| Popis: |
Purpose There is no consensus in literature data about the influence of biological maturation (BM) on swim performance in young athletes. We analysed the relationship of BM, upper-limb power (ULP), and lower-limb power (LLP) with adolescent athletes’ performance in crawl swim. Methods This observational study determined the BM of 16 competitive swimmers (50% males and 50% females; 12.90 ± 0.88 years) by a mathematical model based on bone age and anthropometric measures. ULP and LLP were established by the horizontal launch test and the vertical and countermovement jump tests on a force platform, respectively. Swim performance was evaluated by the average speed in a 100-m crawl sprint. Results BM was related to ULP (males: r = 0.76, p = 0.001; females: r = 0.39, p = 0.02), LLP (males: vertical jump r = 0.80, p = 0.02, countermovement jump r = 0.48, p = 0.02; females: vertical jump r = 0.30, p = 0.04, countermovement jump r = 0.80, p = 0.01), and crawl swim performance (males: r = –0.91, p = 0.001; females: r = –0.72, p = 0.04). BM had a 87% contribution to crawl swim performance in males and a 66% contribution in females. ULP and LLP showed < 50% contribution to crawl swim performance in both females and males. Conclusions BM was associated with crawl swim performance of adolescent athletes of both sexes. BM exhibited a stronger contribution to crawl swim performance than ULP and LLP in adolescent swimmers at the puberty window. |
