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The last will be the fastest
The Training and Exercise department has recently published a study on the topic of performance gains in swimming relays through increased motivation due to the team situation. This study investigated the question of whether relay swimmers swim faster than in an individual competition over the same distance and with the same swimming style, as they are subject to social influences that can lead them to exert themselves more in the relay race.
The authors assume that social indispensability is a major cause of greater effort in swimming relays. Members of a cooperative group feel social indispensability when they perceive their contribution to the (good) group result as indispensable. Relay swimming is an additive task in which the team members perform one after the other. The authors assume that swimmers perceive increasing social indispensability the later they are in the relay order. This is explained by the fact that a possible poor performance can be compensated for less and less by relay teammates. Thus, the last relay swimmer would have to feel the greatest indispensability, which should result in a great willingness to make an effort.
The study examined competition data from 4 x 100m freestyle relays from Olympic Games and World Championships over the last 20 years. The results show that both male and female swimmers swim faster on average in the relay (except in position 1) than in the individual competition. The strongest performance gains were found for the last starter. Furthermore, performance gains were particularly large if the relay team had a high chance of winning a medal at the changeover. This finding was particularly pronounced for female athletes. In addition, the study was able to show for the first time that performance gains were significant both on the first leg (0-50m) and on the second leg (50-100m). With this finding, it can be ruled out that performance gains in the relay competition can be attributed solely to a starting advantage of the 2nd to 4th swimmers.
Braun, C., Fischer, S., Qiu, X., Limmeroth, J., & Kibele, A. (2021). Last and fast? - A gender-specific analysis of effort gains in swimming relay events across Olympic Games and World Championships during the past 20 years. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 55, 101949.