Correlations between peripubertal male swimmers’ results of short-distance swimming tests and land-based sprint and endurance tests

Study aim: Children are “non-metabolic specialists”, and the hierarchy of energy sources engaged in their exercise is poorly understood. This study compared the results of dry-land endurance and speed tests between peripubertal swimmers (aged 12–13 years) and their untrained peers, and examined their correlations with the swimmers’ performance in sprint swimming tests.

Material and Methods: Twenty peripubertal male swimmers and 25 same-age untrained boys (controls) performed dry-land speed (50 m sprint) and endurance (20 m shuttle run test – 20mSRT) tests. The swimmers were also subjected to 25, 50, 75, and 100 m swimming tests involving three different strokes. In the statistical analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression analysis with backward elimination were used.

Results: The swimmers’ speed and endurance proved to be significantly greater compared to controls (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). Significant correlations were found between the results of the 50 m sprint test and the 20mSRT for the whole group (r = −0.838; P < 0.001) and the swimmers (r = −0.720; P < 0.001). In the swimmers, the results of both dry-land tests were significantly correlated with the results of the swimming tests. The best predictors of their performance on the 50 m sprint run test and the 20mSRT were the 25 m front crawl velocity (P < 0.001) and the 75 m backstroke velocity (P < 0.001), respectively.

Conclusions: Despite the swimming training emphasising aerobic capacity, the swimmers’ speed and endurance proved greater than in the controls. The swimming velocity predicts the results of the 50 m sprint run test for all strokes.