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Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gagnon, CM; Steiper, ME; Pontzer, H
Published in: Proceedings. Biological sciences
July 2018

There is a trade-off reflected in the contrasting phenotypes of elite long-distance runners, who are typically leaner, and elite sprinters, who are usually more heavily muscled. It is unclear, however, whether and how swimmers' bodies vary across event distances from the 50 m swim, which is about a 20-30 s event, to the 10 000 m marathon swim, which is about a 2 h event. We examined data from the 2012 Olympics to test whether swimmers' phenotypes differed across event distances. We show that across all swimming event distances, from the 50 m sprint to the 10 000 m marathon, swimmers converge on a single optimal body mass index (BMI) in men's and women's events, in marked contrast with the strong inverse relationship between BMI and event distance found in runners. The absence of a speed-endurance trade-off in the body proportions of swimmers indicates a fundamental difference in design pressures and performance capability in terrestrial versus aquatic environments.

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Published In

Proceedings. Biological sciences

DOI

EISSN

1471-2954

ISSN

0962-8452

Publication Date

July 2018

Volume

285

Issue

1882

Start / End Page

20180684

Related Subject Headings

  • Swimming
  • Running
  • Phenotype
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Body Mass Index
  • Body Composition
  • Athletic Performance
  • Athletes
 

Citation

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Gagnon, C. M., Steiper, M. E., & Pontzer, H. (2018). Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances. Proceedings. Biological Sciences, 285(1882), 20180684. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.0684
Gagnon, Christian M., Michael E. Steiper, and Herman Pontzer. “Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances.Proceedings. Biological Sciences 285, no. 1882 (July 2018): 20180684. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.0684.
Gagnon CM, Steiper ME, Pontzer H. Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances. Proceedings Biological sciences. 2018 Jul;285(1882):20180684.
Gagnon, Christian M., et al. “Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances.Proceedings. Biological Sciences, vol. 285, no. 1882, July 2018, p. 20180684. Epmc, doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.0684.
Gagnon CM, Steiper ME, Pontzer H. Elite swimmers do not exhibit a body mass index trade-off across a wide range of event distances. Proceedings Biological sciences. 2018 Jul;285(1882):20180684.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proceedings. Biological sciences

DOI

EISSN

1471-2954

ISSN

0962-8452

Publication Date

July 2018

Volume

285

Issue

1882

Start / End Page

20180684

Related Subject Headings

  • Swimming
  • Running
  • Phenotype
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Body Mass Index
  • Body Composition
  • Athletic Performance
  • Athletes