The IXth International World Symposium on Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming was held in Saint-Etienne in France from June 21 - 23 2002, under the auspices of the World Commission of Sport Biomechanics and the Steering Group of Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming. The main conference organisers were the Laboratoire de Physiologie of the Medical Faculty and Service d'Exploration Fonctionnelle Cardio-Respiratoire et Médecine du Sport of Saint-Etienne Hospital. The conference was a joint effort with several other organisations as well. The Department of Physical Education of the University of Saint-Etienne, the City of Saint-Etienne, the Conseil Général de la Loire, the Conseil régional Rhône-Alpes, the Association des Chercheurs en Activités Physiques et Sportives, the French Swimming Federation, the INSERM, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Société de la Loire de Médecine du Sport and the société française de Médecine du Sport were the main public sponsors of the Symposium.

The International Symposium on Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming, held every four years under the aegis of the International Society of Biomechanics and the World Commission of Sports Biomechanics, provides a forum in which research related to swimming is reported and problems that confront swimming practitioners are debated. This volume contains the papers presented at the sixth symposium. The keynote addresses covered lactate metabolism, performance determining factors and the analysis of sprint swimming. The contributed papers range widely across sports science, coaching and training and sports medicine.

Following on from the successful Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming VI proceedings which covered the conference held in Liverpool, this book contains all twelve of the keynote addresses and selected, edited and revised papers presented at the Swimming Science VII conference in Atlanta. Leading international experts have contributed state-of-the-art research on the subject.