What pacing is used by the best swimmers in the 200m freestyle?

Abstract

We examine the pacing strategies of elite swimmers of the 200m freestyle from six long courses World Championships and three editions of the Olympic Games. The entries, partials, and total race times of the finalist swimmers were analysed. The results showed that the 1st lap is the one with the most significant difference, both for males (0.0008) and females (<0.0001), justified by the push-off against a solid (block). In addition, athletes perform their strategies assuming a negative correlation in the 1st half of the race and a positive correlation in the 2nd half. Also, the winner's time difference percentage was below compared with the median of total race time, where the Transition  (difference between 1st to 2nd and 3rd places, and the difference of 3 rd place to other athletes) is faster in the 2nd half of the race by +3.23% for men and +2.50% for women. It is concluded that the 1st lap presents better reciprocity to the final time. The winners are faster than the median in the 2nd half of the race. Still, the % Time becomes an option, related to the possibility of using the pacing of different athletes, as an option for coaches and athletes.