Sport science research makes a splash with elite para swimmers at World Championships
Elite para swimmers were supported by sport science research at Manchester Met as the best of the best descended on the city for the 2023 Allianz Para Swimming World Championships.
Behind these elite performances is a range of scientific expertise helping athletes to reach their potential, while also shaping the future of the sport.
Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport are building our understanding of the biomechanics of para swimming and what fuels elite swimming performance.
This research has been led for over 20 years by Professor Carl Payton, who supported the British Para Swimming Team during the championships.
Prof Payton uses advanced techniques including computer simulation modelling, 3D motion analysis and electromyography - measuring muscle activity - to assess athletes in the pool and investigate how different types of physical impairment can affect their technique, how much propulsion and drag they produce, and their ability to perform fast starts and turns.
The research is making waves in the sport at a national level through Manchester Met’s longstanding collaboration with British Para Swimming, and at international level, through the University’s more recent work with World Para Swimming.
The research provides British para swimmers and coaches with biomechanical information that can help them boost how they train and race. It also helps athletes to decide which swimsuit is best for them to race in, by testing which of the market-leading suits creates the lowest drag.
Para swimming classification
Prof Payton and his team, in collaboration with researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, are also working with World Para Swimming to improve the classification system that defines race categories for physically impaired swimmers.
This research includes the development of new tests of strength, motor coordination and range of motion that affect para swimmers with central motor and neuromuscular impairments.
Prof Payton said: “This is an ongoing research project that is looking at the way we classify swimmers with a physical impairment.
“Specifically, we’re looking at improving ways of measuring the strength of athletes and also measuring their coordination. We hope that these new methods we are developing will be used to help inform World Para Swimming and help refine the classification system.”
During the World Championships, 15 athletes visited Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport to undergo a range of tests as part of the research.
This included several World and Paralympic Champions, representing countries across the world from Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, USA, Turkey, Iran, Italy and Japan.
Prof Payton added: “We are moving towards much more quantitative, measurement-driven ways of classifying swimmers.
“The project has collected data from more than 200 para and non-disabled swimmers in the UK and overseas, making it the largest ever study cohort of its kind, and through the University’s partnership with British Swimming we were able to continue our research during this year’s world championships.”
