Subsequent Race Performance Research Articles

Competition warm-up strategies in sub-elite and elite flat-water sprint kayak athletes

ABSTRACT This study compared warm-up strategies employed by sub-elite and world-class elite sprint kayak athletes, evaluating their impact on subsequent race performance. Forty-seven (n = 33 male, n = 14 female) athletes competing at a National Sprint Kayak Championships had Global Navigation Satellite System devices fitted to their kayak to measure speed, distance and stroke rate during the on-water warm-up before racing (OWWU), and during racing. The OWWU total duration, average/peak speeds and stroke rates, and the time spent in speed-zones classified based upon athletes’ relative race-pace (low-to-moderate, moderate-to-high, and race-specific) were compared between events, sexes, and athlete standard. The relationship of these variables to subsequent race performance, expressed as a percentage of the best time-to-completion for each event (%racebest), was also examined. Women spent greater OWWU time at moderate-to-high and race-specific speeds compared to men prior to 200-m and 500-m races (P ≤.001). Sub-elite men reported greater total OWWU duration for 200-m and 500-m (P ≤.025), but not for 1000-m races (P >.05) compared to elite men. Finally, %racebest had large inverse correlations to OWWU peak speed for men’s 200-m (r = −.53), and average stroke rate for women’s 500-m races (r = −.50). This study provides valuable insight for competition warm-up routines based upon data from an elite athlete population.

The effect of stress fracture occurring within the first 12 months of training on subsequent race performance in Thoroughbreds in Hong Kong.

Racehorses are at an increased risk of stress fracture within the first 12months of racing and when resuming training after a break. Research in these high-risk periods and on the effect of performance post-recovery is limited. To describe the occurrence of stress fractures, diagnosed by nuclear scintigraphy (NS), in racehorses' first 12months training in Hong Kong, and their impact on racing performance and career length. Retrospective 1:2 matched case-control study. Clinical records of horses with NS-diagnosed stress fractures within 365days of import between 2006 and 2018 were collated. Cases and controls were matched on import date. Univariable conditional logistic regression compared signallment, pre-fracture training and post-recovery racing performance between cases and matched controls. Shared Frailty Cox regression analysed time from import to fracture and total career length. Eighty-seven horses sustained a NS-diagnosed fracture within their first year in Hong Kong (incidence risk 1.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4%-2.1%; N=5180]). The humerus (42.0%; 95% CI 31.8%-52.6%; n=39) and tibia (28.0%; 95% CI 19.1%-38.2%; n=26) were the most common stress fracture sites. Cases missed a median of 63days (Interquartile range (IQR) 49-82) of training because of fracture. Within the 12months following diagnosis, case horses had a median of four (IQR 2-4, P<.0001) fewer race starts and were down HK$ 206188 (IQR HK$ 0-436800, P=.007) in race earnings compared to controls. Career length did not significantly differ between cases and controls (median 2years and 3months; IQR 15.3-39.1months; P=.2). Only stress fractures diagnosed by NS were included, hence, the study is not representative of all stress fractures occurring in racehorses in Hong Kong. Racehorses sustaining a stress fracture within 1year of entering Hong Kong lost significant time in training, earnings and race starts. However, overall career length was unaffected.

Anxiety and Performance on the Tour de France and Tour de France Feminin

We examined the predictive relationship between pre-competition state anxiety and subsequent race performance among male and female professional athletes participating in the Tour de France and Tour de France Feminin bicycle races. Our results differed for men and women. Male cyclists reporting high self-confidence and low state anxiety performed better than their competitors reporting high state anxiety and low self-confidence. Female cyclists who reported high self-confidence performed worse than their competitors reporting low self-confidence. Departure of pre-race state anxiety, from a self-reported anxiety level experienced prior to a previous best performance, was predictive of poorer performance independently of each female athlete's absolute level of pre-race anxiety. Our results are partly consistent with a relaxation model of enhanced performance for the men and Hanin's Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning model for the women. Experimental and applied interventions for managing anxiety with top athletes in cycling should consider gender differences, self-confidence, and the anxiety-performance history of each athlete.

Correlation of racing performance with blood lactate and heart rate after exercise in Thoroughbred horses

At 2 and 5 mins after an 800-m gallop, venous blood was collected from 26 Thoroughbred racehorses for measurement of blood lactate concentration, packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin concentration. In addition, 14 racehorses were given a strenuous submaximal treadmill exercise test. Heart rates during and after exercise at 10 m/sec on a treadmill inclined at 5 degrees were recorded. Blood samples at 2 and 5 mins after exercise were used to measure PCV, blood and plasma lactate and ammonia concentrations. Results of each exercise test were compared with the retrospective performance of horses in races, using Timeform ratings. The results of the field tests were also compared with the performance of each horse in a race 2 days later. There were no significant correlations between any of the measurements taken after the field test and either subsequent race performance or Timeform rating. Heart rate 4 mins after treadmill exercise was significantly correlated with Timeform rating (r = -0.565, P < 0.05). Blood and plasma lactate concentrations 2 and 5 mins after treadmill exercise were all significantly correlated with Timeform. The highest correlations were with blood lactate concentrations 2 and 5 mins after exercise (r = -0.68, P < 0.01). There were no significant correlations between Timeform and heart rate during exercise at 10 m/sec, heart rates at 1, 3 and 5 mins after exercise, PCV and plasma ammonia at 2 and 5 mins, or the differences between lactate concentration in plasma or blood at 2 and 5 mins after exercise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)