The Impact of Altitude Training on NCAA Division I Female Swimmers' Performance.

In this study, we investigate the effects of altitude training on female swimmers prior to college and how that training ultimately affects perfor- mance in their college career. In particular, for female athletes training in college at altitudes above 5,000 feet, we test whether athletes that trained at altitudes above 5,000 feet prior to college had different time drops between collegiate and high school best times, compared to athletes whose pre-collegiate training was below 5,000 feet. We test the hypothesis that having trained in college at altitudes above 5,000 feet and training prior to college at altitudes above 5,000 feet compared to altitudes below 5,000 feet will result in different observed time drops between collegiate and high school best times. We considered swimmers from four NCAA Division I colleges located in Colorado at altitudes ranging from approximately 5,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level. We collected data on the best pre- collegiate and collegiate times of 167 sprint event (50 freestyle) swimmers, 164 middle-distance event (200 freestyle) swimmers, and 69 distance event (1650 freestyle) swimmers. The subjects were grouped by event specialty and whether or not they trained at altitude prior to their collegiate careers. Time improvements from best pre-collegiate times to best collegiate times between altitude groupings were computed for swimmers and event groups. We conclude that there is no significant drop in time between swimmers who swam at below 5,000 feet in altitude prior to their collegiate careers and those who swam at or above 5,000 feet in altitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]