| Burke et al. 1996 |
32 (18 Male; 14 Female)
17-25 yrs National level swimmers |
5g Creatine monohydrate + 2g sucrose
OR 5g polyglucose + 2g sucrose
4 x per day, 5 Days
Randomised, double blinded |
Preferred stroke
1x25m sprint
1x50m sprint
1x100m sprint
10mins active recovery +
2-3mins passive recovery
between sprints |
No significant performance
changes in any of the trials in
either group |
Not specified |
| Havenetidis et al. 1996 |
21 (11 Male; 10 Female)
Elite swimmers |
2 identical supplementation periods; 4
months apart
5g Creatine OR 5g placebo
5 x per day, 4 Dayst
No randomisation, double blinded |
Stroke not specified
Official meet race
performance
Distance not specified |
Significant improvement in race
time (2.1%) following first
supplementation period for the
creatine group only
Further improvements in race
times (3.0%) following second
supplementation period for the
creatine group only |
Not specified |
| Mujika et al. 1996 |
20 (11 Male; 9 Female)
~ 20 yrs National or international level swimmers |
5g Creatine monohydrate OR 5g lactose placebo
4 x per day, 5 Days
Randomisation not specified, double
blinded |
Preferred stroke 1x25m sprint
1x50m sprint
1x100m sprint
300m active recovery +
20-25 mins passive
recovery between sprints |
No significant performance
changes in any of the 3 trials
or the sum of the 3 trials in
either group
Tendancy towards reduced
performance in 25m and 50m
swims in the creatine group |
Significant increase in
body weight (1%) in the
creatine group only |
| Thompson et al. 1996 |
10 (Female)
University swimmers |
2g Creatine OR 2g placebo
1 x per day, 6 Weeks
Randomised, blinding not specified |
Freestyle
1x100m sprint
1x400m sprint |
No significant effect on swim time
in either sprint for either group |
No change to lean
body mass |
| Peyrebrune et al. 1998 |
14 (Male) ~ 20-21 yrs
National level swimmers |
3g Creatine + 1.5g maltodextrin + 1.5g
glucose OR 6g glucose
3 x per day, 5 Days
Randomised, double blinded |
Preferred stroke
1x50yd sprint |
No effect on performance in either group |
Not specified |
| Dawson et al. 2002 |
20 (10 Male; 10 Female) ~ 16 yrs
Competitive swimmers |
Acute loading period: 5g creatine
monohydrate + 1g glucose polymer OR
6g glucose polymer
4 x per day; 5 days
Maintenance period: 5g creatine
monohydrate OR 5g glucose polymer; 1
x per day; 22 days
Randomised, single blinded |
Freestyle
1x50m sprint
1x100m sprint
3x100m recovery swims
on a departure interval of 1.5 mins |
No significant improvements
in performance for either group |
No significant body
mass changes
Skinfold totals
decreased for both
groups, but were not
statistically different
from the respective
baseline scores |
| Selsby et al. 2003 |
15 (8 Male; 7 Female)
~ 19 yrs
Division III
collegiate swimmers |
Acute loading period: 0.3g creatine / kg
body weight OR varying doses of
dextrose placebo
5 x per day, 5 days
Maintenance period: 2.25g creatine OR
varying doses of dextrose
1 x per day, 9 days
Randomised, double blinded |
Freestyle
1x50yd sprint
1x100yd sprint |
Trend towards improved
performance in both sprints in
the creatine group
Trend towards reduced
performance in both sprints in
the placebo group |
No significant weight
gain within groups |
| Mendes et al. 2004 |
18 (12 Male; 6 Female)
~ 19 yrs
Competitive Swimmers |
5g Creatine + 20g CHO OR 20g CHO
4 x per day, 8 Days
Double blind, placebo controlled |
1 x 50m sprint
1 x 100m sprint |
No effect on performance in either group |
Significant increase in
total body mass, lean
body mass and body
water in the creatine
group only
No change in bone or muscle mass |