressure distribution analysis to estimate fluid forces around a foot during breaststroke kicking. Sports Eng 18(3):149–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12283-015-0174-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ungerechts BE, Persyn U, Colman V 2000 Analysis of swimming techniques using vortex traces. In: ISBS-conference proceedings archive, vol 1

    Google Scholar 

  • von Loebbecke A, Mittal R, Fish F, Mark R (2009a) A comparison of the kinematics of the dolphin kick in humans and cetaceans. Hum Mov Sci 28(1):99–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Loebbecke A, Mittal R, Mark R, Hahn J (2009b) A computational method for analysis of underwater dolphin kick hydrodynamics in human swimming. Sports Biomech 8(1):60–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vorontsov AR, Rumyantsev VA (2000) Propulsive forces in swimming. In: Zatsiorsky VM (ed) Biomechanics in sport: performance, enhancement and injury prevention, vol XI. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 205–231

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Yanai T (2001a) Rotational effect of buoyancy in frontcrawl: does it really cause the legs to sink? J Biomech 34(2):235–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanai T (2001b) What causes the body to roll in front-crawl swimming? J Appl Biomech 17(1):28–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanai T (2003) Stroke frequency in front crawl: its mechanical link to the fluid forces required in non-propulsive directions. J Biomech 36(1):53–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9290(02)00299-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanai T (2004) Buoyancy is the primary source of generating bodyroll in front-crawl swimming. J Biomech 37(5):605–612

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise and Sport Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Ross H. Sanders & Jordan T. Andersen

  2. Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Hideki Takagi

Authors
  1. Ross H. Sanders
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jordan T. Andersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hideki Takagi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ross H. Sanders .

Section Editor information

  1. Institut for Biomechanics und Orthopedic, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Gert-Peter Brüggemann

  2. Department of Computer Science, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Zhigang Deng

  3. McIntosh Consultancy and Research, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Andrew S. McIntosh

  4. Wilmington, Delaware, USA

    Freeman Miller

  5. C-Motion Inc., Germantown, USA

    W. Scott Selbie

  6. Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopaedics, German Sport University Cologne, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933, Köln, Germany

    Gert-Peter Brüggemann

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Sanders, R.H., Andersen, J.T., Takagi, H. (2018). The Segmental Movements in Front Crawl Swimming. In: Handbook of Human Motion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14418-4_132

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation