Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics (한국운동역학회지)

Korean Society of Applied Biomechanics (한국운동역학회)
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Weightlessness in Water : Its Unexpected Mechanical Effects on Freestyle Swimming

  • Received : 2002.10.01
  • Published : 2002.08.30
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Abstract

When our body is immersed in water, we experience weightlessness. The degree of weightlessness that we experience varies depending on the proportion of the body immersed in water, being governed by the relationship between the weight of body and the buoyant force acting on the body. Human body during the performance of swimming in no exception to these influences. Swimmers body is subject to a time and position dependent force system. Even the magnitude of the buoyant force acting on the swimmers body at every given instant and the corresponding position of the CB change continuously. The findings of this study support the following conclusions. The buoyancy torque was the primary source of bodyroll exhibited by front crawl swimmers performing at distance pace, accounting for 88 % of the bodyroll. Faster swimmers used buoyancy more effectively to generate bodyroll, partially supporting the postulation that an effective use of buoyancy for bodyroll may reduce the generated hydrodynamic forces to be wasted in non-propulsive directions and maximize forward propulsion.

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