Athlete Atypicity on the Edge of Human Achievement: Performances Stagnate after the Last Peak, in 1988

Berthelot, Geoffroy; Tafflet, Muriel; Helou, Nour El; Len, Stéphane; Escolano, Sylvie; Guillaume, Marion; Nassif, Hala; Tolaïni, Julien; Thibault, V.; Desgorces, François Denis; Hermine, Olivier; Toussaint, Jean‐François

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008800

Cited by 49 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The improvement of swim speed throughout years is in agreement with the findings of Berthelot et al 50 and Nevill et al 38 . Berthelot et al 50 analysed data of swimming events from 1963 to 2008, and despite other sports, e.g. track and field, performances in swimming still improved.…”

Section: Improvement Of Swimming Speed Across Yearssupporting

confidence: 92%

Comparison of age of peak swimming speed in elite backstroke swimmers at national and international level

Kollarz¹,

Knechtle²,

Rst³

et al. 2013

OA Sports Medicine

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Background:Previous studies suggested that the age of peak performance in freestyle swimming was 17 years for women and 19 years for men. Data on the age of peak swimming performance in other swim strokes such as backstroke are lacking. The present study investigated the changes in (i) swimming speed and (ii) age of peak swimming speed across years for elite female and male backstroke swimmers competing at both national and international level. Methods:The changes in age and swimming speed in 50m, 100m and 200m were analyzed for elite backstroke and freestyle swimmers at national level (i.e. Switzerland) and international level (i.e.finalists of World Championships) on 50m long coursefrom 1994 to 2011. Results: For all distances and disciplines, women reached the age of peak swimming speed at a younger age ( 18-23 years) than men ( 21-26 years). The age of peak swimming speed in backstroke and freestyle swimmers at national level was 1-2 years younger than in swimmers at international level. The age of peak swimming speed increased significantly (p<0.01) between 1994 and 2011 in 50m backstroke for women from 16 to 22 years and in 50m freestyle for men from 22 to 23 years in swimmers at national level. No changes in the age of peak swimming speed were observed in swimmers at international level for both swim styles across time for both sexes (p>0.05). Swimming speed increased across years in all distances and disciplines except for 50m backstroke in women at international level (p>0.05). Conclusion: Women reached in all disciplines the age of peak swimming speed at a younger age than men. Swimmers at national level were younger than swimmers at international level. Swimming speed increased in all distances and disciplines across years in swimmers competing at both national and international level. AbstractIntroduction Previous studies suggested that the age of peak performance in freestyle swimming was ~17 years for women and ~19 years for men. Data on the age of peak swimming performance in other swim strokes such as backstroke are lacking. The present study investigated the changes in swimming speed and age of peak swimming speed across years for elite female and male backstroke swimmers competing at both national and international levels. Materials and methodsThe changes in age and swimming speed in 50 m, 100 m and 200 m were analysed for elite backstroke and freestyle swimmers at national level (i.e. Switzerland) and international level (i.e. finalists of World Championships) on the 50-m long course from 1994 to 2011. Results For all distances and disciplines, women reached the age of peak swimming speed at a younger age (~18-23 years) than men (~21-26 years). The age of peak swimming speed in backstroke and freestyle swimmers at national level was ~1-2 years younger than in swimmers at international level. The age of peak swimming speed increased significantly (P < 0.01) between 1994 and 2011 in 50-m backstroke for women from

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Section: Improvement Of Swimming Speed Across Yearssupporting

confidence: 92%

Comparison of age of peak swimming speed in elite backstroke swimmers at national and international level

Kollarz¹,

Knechtle²,

Rst³

et al. 2013

OA Sports Medicine

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“…The coefficient of variation between the top ten cyclists' mean speed (Figure 3) rapidly decreased from 1909 until 1950 (0.021 to 0.003), and then varied in a small range (0.001). These values are much smaller in cycling than in swimming or track and field (Berthelot et al, 2010). In road cycling, the whole group sets the pace; when the winner's speed record is improved, the group record improves in parallel, and vice versa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The impact of technology on cycling performance can be compared with its impact on swimming (Berthelot et al, 2010). Indeed, recent progression phases began in 1999 when swimsuits were allowed by the International Swimming Federation (FINA), and in 2008 after further refinement (Neptune, McGowan, & Fiandt, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tour de France, Giro, Vuelta, and classic European races show a unique progression of road cycling speed in the last 20 years

Helou¹,

Berthelot²,

Thibault³

et al. 2010

Journal of Sports Sciences

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Road cycling ranks among the most intense endurance exercises. Previous studies and mathematical models describing road cycling have not analysed performances per se. We describe the evolution of road cycling performance over the past 116 years. We studied the top ten cyclists' mean speeds in eight famous classic races and three European Grand Tours, using a previously published multiexponential model that highlights the different progression periods of an event during the century. In addition, we measured an indicator of difficulty for the Tour de France by calculating the climbing index (i.e. the total altitude climbed over total distance). The eleven races' mean speed increased progressively from 23.13 km · h -1 in 1892 to 41.19+2.03 km • h -1 in 2008. Road cycling development, like other quantifiable disciplines, fits a piecewise progression pattern that follows three periods: before, between, and after the two World Wars. However, a fourth period begins after 1993, providing a speed progression of 6.38% from the third one. The Tour de France's climbing index also provided insight into a recent paradoxical relationship with speeds: when the climbing index increased, the winner's speed also increased. Our results show a major improvement (6.38%) in road cycling performance in the last 20 years and question the role of extra-physiological parameters in this recent progression.

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“…Sport performances analysis revealed a large progression rate after 1896 (Berthelot et al 2008, 2010a, b; Desgorces et al 2008). These enhancements coincided with major improvements in other human activities: energy production, water supply, transports, knowledge and science.…”

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confidence: 99%

Exponential growth combined with exponential decline explains lifetime performance evolution in individual and human species

Berthelot

Len

Hellard

et al. 2011

AGE

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114

144

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The physiological parameters characterizing human capacities (the ability to move, reproduce or perform tasks) evolve with ageing: performance is limited at birth, increases to a maximum and then decreases back to zero at the day of death. Physical and intellectual skills follow such a pattern. Here, we investigate the development of sport and chess performances during the lifetime at two different scales: the individual athletes’ careers and the world record by age class in 25 Olympic sports events and in grandmaster chess players. For all data sets, a biphasic development of growth and decline is described by a simple model that accounts for 91.7% of the variance at the individual level and 98.5% of the variance at the species one. The age of performance peak is computed at 26.1 years old for the events studied (26.0 years old for track and field, 21.0 years old for swimming and 31.4 years old for chess). The two processes (growth and decline) are exponential and start at age zero. Both were previously demonstrated to happen in other human and non-human biological functions that evolve with age. They occur at the individual and species levels with a similar pattern, suggesting a scale invariance property.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11357-011-9274-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.

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Athlete Atypicity on the Edge of Human Achievement: Performances Stagnate after the Last Peak, in 1988

Cited by 49 publications

References 30 publications

Comparison of age of peak swimming speed in elite backstroke swimmers at national and international level

Comparison of age of peak swimming speed in elite backstroke swimmers at national and international level

Tour de France, Giro, Vuelta, and classic European races show a unique progression of road cycling speed in the last 20 years

Exponential growth combined with exponential decline explains lifetime performance evolution in individual and human species

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