About this Research Topic
Swimming, cycling and track and field are some of the most watched sports in today's Olympic Games, with a broad variety of races lasting from a few seconds to several hours. In this sense, sprint and endurance events share the same approach to scientific analysis, mainly from a physiological and biomechanical perspective, albeit with different determinants. For instance, from a metabolic standpoint, both sprint and endurance performance are influenced by aerobic and anaerobic pathways. However, sprint performance relies more on the rapid acquisition of energy through anaerobic pathways.
Despite similarities in the duration and intensity of events, the training regimens of swimmers, cyclists and track & field athletes are generally quite different. As such, swimmers typically apply over-distance training, while track & field athletes typically focus on under-distance regimes. Therefore, there may be lessons for both sports to learn from each other.
There is evidence of the importance of different factors such as the anaerobic pathway development or strength-related variables in swimming, cycling and track & field sprint performance, however, a lack of knowledge persists regarding the optimal way to maximize them. In this regard, emerging evidence suggests the relevance of short efforts to performance development. Likewise, technological advances now allow testing to be extrapolated from dryland conditions to water. In particular, the development of portable robotic resistance devices allows testing of the load-velocity profile during either swimming or running. Despite these recent advances, there is still a wide range of issues that need to be addressed, such as:
- factors that determine sprint performance and strategies employed to maximize them
- specific methodologies that should be incorporated into sprinters' monitoring and that allow to maximize the information obtained in a valid, reliable, and sensitive way
- acute protocols (e.g. post-activation performance enhancement) that help to maximize the individual’s potential. In summary, any aspect that may help in the development of athletes in their pursuit for better sprint performance.
In this Research Topic, we seek to gather information on the determinants of sprint performance in swimming, cycling and track & field, to develop faster athletes. This reflection should be carried out from a scientific and/or practical view. The manuscript should focus on the generation of knowledge (original work, case study, brief report, etc) that is practically applicable to training and competition routines. Moreover, state-of-the-art updates and summaries (i.e., reviews) as well as lessons learned from other sports (e.g., track cycling and ice speed skating) are welcome.
Despite similarities in the duration and intensity of events, the training regimens of swimmers, cyclists and track & field athletes are generally quite different. As such, swimmers typically apply over-distance training, while track & field athletes typically focus on under-distance regimes. Therefore, there may be lessons for both sports to learn from each other.
There is evidence of the importance of different factors such as the anaerobic pathway development or strength-related variables in swimming, cycling and track & field sprint performance, however, a lack of knowledge persists regarding the optimal way to maximize them. In this regard, emerging evidence suggests the relevance of short efforts to performance development. Likewise, technological advances now allow testing to be extrapolated from dryland conditions to water. In particular, the development of portable robotic resistance devices allows testing of the load-velocity profile during either swimming or running. Despite these recent advances, there is still a wide range of issues that need to be addressed, such as:
- factors that determine sprint performance and strategies employed to maximize them
- specific methodologies that should be incorporated into sprinters' monitoring and that allow to maximize the information obtained in a valid, reliable, and sensitive way
- acute protocols (e.g. post-activation performance enhancement) that help to maximize the individual’s potential. In summary, any aspect that may help in the development of athletes in their pursuit for better sprint performance.
In this Research Topic, we seek to gather information on the determinants of sprint performance in swimming, cycling and track & field, to develop faster athletes. This reflection should be carried out from a scientific and/or practical view. The manuscript should focus on the generation of knowledge (original work, case study, brief report, etc) that is practically applicable to training and competition routines. Moreover, state-of-the-art updates and summaries (i.e., reviews) as well as lessons learned from other sports (e.g., track cycling and ice speed skating) are welcome.
Keywords: Swimming, track and field, athletics, biomechanics, physiology, performance
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