ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE

ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE

MINISTERIO

DE EDUCACIÓN, FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL

Y DEPORTES

ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE

ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE

Apnea

time

1 . Duration

and number of apneas

In solo and duet routines, the swimmers spend more than

half the routine in apnea.

The percentage of time spent in apnea is higher in solo

technical routines than it is in solo free routines (p < 0.05).

*Signiﬁcant differences (p < 0.01) between solo and duet technical routines compared to free. Values obtained

during the 2011 Spanish Artistic Swimming Championship.

*Values obtained during the 2011 World Artistic Swimming Championship.

Rodríguez-Zamora, L., et al. (2012, 2014a, 2014b): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049098 - https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182a20ee7 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1353177

Iglesias, X., et al. (2014, 2015): https://archives.rpd-online.com/article/download/v23-n1-iglesias-rodriguez-zamora-etal/1430-4908-1-PB.pdf - https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1578-84232015000100009

Castiñeira, S. (2024): http://inefc-grceib.cat/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Castineira_2024_-Synchro-Project_Barcelona.pdf

RED SynchroProject II: High performance and health in female artistic swimmers (reference: SYNCPROJECT – 99784) – Funded by the Senior Council for Sports (Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports) – 2024 REDES sports science research programme. SynchroProject, funded by the Senior

Council for Sports (001/UPB10/11) and the Women’s Institute of Catalonia (U-34/10)

Iglesias, X. (2025). Anatomy of an artistic swimming routine [Infographic]. SynchroProject. Grup de Recerca en Ciències de l’Esport INEFC Barcelona (GRCEIB): https://inefc-grceib.cat/synchroproject/

The routines of the world’s best swimmers are characterised

by frequent and prolonged periods of seconds (s).

The maximum duration of the apneas correlates positively with

the scores for the routines (p < 0.05).

KEY IDEA 1

•Artistic swimming requires an exceptional capacity to perform intense

exertion while in apnea.

KEY IDEA 2

•Prolonged apneas impose signiﬁcant physiological stress

on the swimmers.

•The capacity to perform multiple prolonged apneas is critical to artistic

swimming performance.

4.1 ± 1.0

Immersions

in excess of

10 s per routine

Solo technical –

time in apnea

72.4 ± 5.9 %

of the routine

Solo free –

maximum apneas

22.3 ± 4.5 s

Total immersion time (TIT)

ST: Solo technical SF: Solo free DT: Duet technical DF: Duet free

*Values obtained during the 2011 Spanish Artistic Swimming Championship.

Nº of immersions (NIM)

Routine (s)

Apnea phase (%)

124.6 ± 8.4

72.9 ± 4.3

178.0 ± 6.5

67.5 ± 4.8

Solo technical Solo free

148.6 ± 6.2

63.0 ± 4.9

207.7 ± 9.6

63.6 ± 5.3

Duet technical Duet free

Routine (s)

Underwater phase (%)

82.7 s

105.3 s

85.0 s

125.1 s

17.1

26.4

21.0

33.3

Prolonged immersions longer than 10 s (> 10 s)

2.9

4.0

3.9

5.2

Nº

45.2

63.7

53.5

76.6

Time

Total duration

of apnea (%) 72.9

(s)

(n)

72.4 67.5 65.7

20.7 19.0 23.4 22.3

2.9 3.6 3.9 4.1

47.5 54.2 62.3 65.2

Apneas

longer than 10 s

Spanish Champ. Spanish Champ.World Champ. World Champ.

Solo Technical Solo Free

Maximum apnea (s)

http://inefc-grceib.cat/synchroproject/

- Performance prediction model

• Pre-exertion HR and minimum HR during exertion

account for 26% of variance in performance.

•Lactate + immersion parameters = 53% of variance

in performance.

KEY IDEA 4

•Artistic swimming performance depends on a complex interaction

of physiological and technical factors.

•A decrease in heart rate during the routines and prior to exertion are

indicators of performance.

MINISTERIO

DE EDUCACIÓN, FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL

Y DEPORTES

Body

position

3. Performance predictions

and correlations

Inverted vertical positions predominate.

KEY IDEA 3

•Inverted positions generate unique cardiovascular responses, such as

reﬂex bradycardia.

•Adaptation to these positions plays a vital role in the swimmers’

performance and safety.

- Heart rate = better performance

+ Concentration of lactate = better performance

*Values obtained during the 2011 Spanish Artistic Swimming Championship.

of time in an inverted vertical position

of time in a vertical position

of time in a horizontal position

Physiological

factors

Immersion

patterns

Artistic

swimming

performance

43.3% 5.3%

31.3% 5.5%

25.4% 4.1%

Prior

heart rate

Minimum

heart rate

Lactate

Number of

immersions

53%

of variance

in performance

Maximum

immersion

Average

immersion time

The key factors for predicting performance (competition

score) in artistic swimming are:

- Peak lactate

•Positive correlation with performance (R = 0.55, P < 0.05).

- Immersion parameters

• No. of immersions: positive correlation with

performance (R = 0.39, P < 0.05).

• Maximum immersion time: positive correlation with

performance (R = 0.48, P < 0.05).

- More immersions and a higher maximum immersion

time are associated with better performance.

- Heart rate (HR)

• Pre-exertion HR: negative correlation with performance

(R = -0.41, P < 0.001).

• Minimum HR during the routine: negative correlation

with performance (R = -0.24, P < 0.05).

- Lower heart rates pre-exertion and during the routines

are associated with better performance.

ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE

ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE

Rodríguez-Zamora, L., et al. (2012, 2014a, 2014b): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049098 - https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182a20ee7 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1353177

Iglesias, X., et al. (2014, 2015): https://archives.rpd-online.com/article/download/v23-n1-iglesias-rodriguez-zamora-etal/1430-4908-1-PB.pdf - https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1578-84232015000100009

Castiñeira, S. (2024): http://inefc-grceib.cat/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Castineira_2024_-Synchro-Project_Barcelona.pdf

Council for Sports (001/UPB10/11) and the Women’s Institute of Catalonia (U-34/10)

http://inefc-grceib.cat/synchroproject/

MINISTERIO

DE EDUCACIÓN, FORMACIÓN PROFESIONAL

Y DEPORTES

Rule

changes

Evolution towards more precise and competitive scoring.

Technical and free routines are scored the same

way, thereby making the scoring process more

consistent.

Uniﬁcation of routines

Specialist roles designed to ensure precision in

scoring the diculty and synchronisation of

routines. The diculty of each routine is calculated

mathematically beforehand.

Technical controllers

Scoring by a panel of 15 judges has been replaced by

a panel of 10 judges who score both artistic

impression and execution.

Simpliﬁed scoring system

Creation of varied Coach Cards that are adapted in

line with each team/athlete and their capacities.

Strategic changes can be made between the preli-

minary and ﬁnal rounds.

Strategic Coach Card

Scores are not limited to a maximum (100 points);

this means that world records can be set and intro-

duces an element of uncertainty to the ﬁnal

ranking.

World records and increased competitiveness

The sport becomes much faster, with an increased

need for strength, speed of movement and demons-

tration of height.

Greater speeds and heights

KEY IDEA 5

• The changes seek to increase competitiveness and make the scoring

process more precise.

•The element of uncertainty is introduced to the ﬁnal ranking, making

it less predictable and more interesting for spectators.

PANEL OF JUDGES

COACH

CARD

STRENGTH

SPEED

HEIGHT

100

points

Rodríguez-Zamora, L., et al. (2012, 2014a, 2014b): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049098 - https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182a20ee7 - https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0033-1353177

Iglesias, X., et al. (2014, 2015): https://archives.rpd-online.com/article/download/v23-n1-iglesias-rodriguez-zamora-etal/1430-4908-1-PB.pdf - https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S1578-84232015000100009

Castiñeira, S. (2024): http://inefc-grceib.cat/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Castineira_2024_-Synchro-Project_Barcelona.pdf

Council for Sports (001/UPB10/11) and the Women’s Institute of Catalonia (U-34/10)

http://inefc-grceib.cat/synchroproject/

ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE

ANATOMY OF AN ARTISTIC

SWIMMING ROUTINE