The purpose of this pilot study was to describe the effects of pace and breathing actions on the coordinative parameters of the butterfly stroke. Four regional level swimmers participated of this study (mean performance level: 69 ± 3.6 % of the world record in the 100-m butterfly). Increasing speed, similar results were observed for both frontal breathing and non-breathing conditions. From the 200m pace to the maximal speed trial, there is a decrease in the absolute duration of arm stroke (from 2.01 ± 0.43s to 1.07 ± 0,09s), increasing the relative duration of propulsive phases (pull phase: from 14.6 ± 3.2% to 22.8 ± 4.7%; push phase: from 12.9 ± 1.0 to 19.1 ± 0.9%). Regarding to the inter-limb coordination, there is a higher continuity between the arm and leg stroke key points.
Swimming; video analysis; butterfly stroke; coordination
