ABSTRACT
The direct relationship between a swimmer’s anthropometric composition and his/her potential to succeed has long been recognized by researchers in sport science (Montpetit and Smith, 1988; Ackland and Mazza, 1994; Pelayo et al., 1996). Research also seems to suggest that swimmers develop distinct morphological attributes with training and participation in swimming (Siders et al., 1991; Ackland and Mazza, 1994) which may optimize their swimming potential. The unisex Phantom is used in this regard to assess the anthropometric proportionality characteristics of a certain population of athletes compared to that of a normal population (Ross and Marfell-Jones, 1991). The unique anthropometric characteristics that are not commonly observed in the general population will, therefore, be identified and may be used in talent identification programmes.
