Accelerometery vs. video-derived stroke parameters in high-level swimmers

Abstract

Background: Swimming is a multifaceted sport with nuanced performance parameters that tend to vary according to the swimmer’s stroke style. The  extraction and analyses of swim parameters, such as lap time (LT), stroke length (SL), stroke rate (SR) and velocity are time-consuming. This may be eased  and to some extent automated by the use of cost-effective triaxial accelerometers.
Objectives: To determine the validity of tri-axial accelerometers across all four stroke styles, and to investigate kinematic differences in stroke styles  using accelerometerbased data.
Methods: Twelve elite swimmers were recruited for the study. The group consisted of five male (age: 22.2 ± 2.6 years; height: 1.84 ± 0.08 m; weight: 76.2  ± 3.6 kg) and seven female (age: 20.7 ± 2.1 years; height: 1.68 ± 0.08 cm; weight: 62.0 ± 6.3 kg) swimmers.
Results: There was a small but significant bias for accelerometery data compared to video data across most parameters and stroke styles except for  stroke length and stroke count (p > 0.05). However, accelerometery-derived SR, SL and velocity can be considered practically useful based on the training requirements of coaches. Parameters derived from video analysis compared to accelerometery were highly correlated (r > 0.91) and therefore consistent  regardless of the method of analysis.
Conclusion: Although slight differences were present between the video and accelerometer data, these differences were not practically meaningful.