TY - JOUR
T1 - Reliability and stability of performances in 400-m swimming and 1500-m running
AU - Mytton, Graham J.
AU - Archer, David T.
AU - Gibson, Alan St Clair
AU - THOMPSON, Kevin
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - PURPOSE: To assess the reliability and stability of 400-m swimming and 1500-m running competitions to establish the number of samples needed to obtain a stable pacing profile. Coaches, athletes, and researchers can use these methods to ensure that sufficient data are collected before training and race strategies are constructed or research conclusions are drawn.METHOD: Lap times were collected from 5 world and European championship finals between 2005 and 2011, resulting in the capture of data from 40 swimmers and 55 runners. A cumulative mean for each lap was calculated, starting with the most recent data, and the number of races needed for this to stabilize to within 1% was reported. Typical error for each lap was calculated for athletes who had competed in more than 1 final.RESULTS: International swimmers demonstrated more reproducible performances than runners in 3 of the 4 laps of the race (P < .01). Variance in runners' lap times significantly decreased by 1.7-2.7% after lap 1, whereas variance in swimmers' lap times tended to increase by 0.1-0.5% after lap 1. To establish a stable profile, at least ten 400-m swimmers and forty-four 1500-m runners must be included.CONCLUSIONS: A stable race profile was observed from the analysis of 5 events for 1500-m running and 3 events for 400-m swimming. Researchers and athletes can be more certain about the pacing information collected from 400-m swimming than 1500-m running races, as the swimming data are less variable, despite both events being of similar duration.
AB - PURPOSE: To assess the reliability and stability of 400-m swimming and 1500-m running competitions to establish the number of samples needed to obtain a stable pacing profile. Coaches, athletes, and researchers can use these methods to ensure that sufficient data are collected before training and race strategies are constructed or research conclusions are drawn.METHOD: Lap times were collected from 5 world and European championship finals between 2005 and 2011, resulting in the capture of data from 40 swimmers and 55 runners. A cumulative mean for each lap was calculated, starting with the most recent data, and the number of races needed for this to stabilize to within 1% was reported. Typical error for each lap was calculated for athletes who had competed in more than 1 final.RESULTS: International swimmers demonstrated more reproducible performances than runners in 3 of the 4 laps of the race (P < .01). Variance in runners' lap times significantly decreased by 1.7-2.7% after lap 1, whereas variance in swimmers' lap times tended to increase by 0.1-0.5% after lap 1. To establish a stable profile, at least ten 400-m swimmers and forty-four 1500-m runners must be included.CONCLUSIONS: A stable race profile was observed from the analysis of 5 events for 1500-m running and 3 events for 400-m swimming. Researchers and athletes can be more certain about the pacing information collected from 400-m swimming than 1500-m running races, as the swimming data are less variable, despite both events being of similar duration.
KW - Athletic Performance
KW - Competitive Behavior
KW - Humans
KW - Reproducibility of Results
KW - Running
KW - Swimming
KW - Task Performance and Analysis
KW - Time Factors
KW - Video Recording
KW - Journal Article
KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
U2 - 10.1123/ijspp.2013-0240
DO - 10.1123/ijspp.2013-0240
M3 - Article
C2 - 24231408
VL - 9
SP - 674
EP - 679
JO - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
JF - International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
SN - 1555-0265
IS - 4
ER -