Hear Kate Markey explain the pill and the study in the player above.
Basically, the research study is a follow-up to research that was done during the U23 EC in Dublin. There it was concluded that the swimmers’ core temperature dropped after the warm-up and that they arrived at the starting blocks colder than desired.
– To clarify this, we did a thermal analysis and in this case we used thermal garments immediately after the warm-up and assumed that the swimmers could wear them for 25-30 minutes before a race. The reason is to help maintain the heat they generated during their warm-up, or even increase it slightly, says Kate Markey, PhD student at Loughborough University and leader of the study.
Wearing the thermal garments contributes to the goal of raising body temperature to stimulate sweating and increased blood flow. That reaction can in turn mean performance benefits in the form of better oxygen supply to the muscles, according to Kate Markey.
Measured using pills
In order to keep track of how the core temperature in the body changes, the Swedish star swimmers, including Michelle Coleman and Louise Hansson who are part of the mentioned study, had to take a pill the night before the race.
– The pill makes it possible to measure the internal body temperature every thirty seconds during the time they have the pill in their body, which is estimated to be 12-48 hours. After the competition, we can then go in and check the body temperature from the time the swimmers got up in the morning until the race.
The analysis includes warm-up, cool-down during practice sessions and the final race in the evening. When the pill was then connected to a monitor, which the swimmers had to wear between times in the pool, all the necessary values were downloaded for research purposes. However, the warm clothes are also used separately without the thermometer pill on other occasions. In this case, data is collected for the research via the measurement.
The results of the study are not fully completed. The national swimming team will use the warm clothes, but not the pill method, during the Olympics.
The Swedish star swimmers included in the study view the initiative positively.