Horizontal and vertical jumping abilities and kick start performance in competitive swimmers

Abstract

Explosive leg power affects start performance and sprint races; thus, it is necessary to look for associations between the leg power in different directions and performance. The purpose of this study was to identify correlations between jumping abilities and time to 5-m distance during the OSB12 kick start. A total of 12 male competitive swimmers (15.7 ± 1.1 years old) performed countermovement jump (CMJ), countermovement jump with arms (CMJA), countermovement jump on left leg with arms (CMJLA), countermovement jump on right leg with arms (CMJRA), squat jump (SJ), and horizontal jumps–triple hop test using the left leg (THTL), triple hop test using the right leg (THTR), and kick start measurements. We used the Dartfish© software, SwimPro cameras, and Optojump Next. The horizontal jumping ability testing showed a weak correlation between the THTL scores and time to 5-m distance. For THTR, a correlation with time to 5-m distance was observed (p < 0.05). There was a correlation (p < 0.05) between SJ and time to 5-m distance. For CMJRA, a correlation with time to 5-m distance was observed (p < 0.05). For CMJLA, there was a weak correlation. The CMJA test reflects the kick start the most because swimmers swing their arms upward during both the CMJ test with an arm swing and kick start. The highest correlation (p < 0.01) was found between CMJA and time to 5-m distance. The correlation between right-leg jumping performance and time to 5-m distance confirms the result that leg power contributes to the take-off velocity generation, underlying kick start efficiency and performance.