Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41132553›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in sports and active living2025

Stroke rate-stroke length dynamics in elite freestyle swimming: application of kernel density estimation.

Craig A Staunton, Jesús J Ruiz-Navarro, Dennis-Peter Born

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Craig A StauntonDepartment of Environmental and Bioscience, School of Business, Innovation and Sustainability, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden.
Jesús J Ruiz-NavarroAquatics Lab, Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Dennis-Peter BornSwiss Development Hub for Strength and Conditioning in Swimming, Swiss Aquatics-National Swimming Federation, Worblaufen, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: To analyse stroke rate (SR) and stroke length (SL) combinations among elite swimmers to better understand stroke strategies across all race distances of freestyle events. Design: We analysed SR and SL data from 324 male and female swimmers competing in all individual freestyle events (50 m to 1,500 m) at the 2019 European Short-Course Championships using video-based kinematic analysis. Methods: Two-dimensional kernel density estimation (2D KDE) was applied to visualise SR-SL combinations. Spearman correlations quantified relationships between stroke parameters and speed by sex and race distance. Results: In the 50 m sprint, SL showed the strongest positive correlation with speed (men: Conclusions: These findings highlight the complexity and individuality of stroke mechanics at elite levels and suggest that superior conditioning and technique enable medallists to sustain elevated SR without compromising SL. The application of 2D KDE provides a novel, intuitive method to capture nuanced biomechanical strategies, offering valuable insights for coaching and performance optimisation.

Indexed as

biomechanical analysiselite athleteskernel density estimationpacing strategiesperformance visualization

Identifiers

PMID41132553
PMCPMC12541611

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.