Influence of the new starting block with back plate on the kinematic variables of the swimming start
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Taladriz Blanco, SoniaEditorial
Universidad de Granada
Departamento
Universidad de Granada. Departamento de Educación Física y DeportivaMateria
Natación Salida (Natación) Biomecánica Movimiento Atletismo
Materia UDC
796 240604
Date
2016Fecha lectura
2016-12-03Referencia bibliográfica
Taladriz Blanco, S. Influence of the new starting block with back plate on the kinematic variables of the swimming start. Granada: Universidad de Granada, 2016. [http://hdl.handle.net/10481/44594]
Sponsorship
Tesis Univ. Granada. Programa Oficial de Doctorado en: BiomedicinaAbstract
The swim start is the first component of a swimming race and although it is the shortest
and the fastest phase, an effective start performance is essential for the success of a race,
particularly in short events. The swim start allows swimmers to enter into the water faster than
average swimming speed.
Historically swimmers have performed several start techniques in competitions, whereas
today the kick-start is the most popular technique due to its great advantages. This start
technique is characterized by an asymmetrical position of the swimmer´s feet on the starting
block where the front foot is placed on the front edge and the rear foot is placed on a stable
and adjustable surface on the rear edge of the block. This surface also referred to as back plate
provides higher stability and the advantage is that the swimmer is able to develop larger force
levels on the block than with older techniques (grab start or track start).
Among all variables included in the biomechanical analysis of the swimming starts, the
angular momentum is a relevant variable due to its influence on the body position at the water
entry and subsequently on the water phase performance. However, only a few studies focussed
on the comparison of the different start techniques including the analysis of angular momentum
data. Those studies comparing different starting techniques only analyse the amount of angular
momentum produced at take-off and no study evaluates the development of the angular
momentum during the block phase; flight phase and/or glide phase in a swimming start.
The main objective of this thesis is to study the kick-start performance by analysing the
development of angular momentum. Additionally, this study highlights the advantages in terms
of angular momentum and body rotation swimmers provide to the kick-start.
After a general introduction about the history, evolution and relevance of swim starts, and
a brief description of the theoretical background about angular momentum, the thesis is divided
into two chapters. Chapter 1 determines the most relevant factors for the improvement of the
kick-start and Chapter 2 focuses on the analysis of the development of angular momentum
about the mediolateral body axis from the starting signal until the gliding phase in the kick-start
technique.