PARTICIPATION AND PERFORMANCE DURING THE EXTREME OPEN-WATER ‘FREEDOM SWIM’ RACE FROM 2001 TO 2018

Lee Devlin Hill

Abstract


Introduction: Ultra-endurance and extreme open water present a unique exercise environment that stresses both the physiological and psychological characteristics of a swimmer. In recent years, a number of studies have specifically focused on Northern Hemisphere races. The aim of this study to analyse the participation and performance trends of the Freedom Swim extreme open water swim from 2001-2018. Methods: A retrospective analysis of publicly available data was used to assess participation and performance. Results: Participation did not significantly increase over the period of interest in either gender. However, for every year there were significantly more men than women taking part. Mean finishing time was not significantly different between genders, however, in 2008, men were significantly faster but in 2010, women were significantly faster. Conclusion: the present study provides evidence that women's participation is open water sea swimming is significantly less than that of men, in accordance with previous research. Further, there was no significant difference in performance between men and women. These findings suggest that men and women achieve similar swimming performances in cold water long distance.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

DOI

Keywords


swimming, cold water, endurance, performance, participation, gender

Full Text:

PDF

References


Big Bay Events. (2018). Freedom Swim Series. Retrieved May 24, 2018, from http://www.freedomswimseries.co.za/

Branch, G., Griffiths, C. L., Branch, M. L., & Beckley, L. E. (2008). Two Oceans: A guide to the marine life of southern Africa (Illustrate). Struik Publishing.

Brannigan, D., Rogers, I. R., Jacobs, I., Montgomery, A., Williams, A., & Khangure, N. (2009). Hypothermia is a significant medical risk of mass participation long-distance open water swimming. Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 20(1), 14–18. https://doi.org/10.1580/08-WEME-OR-214.1

Channel Swimming Association. (2018). Swim Regulations - Rules relating to your Swim. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from https://www.channelswimmingassociation.com/swim-advice/regulations

Eichenberger, E., Knechtle, B., Knechtle, P., RüSt, C. A., Rosemann, T., & Lepers, R. (2012). Best performances by men and women open-water swimmers during the “English Channel Swim” from 1900 to 2010. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(12), 1295–1301. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.709264

Eichenberger, E., Knechtle, B., Knechtle, P., Rüst, C. A., Rosemann, T., Lepers, R., & Senn, O. (2013). Sex difference in open-water ultra-swim performance in the longest freshwater lake swim in Europe. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27(5), 1362–1369. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e318265a3e9

Erasmus, E., Robertson, C., & van Hoving, D. J. (2018). The epidemiology of operations performed by the National Sea Rescue Institute of South Africa over a 5-year period. International Maritime Health, 69(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.5603/IMH.2018.0001

Fischer, G., Knechtle, B., Rüst, C. A., & Rosemann, T. (2013). Male swimmers cross the English Channel faster than female swimmers. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 23(1), 48–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12008

Hill, L., & Grand’Maison, V. (2017). Swimming, South Africa and the Olympics: A History of Women’s Participation. OLYMPIKA: The International Journal of Olympic Studies, 26, 36–52. Retrieved from http://www.uwo.ca/olympic/files/pdf/olympika/tocs/olympika-26-2017-toc.pdf

Hollander, D. B., & Acevedo, E. O. (2000). Successful English Channel Swimming: The Peak Experience. Sport Psychologist, 14(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.14.1.1

Judelson, D. A., Bagley, J. R., Schumacher, J. M., & Wiersma, L. D. (2015). Cardiovascular and Perceptual Responses to an Ultraendurance Channel Swim: A Case Study. Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 26(3), 359–365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2015.02.003

Keatinge, W. R., Khartchenko, M., Lando, N., & Lioutov, V. (2001). Hypothermia during sports swimming in water below 11 ° C Hypothermia during sports swimming in water below 11 ° C. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 35, 352–354. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.35.5.352

Kjendlie, P. L., & Stallman, R. K. (2008). Drag characteristics of competitive swimming children and adults. Journal of Applied Biomechanics, 24(1), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.24.1.35

Knechtle, B., Baumann, B., Knechtle, P., & Rosemann, T. (2010). Speed during Training and Anthropometric Measures in Relation to Race Performance by Male and Female Open-Water Ultra-Endurance Swimmers. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 111(2), 463–474. https://doi.org/10.2466/05.25.PMS.111.5.463-474

Knechtle, B., Rosemann, T., Lepers, R., & Rüst, C. A. (2014). Women outperform men in ultradistance swimming: The Manhattan Island Marathon Swim from 1983 to 2013. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 9(6), 913–924. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2013-0375

Knechtle, B., Rosemann, T., & Rüst, C. A. (2014). Participation and performance trends by nationality in the “English Channel Swim” from 1875 to 2013. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 6(1), 34. https://doi.org/10.1186/2052-1847-6-34

Knechtle, B., Rosemann, T., & Rüst, C. A. (2015). Women cross the ‘Catalina Channel’ faster than men. SpringerPlus, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40064-015-1086-4

Nevill, A. M., & Whyte, G. (2005). Are there limits to running world records? Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 37(10), 1785–1788. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.mss.0000181676.62054.79

News24. (2013). Robben Island records. Retrieved May 21, 2018, from https://www.news24.com/Travel/South-Africa/Robben-Island-records-20130206

Rüst, C. A., Knechtle, B., & Rosemann, T. (2012). Changes in body core and body surface temperatures during prolonged swimming in water of 10°C-a case report. Extreme Physiology & Medicine, 1(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-7648-1-8

Rüst, C. A., Knechtle, B., Rosemann, T., & Lepers, R. (2014). Women reduced the sex difference in open-water ultra-distance swimming La Traversée Internationale du Lac St-Jean, 1955–2012. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 39(2), 270–273. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2013-0222

Rüst, C. A., Lepers, R., Rosemann, T., & Knechtle, B. (2014). Will women soon outperform men in open-water ultra-distance swimming in the “Maratona del Golfo Capri-Napoli”? SpringerPlus, 3(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-3-86

Ulsamer, S., Rüst, C. A., Rosemann, T., Lepers, R., & Knechtle, B. (2014). Swimming performances in long distance open-water events with and without wetsuit. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation, 6(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/2052-1847-6-20

VanHeest, J. L., Mahoney, C. E., & Herr, L. (2004). Characteristics of elite open-water swimmers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 18(2), 302–305. https://doi.org/10.1519/R-13513.1

Vogt, P., Rust, C. A., Rosemann, T., Lepers, R., & Knechtle, B. (2013). Analysis of 10 km swimming performance of elite male and female open-water swimmers. Springerplus, 2(2004), 603. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-2-603

Wagner, S., Knechtle, B., Knechtle, P., Rüst, C. A., & Rosemann, T. (2012). Higher prevalence of exercise-associated hyponatremia in female than in male open-water ultra-endurance swimmers: the “Marathon-Swim” in Lake Zurich. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 112(3), 1095–1106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-011-2070-5

Weitkunat, T., Knechtle, B., Knechtle, P., Rüst, C. A., & Rosemann, T. (2012). Body composition and hydration status changes in male and female open-water swimmers during an ultra-endurance event. Journal of Sports Sciences, 30(10), 1003–1013. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2012.682083

Winter, E. M., & Fowler, N. (2009). Exercise defined and quantified according to the Système International d’Unités. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(5), 447–460. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410802658461

Zaryski, C., & Smith, D. J. (2005). Training principles and issues for ultra-endurance athletes. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 4(3), 165–170. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11932-005-0062-0




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v0i0.1750

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2018 Lee Devlin Hill

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015 - 2023. European Journal of Physical Education and Sport Science (ISSN 2501 - 1235) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).