Effects Of Altitude On Performance Of Elite Track-and-field Athletes

Abstract

Lower density and oxygen content of air at higher altitudes affects competitive performance of athletes in some sports, which has resulted in track-and-field performances at venues above 1000 m classified as “altitude” performances. PURPOSE: Here we quantify the effects of altitude on track-and-field athletes to determine whether such designation is appropriate. METHODS: Lifetime track-and-field performances of athletes placed in the top 16 in at least one major international competition between 2000 and 2009 were downloaded from the database at tilastopaja.org. There were 132,104 performances of 1889 athletes at 794 venues. Performances were log-transformed and analyzed using a mixed linear model with fixed effects for 6 levels of altitude and random quadratic effects to adjust for athlete’s age. RESULTS: Men’s and women’s sprint events (100-400 m) showed marginal improvements of ∼0.2% at altitudes of 500-999 m, and above 1500 m all but the 100-and 110-m hurdles showed substantial improvements of 0.3-0.7%. Some middle- and long-distance events (800-10,000 m) showed marginal impairments at altitudes above 150 m, but above 1000 m the impairments increased dramatically to ∼2-4% for events >800 m. There was no consistent trend in the effects of altitude on field events up to 1000 m; above 1000 m hammer throw showed a marginal improvement of ∼1%, discus was impaired by 1-2%, and women’s high jump was impaired by ∼1.5%. Above 1500 m, pole vault, triple jump and long jump showed marginal improvements of ∼1%. CONCLUSIONS: The findings in sprinting and some field events generally support the 1000-m threshold for altitude designation, but there is no need for such designation for middle- and long-distance running, high jump, shot-put, discus and javelin. Supported by Lincoln University Research Fund.