Monitorização biofísica de um dueto de natação artística ao longo de um macrociclo

Abstract

In artistic swimming duet competitions, it is suspected that biophysical equality may create greater uniformity of movements, resulting in a higher competition score. This study aimed to verify the evolution of the biophysical characteristics of a duet over a training macrocycle including an individualized training approach. Two athletes (17.5 ± 0.5 years old) were evaluated in December 2023 (M1) and in April 2024 (M2). The maximum (Fmax) and mean (Fméd) in-water force were evaluated in the technical actions of the prone american sculling and kick pull in a tethered test (20"), the execution speed of the split action (ω) in free format, aerobic (Aer), lactic anaerobic (AnL), and alactic anaerobic (AnAl) energy contributions after a 200 m front crawl effort, the physical condition on land through the internal (RI) and external (RE) rotation actions of the dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) upper limbs, and the jump power (CMJ). The duet's standard choreography was repeated in a competitive context at both evaluation moments. The swimmers underwent a period of individualized training throughout the macrocycle, and the percentage of variation (Δ, %) between swimmers was determined at both time points (M1 vs M2). There was a trend towards evolution and approximation between swimmers in the Fméd of the prone american sculling (21.6% vs 9.9%) and Fméd of the kick pull (45.1% vs 29.1%). This evolution was accompanied by an approximation in ω (15.9% vs 15.5%) and in the AnL (26.7% vs 19.6%) and AnAl (40.9% vs 11.8%) contributions. Similarly, the RIND (33.7% vs 13.9%), the RED (11.6% vs 4.4%), and the CMJ (7.4% vs 3.6%) also demonstrated a greater approximation of the duet. The choreography score in the competition increased from 168.9943 to 190.7183 points. Thus, individualized training proved beneficial for the evolution of the duet's characteristics, showing a trend towards the approximation of force production, technical ability, and physiological aspects, resulting in better competitive performance.