Middle-distance Runner Research Articles

Analysis of the performance of athletes at the Olympic games and world championships from 2008 to 2023 in middle distance running (800, 1500 m)

Starting from 2008 until today, the total number of athletes who represented Ukraine at the Olympic Games and World Championships is 14 people. It was not difficult to calculate that if the runners (men and women) in the selection competitions at the championships of Ukraine showed the selection standard and as a result got into the team for performances in this type of discipline, their number in two types (800, 1500 m) would be 48 participants at the Olympic Games games, and the world championships - 180 people. A simple analysis shows that from 2008 to 2023, Ukrainian middle-distance runners could represent Ukraine in the number of 228 people. It was determined that athletes in many cases at qualifying competitions (Championship of Ukraine and others) do not fulfill their qualifying standards, and lose the opportunity to participate in these forums.
 Based, in our opinion, on the correct understanding of the training system for middle-distance runners and its orientation, the main problems that are an obstacle in the implementation of the direction, an integral set in the accumulation of training potential, both in physical, technical and psychological impact on the athlete's body, have been identified. To solve these problems in the management system of middle-distance runner training, we have developed the main components of physical qualities (speed, dexterity, endurance, strength, flexibility), which include pedagogical and anatomical-physiological indicators that affect the development, maintenance, manifestation and promotion of forecasting entry of athletes into sports form, as well as the athlete's performance at the main annual and quadrennial competitions. The peculiarity of the developed components is that they are related to the education of the main physiological systems of the athlete and are aimed at the development of physical qualities and improvement of technical skills.

Bayesian inference of the impulse-response model of athlete training and performance

ABSTRACT The Banister impulse-response (IR) model was designed to predict an athlete’s performance ability from their past training. Despite its long history, the model’s usefulness remains limited due to difficulties in obtaining precise parameter estimates and performance predictions. To help address these challenges, we developed a Bayesian implementation of the IR model, which formalises the combined use of prior knowledge and data. We report the following methodological contributions: 1) we reformulated the model to facilitate the specification of informative priors, 2) we derived the IR model in Bayesian terms, and 3) we developed a method that enabled the JAGS software to be used while enforcing parameter constraints. To demonstrate proof-of-principle, we applied the model to the data of a national-class middle-distance runner. We specified the priors from published values of IR model parameters, followed by estimating the posterior distributions from the priors and the athlete’s data. The Bayesian approach led to more precise and plausible parameter estimates than nonlinear least squares. We conclude that the Bayesian implementation of the IR model shows promise in addressing a primary challenge to its usefulness for athlete monitoring.

Physiological, Spatiotemporal, Anthropometric, Training, and Performance Characteristics of a 75-Year-Old Multiple World Record Holder Middle-Distance Runner.

This study assessed the cardiorespiratory capacity, anaerobic speed reserve, and anthropometric and spatiotemporal variables of a 75-year-old world-class middle-distance runner who previously obtained several European and world records in the age categories of 60-70years, achieved 13 European titles and 15 world champion titles, and also holds several European records for the 75-year-old category. Heart rate, oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production, ventilation, step frequency, contact time, and velocity at maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) were measured during treadmill running. Maximal sprinting speed was assessed during track sprinting and used to compute anaerobic speed reserve. Body fat percentage was assessed using air displacement plethysmography. Body fat percentage was 8.6%, VO2max was 50.5mL·kg-1·min-1, maximal ventilation was 141L·min-1, maximum heart rate was 164beats·min-1, maximum respiratory exchange ratio was 1.18, and velocity at VO2max was 16.7km·h-1. The average stride frequency and contact time during the last 30 seconds of the 4-minute run at 10km·h-1 were 171steps·min-1 and 241ms and 187steps·min-1 and 190ms in the last 40seconds at 17km·h-1, respectively. The anaerobic speed reserve was 11.4km·h-1, corresponding to an anaerobic speed reserve ratio of 1.68. This 75-year-old runner has an exceptionally high VO2max and anaerobic speed reserve ratio. In addition, his resilience to injuries, possibly due to a relatively high volume of easy runs, enabled him to sustain regular training since his 50s and achieve international performance in his age group.

Interview with Patrik Noack

Dear Dr Noack, can you tell us how and why you got interested in becoming a sports and exercise medicine doctor? PN: Well like most sports medicine doctors, I think everybody has been involved or interested in sports personally. I did athletics myself as a middle distance runner with moderate talent. Later, my first professional interests moved towards becoming a teacher in physical education, but as I went to the military academy in Magglingen, I saw what it meant to do sports every day, and additionally as a hobby on top of the job. That felt like too much sports for me. I then got interested in medicine and it was always my wish to combine profession and hobby, being sports and medicine. So that’s why I landed as a sports medicine doctor.

Effects of 4-week Training Using Laboratory Index on Competition Record of Elite Female Middle-distance Runner: A Case Report

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of a 4-week training using a laboratory index on the competition record of elite female middle-distance runners.METHODS: A female, middle-distance, trained runner with the following characteristics: age, 20 years; height, 168.7 cm; weight, 64.3 kg; 27.2% fat; and VO<sub>2</sub>max, 56.4 VO<sub>2</sub> mL/kg/min; volunteered to participate in this study. Before the training program, the participant took part in a 1,500-m track and field national event in April and the onset of blood lactate threshold was analyzed using (OBVA/ vOBLA), VO<sub>2</sub>max/vVO<sub>2</sub>max, and tVO<sub>2</sub>max tests. After completing the 4-week training program, the participant again took part in the 1,500-m track and field national event in May and her parameters were reassessed using the OBVA/vOBLA, VO<sub>2</sub>max/vVO<sub>2</sub>max, and tVO<sub>2</sub>max tests.RESULTS: Pre- and post-training indicate that vVO<sub>2</sub>max did not improve; however, tVO<sub>2</sub>max (206 seconds pre-training vs. 251.51 seconds post-training) and VO<sub>2</sub>max (56.4 vs. 59.3 VO<sub>2</sub> mL/kg/min)significantly. However, this improvement in relative VO<sub>2</sub> was due to weight loss, and the absolute value of VO<sub>2</sub> (3.63 vs. 3.62 L/min) did not change. The 1,500-m race record in track and field events decreased significantly from a pre-training value of 5 minutes 03 seconds to a post-training value of 4 minutes 52 seconds. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that utilizing laboratory indicators including vOBLA, vVO<sub>2</sub>max, and tVO<sub>2</sub>max may be extremely valuable when prescribing training programs for middle-distance runners.

Coronary artery branch misinterpreted as pathological septal late gadolinium enhancement: a common pitfall during evaluation of athletes with ventricular arrhythmias.

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is increasingly prescribed in sport cardiology during pre-participation screening. Common indications are electrocardiography abnormalities, rhythm disturbances, cardiovascular symptoms like syncope, family history for hereditary cardiomyopathy or sudden death, which are all conditions that increase the likelihood of underlying cardiac disease at risk of arrhythmic events with exercise. However, despite its unique capability of tissue characterization and accurate thickness, volume, and function estimation, CMR can be prone to false-positive findings, especially during late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) assessment, leading to cardiac disease overdiagnosis and inappropriate disqualification from competitive sports activity. Herein, we report the case of a 45-year-old male middle distance runner, who came to our attention for frequent premature ventricular beats. Arrhythmias had a prevalent right bundle branch morphology and showed a mild worsening in amount and complexity during effort. Echocardiogram was unremarkable. Conversely, the CMR post-contrast images detected a mid-wall hyperintense signal on basal interventricular septum,...

Use of a smartphone ECG to diagnose arrhythmias in athletes: a case series

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background While athletes are generally very fit, intense exercise can increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), resulting in distressing symptoms during or after exercise. Moreover, other arrhythmias such as atrial flutter or supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) can also cause troublesome, exercise-related symptoms. Accurate diagnosis is essential to guide appropriate treatment. Given the symptoms are infrequent and/or occur in specific circumstances, traditional monitoring devices are often impractical to use during exercise or too invasive. Recently, smartphone ECGs such as the Alivecor KardiaMobile device (iECG) has been shown to be interpretable by a cardiologist in 95% of cases and may be the portable tool required to help identify arrhythmias in this challenging population. Purpose This case series was designed to highlight the use of iECG devices in aiding the diagnosis of arrhythmias in exercise-related symptoms. Methods Five cases are reported where the iECG was used to document at least one episode of exercise-related symptoms. Participants were eligible if they were over 18 years of age and had had an iECG trace taken during an episode of exercise-related symptoms (e.g. light-headedness, shortness of breath, palpitations). which could be associated with an arrhythmia All participants were identified by authors from previous clinical experiences (or from clinical colleagues) and provided written, informed consent. Results The cases included one amateur middle-distance runner in his 40s, two amateur ultra-endurance runners in their 30s and two young elite cricketers (Figure 1). In four of the cases, an accurate diagnosis of an arrhythmia (atrial flutter, AF and 2x SVT) was obtained using the iECG device, which helped to guide definitive treatment (e.g. medication or ablation). Two of these cases had been investigated using traditional methods such as stress ECG or Holter monitor over many months without achieving a diagnosis. The final case did not obtain a cardiac diagnosis using the iECG device despite using it on multiple occasions during symptomatic events. This reassured this athlete that the symptoms experienced were not cardiac related and she is now confident to exercise. Conclusion The iECG was able to accurately detect arrhythmias and provide a diagnosis in cases where traditional monitoring had not. The utility of detecting no arrhythmia during symptoms in one case was also highlighted, providing the athlete with the confidence to continue exercising. This reassurance and confidence across all cases is perhaps the most valuable aspect of this device, where clinicians and athletes can be more certain of reaching a diagnosis and undertaking appropriate management. Abstract Figure 1: iECG traces

Running on Air

During the Second World War, middle-distance runner Gunder Hägg set 15 world records and became a media sport star of unprecedented magnitude in Sweden. This article focuses on the role of radio broadcasts in the formation of the Swedish ‘Hägg mania’. When analysed in terms of blindness and co-presence, radio broadcasts from this era reveal how the announcers actively engaged with audiences to establish moments of suspense and ritualised drama. The concept of dimensional listening is used to explain how radio as a ‘blind’ medium could evoke forceful imagery, while the audience’s use of stopwatches to time running events offers an example of how broadcasters encouraged audience interactivity, reinforcing the experience of simultaneity and national community.

A local criterion of fairness in sport: Comparing the property advantages of Caster Semenya and Eero Mäntyranta with implications for the construction of categories in sport.

This paper aims to bring a novel approach to the discussion of unfair advantages in sport by looking for a local criterion of fairness instead of a universal criterion. A local criterion of fairness would not solve the general dispute over what counts as an unfair advantage, but it would be beneficial in evaluating specific cases and could guide further discussion about them. We seek a local criterion of fairness by comparing the specific property advantages of Caster Semenya and Eero Mäntyranta. South African Semenya is a middle-distance runner whose right to compete in the female category has been challenged owing to her assumed difference of sex development and related high level of testosterone. Finnish Mäntyranta was a cross-country skier with an exceptionally high haematocrit level. We examine whether there is a relevant difference between their advantages that would justify treating the athletes differently. We propose that the criterion 'not attainable by other athletes in the same category' could stand as a local criterion of fairness under certain conditions. However, its proper application requires further discussion on how to justify categories in sport.

Too fast to be female? Unravelling the controversy over androgens in female elite athletes

Told through the example of South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya, this discussion starter examines the controversial area of gender in sport from a scientific viewpoint. Women have been segregated from men in most sporting disciplines for as long as they have been permitted to compete, but seated in a society only just beginning to delineate the concepts of sex and gender identity, consensus needs to be reached on how or if we should categorise elite athletes, whilst upholding the integrity and fairness of competitive sport. The parameters used to sort athletes into today’s binary gender categories have recently come under scrutiny in the cases of athletes with Differences of Sex Development (DSD). Semenya has elevated serum testosterone and her eligibility to continue competing and winning with females has now been brought into contention by the IAAF resulting in a legal battle. However, the scientific evidence on which the IAAF ruling is based is far from robust. Athletics, a sport tainted by a history of doping with anabolic steroids, is fighting to maintain values of fairness by aiming to govern the levels endogenous steroids permitted in competition. Semenya’s is a pertinent example of a wider issue which is of interest from a scientific, ethical, political, legal and social standpoint because of the complexity of hormone systems and the fact that circulating levels of hormone do not necessarily equate with actions of those hormones. With confusing mainstream media coverage lacking consensus, the scientific community deserve clarity on the issue to allow us to engage in meaningful discussion and contribute to the debate.

All together now.

Growing up in 1960s East End of Glasgow, our family GP was straight from the pages of AJ Cronin. Chain-smoking, single-handed and practising from a lean-to garage; his craggy smile, partly obscured by an ashtray mountainous with fag-ends, became visible at 5 yards through a thick carcinogenic pall. Rumour had it he’d once been a fine middle-distance runner but his face was hardly Seb Coe; more Glencoe really. My mother lived by the dedicated doctor’s word. The only advice I recall her ever declining was his suggestion that — being a rather introverted child — I would benefit from the close companionship of a pet. He prescribed a dog. No animal lover, mum compromised on a goldfish. My equally solitary Goldie survived just a fortnight, taken to an early grave courtesy of my older brother in that awkward phase of tormenting younger siblings and torturing innocent creatures (he went on to excel …

Breaking Coaching’s Rules: Transforming the Body, Sport, and Performance

“Who knew that doing the wrong things could make everything so right?” There can be little doubt that sports’ dominant bioscientific articulation of the athletic body exerts a strong influence on coaches. Yet, on closer examination, this articulation and the practices it produces are not as straightforward as most coaches and scholars assume. Within the sociocultural study of coaching, scholars have drawn on Michel Foucault’s disciplinary framework to analyze many unseen problems and unintended consequences associated with coaches’ normal or everyday (bioscientific) practices. However, one significant aspect of Foucault’s theoretical framework that has received less attention from coaching scholars is how power and discourse work together to produce several coaching “truths.” To address this gap, in this article, we analyze the first author’s experiences as an international middle-distance runner by showing and telling what problems and constraints are produced when coaches, and by association their athletes, defer to a dominant bioscientific articulation of the athletic body in their training. We conclude by discussing the transformative possibilities when these “truths” are broken.

Stress fracture of medial sesamoid of the hallux in a middle-distance runner

A 22 year old man, left-handed, without medical history, middle-distance runner, consulting for the pain on the right forefoot. The patient reported that the pain has evolved for 3 weeks with an exacerbation during the last 3 weeks. Its located on the hallux and worsened by training. The patient doesn´t remember any intense trauma to the foot. He had previously consulted several doctors who prescribed NSAIDs without any sport restriction. The walking examination found a pain on the propulsion phase of the right foot. Right monopodial support was painless. Palpation found a pain in the volar face of the first MTP joint. Right forefoot X-rays showed a fracture of the medial sesamoid of the hallux (A and B). The treatment consisted of a first MTP joint discharge by a Barouk shoe associated with NSAIDs for 2 weeks. Sports activities requiring support were stopped for 10 weeks. The sport level was maintained by daily swimming sessions and biking. Physical rehabilitation by cryotherapy and mechanical compression was also used. At 15 weeks follow up, the patient returned to his professional sports activities without any pain. He reached the performance level sport at 18 weeks.

Planning for optimal performance – What happens before the taper?

This study analysed the contemporary performance data of middle-distance athletes to determine (a) the number of competitive performances prior to the season’s fastest performance and (b) the time frame between their first and fastest competitive performances of that season. Using a publicly available database, data on the number of races and days between athletes first and fastest races were extracted. The analysis utilised 4800 observations from 1166 individual athletes for the period 2006–2017. Male 800 m athletes achieved their fastest performance in eight races (IQR = 4–12) distributed over 55 days (IQR = 29–87). Female 800 m athletes also required eight races (IQR = 5–12), distributed over 63 days (IQR = 34–91). In the 1500 m event, male athletes, required six races (IQR = 3–9) over 48 days (IQR = 25–76), while female athletes, required seven races (IQR = 4–10) over 56 days (IQR = 28–84). For both sexes, 1500 m athletes raced less and over a shorter period than 800 m athletes before reaching their fastest performance. Female athletes had a longer time frame and number of races than male athletes. This study provides an evidence-based indicator of when a middle-distance runner’s fastest performance is likely to occur, providing benchmarks that could act as a guide for coaches when designing competition programmes, prior to any tapering process.

Effect of change of the training load for middle-distance runner on physiological indexes and running performance:

Effect of change of the training load for middle-distance runner on physiological indexes and running performance:

Reconstructing the First Metatarsophalangeal Joint of Homo naledi.

The aim of the present study was to develop a new method to reconstruct damaged metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) of Homo naledi's fossil and to deepen the understanding of the first metatarsal head (FMH) morphological adaptation in different gait patterns. To this purpose three methods were introduced. The first served to compare the anthropometric linear and volumetric measurements of Homo naledi's MTPJ to that of 10 various athletes. The second was employed to measure curvature diameter in FMH's medial and lateral grooves for sesamoid bones. The third was used to determine the parallelism between medial and lateral FMH grooves. The anthropometric measurements of middle-distance runner to the greatest extent mimicked that of Homo naledi. Thus, it was used to successfully reconstruct the damaged Homo naledi's MTPJ. The highest curvature diameter of medial FMH groove was found in Homo naledi, while in lateral FMH groove it was the highest in volleyball player, suggesting their increased bear loading. The parallelism of medial and lateral FMH grooves was observed only in Homo naledi, while in investigated athletes it was dis-parallel. Athletes' dis-paralleled structures make first MTPJ simple flexion movement a complicated one: not rotating about one axis, but about many, which may result in bringing a negative effect on running. In conclusion, the presented method for the reconstruction of the damaged foot bone paves the way for morphological and structural analysis of modern population and fossil hominins' gait pattern.

Unwarranted and Invasive Scrutiny: Caster Semenya, Sex-Gender Testing and the Production of Woman In ‘Women’s’ Track and Field

This article discusses the imbrication of racialising and sexualising scientific practices of gender testing and verification in elite athletics competition, and their intersection with social politics, using as a theoretical frame the feminist, anti-racist work of Hortense Spillers (2003), Judith Butler (1990, 1993a, 1993b, 2004) and Anne Fausto-Sterling (2000), among others. It traces the practice of sex-gender testing of ‘women’ at sanctioned International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) track and field competitions in order to contextualise South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya’s experiences at the 2009 Berlin World Championships and the subsequent spectacularisation of her body through the discursive practices of representation.

Can High Intensity Interval Training Effect Division I College 800/1500m Runner’s Performance

HITT is a common training method incorporated for all fitness levels and been shown to improve athlete performance. However, these results were shown in sedentary and recreationally active populations and little research has been done with the Division I collegiate athlete population. PURPOSE: This study questioned whether HIIT could increase performance within this level of athletes, specifically middle distance runners (800/1500 m). METHODS: A total of six Division I Collegiate level (800/1500 m) runners completed the study (three males, three female). The participant completed four weeks of HIIT, consisting on two HIIT workouts per week. The HIIT consisted of four 20-s Wingate tests with 4-min recovery between each. Both pre- and post- performance tests were completed, consisting of a run to volitional exhaustion, RPE, HR, which were collected on a treadmill. Stride length and stride frequency, were also measure during a 1500 m time trial on the track. RESULTS: Significant differences were not found for performance pre- and post- training intervention, with respect to time to completion of the 1500 m time trial (pre-intervention: 5.0 ± 0.7 min; post-intervention: 4.8 ± 0.5 min; p = 0.23), and time to volitional exhaustion (pre-intervention: 20.1 ± 1.2 min; post-intervention: 19.7 ± 1.3 min; p = 0.14). RPE (p = 0.64), HR (p = 0.09), stride length (p = 0.09), and stride frequency (p = 0.78), showed no significant changes pre- and post-intervention. CONCLUSIONS: HIIT did not impact 800/1500 m middle distance runner’s performance, suggesting it can maintain performance, providing alternative training methods.

Neural therapy of an athlete\u2019s chronic plantar fasciitis: a case report and review of the literature

BackgroundThe focus of this case report is on the role of inflammation as a contributor to pain in plantar fasciitis and its cure by the injection of local anesthetics.Case presentationThis is a case report on a 24-year-old white man, a middle-distance runner, with chronic unilateral plantar fasciitis and perceived heel pain for almost 1.5 years. He was treated with neural therapy (that is, injection of < 1 ml procaine 1% which is a local anesthetic with strong anti-inflammatory properties) of the surgical scar and along the surgical puncture channel. The follow-up period from the time of first presentation until publication was 2.5 years. At admission, pain intensity (visual analog scale) in the affected leg was severe (10 cm, visual analog scale; range 0–10 cm) when walking and moderate (5 cm, visual analog scale) when standing. After the first session of injections he could stand pain-free and pain when walking was markedly reduced (− 90%). After the third session, he reported no pain in the affected leg and could return to sports at his former level (no difference in training load compared to non-injured state). There was no recurrence of inflammatory signs or heel pain despite intense athletics training up to the date of publication.ConclusionsIn prolonged cases of plantar fasciitis, inflammation is an important component in the development of persistent pain. The results of our case describe the effects of three neural therapy sessions that abolished inflammation and associated heel pain. Neural therapy might be an effective and time-efficient approach in the treatment of plantar fasciitis, enabling an early return to sports.

Efficacy of depth jumps to elicit a post-activation performance enhancement in junior endurance runners

ObjectivesTo determine the effect of performing depth jumps (DJ) pre-exercise on running economy (RE) and time to exhaustion (TTE) at the speed associated with maximal oxygen uptake (sV˙O2max) in a group of high-performing junior middle-distance runners. DesignRandomized crossover study. MethodsSeventeen national- and international-standard male distance runners (17.6±1.2years, 63.4±6.3kg, 1.76±0.06m, 70.7±5.2mLkg−1min−1) completed two trials. Following a 5min warm-up at 60% V˙O2max, participants performed a 5min run at 20%Δ below oxygen uptake corresponding with lactate turn-point to determine pre-intervention RE. Participants then completed either six DJ from a box equivalent to their best counter-movement jump (CMJ) or a control condition (C) involving body weight quarter squats. After a 10min passive recovery, another 5min sub-maximal run was performed followed by a run to exhaustion at sV˙O2max. ResultsCompared to the C trial, DJ produced moderate improvements (−3.7%, 95% confidence interval for effect size: 0.25–1.09) in RE, which within the context of minimal detectable change is considered possibly beneficial. Differences in TTE and other physiological variables were most likely trivial (ES: <0.2). Individual responses were small, however a partial correlation revealed a moderate relationship (r=−0.55, p=0.028) between change in RE and CMJ height. ConclusionsThe inclusion of a set of six DJ in the warm-up routine of a well-trained young male middle-distance runner is likely to provide a moderate improvement in RE.