Schreuder, Y. (Yvon) (2021) Riding Alone or Pacing Together? The Effect of Distance and Opponents on Pacing Behaviour in Elite Short Track Speed Skating. thesis, Sport Sciences.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the influence of distance and opponents on the pacing behaviour of elite short track speed skaters throughout a race. Methods: Athletes (n=11) skated a 500-, a 1000-, and a 1500-m under two conditions; solo and with opponents. Lap times and finish times were collected for every race. Lap times were grouped to form five race segments and then transformed into scores representing the percentage difference from the average change in lap time for each segment (ACLS). A factorial repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to analyze the effect of distance (500-m, 1000-m, 1500-m) and opponents (solo, opponents) on the pacing behaviour of the athletes for each segment (ACLS1eo, ACLS2eo, ACLS3eo, ACLS4eo). A separate factorial repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to analyze the effect of distance and opponents on the opening segment of the race (ACLSopening). Results: There is a difference in pacing behaviour between each of the six conditions throughout the race (F(8,22) = 8.152, p<.01, η2p = 0.75) and during the opening segment of the race (F(1.18,8.24) = 2287.92, p<.01, η2p = 0.82). The pacing behaviour of elite short track speed skaters was different between the 500-m solo on the one hand, and the 1000- and 1500-m solo on the other hand, as well as during the 1500-m with opponents on the one hand, and the 500- and 1000-m with opponents on the other hand. In addition, the presence of opponents influenced the pacing behaviour during the 1000-m and the 1500-m, but not during the 500-m. Conclusion: Both distance and opponents influence the pacing behaviour of elite short track athletes, but the effect of opponents is larger than the effect of distance. This resulted in different pacing behaviours for the different conditions; a positive pacing profile for each of the solo races and the 500-m race with opponents, and parabolic pacing profiles for the 1000- and 1500-m with opponents. The difference in end-goal between the solo- and the opponents condition, i.e. finishing time vs finishing position, resulted in the differences in pacing behaviour as pacing is goal-directed behaviour. This study once again highlighted the importance of taking the athlete-environment interaction into account when studying pacing behaviour.
| Item Type: | Thesis (UNSPECIFIED) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Elferink-Gemser, dr. M. and Menting, S. |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 13 May 2022 14:34 |
| Last Modified: | 13 May 2022 14:34 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3318 |
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