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Kocaeli 2026: Ten world records – and Para Swimming is becoming increasingly data-driven The European Para Swimming Championships in Kocaeli delivered more than medals. Ten world records and 17 European records show how rapidly performance is developing within individual classes. These changes can now also be analysed over the long term.
More than 150,000 analysed results and 310 new Masters world records in 2025 alone: international Masters data show impressively how long athletic performance can be maintained.
Eight lanes and eight finalists have been part of swimming for decades. At the 2026 Short Course World Championships in Beijing, that principle will be broken: World Aquatics is testing finals and semifinals with ten swimmers.
A fast 100-metre race is not created by a single factor. Start, underwater phase, swimming speed and turn have to work as one system.
A large race analysis shows which race phase has the greatest influence on final time at each distance.
A meta-analysis involving 182 competitive swimmers finds a small but significant performance effect—without a clear improvement in classic VO₂max.
Twenty-seven swimmers completed six weeks of maximal-strength, plyometric or normal training. Individual responses differed much more than a group average would suggest.
A new meta-analysis in adolescent swimmers shows positive tendencies for explosive strength and sprint performance, but warns against drawing conclusions too quickly.
A meta-analysis of 14 studies examines what inspiratory and expiratory respiratory muscle training actually achieves in competitive swimmers.
An unusual study asked eight experienced Chinese swimming coaches about the role of the trunk. Agreement was high, but the scientific evidence supporting their methods was much more limited.
A new study shows that greater propulsive force in freestyle only truly makes a swimmer faster when it matches the arm coordination.
Nine national-level breaststroke swimmers were analysed in three dimensions. At maximal speed, not only velocity but also the organisation of the kick changed.
A new biomechanical study compares joint movements and segmental coordination during the underwater dolphin kick across different performance levels.
A recent force analysis examines at what speed the transition from streamlined gliding to dolphin kick and then to freestyle becomes advantageous.
A new study on stroke length, stroke rate and glide time shows why a longer stroke is not automatically more efficient or faster.
