Swimming Speed Analyzed, materials from experiments by Dr. Peter V. Karpovich

Abstract

This is a poster of the results and explanations from a paper that was published in the Scientific American in 1930 called "Swimming Speed Analyzed" by Dr. Peter V. Karpovich. The paper was based on experiments conducted by Dr. Karpovich.The poster has sections of the original article that have been cut out and glued onto a cardboard backing. Included is a picture and description of the Natograph, equipment that Karpovich designed and built for the experiment. It expressed graphically the measurements of speed for the different swimming strokes. The back, crawl, side, and breast stroke were all studied. There is also a nice description of how the machine worked. ; Peter V. Karpovich (1896-1975) was born in Russia and trained as a medical doctor at the State Military Academy of Medicine in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Russia in 1919. Under increasing political and professional turmoil, he fled to Latvia in 1922. In Latvia, Karpovich worked at the Riga YMCA. In 1925, he traveled to the United States to research at Springfield College. While there, he enrolled as a special advanced student and earned a master's degree in physical education. In 1927, while completing his studies, he became a professor of physiology at the college. In the late 1940s, he met and married his second wife, Josephine Rathbone, an acclaimed scholar of physical education and relaxation. From 1961 to 1969, he served as the director of the physiology research laboratory at Springfield College, where he published several seminal books. Karpovich was a founding member of the American College of Sports Medicine and a consultant to many government, private and educational organizations. He remains an internationally recognized pioneer in physical education.