Intra-athlete and inter-group comparisons: Running pace and step characteristics of elite athletes in the 400-m hurdles

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the running pace and step characteristics among various competitive-level 400-m hurdlers through inter-group and intra-athlete comparisons. We analysed spatiotemporal data involving the split time, mean step length (SL) and mean step frequency (SF) for 13 male world-class and 14 male national-level 400-m hurdlers. We analysed 16.5 ± 3.9 races for each world-class hurdler and 19.8 ± 6.0 races for each national-level hurdler (the total number of analysed runs was 491) using publicly available television and internet broadcasts. Inter-group comparisons showed that both first- and latter-halves split times of the world-class hurdlers were significantly shorter than those of the national-level hurdlers. In the latter-half phase, no significant differences of SL and SF were observed between the world-class and national level hurdlers. Intra-athlete comparisons showed that no athletes favoured only first-half phase in terms of running speed in short finish times. In contrast, finish times of all hurdlers were sensitive to running speed in the latter-half phase. In the latter half of the race, 18 of the 27 hurdlers were identified as being SF reliant during speed enhancements; running speed of the other 9 hurdlers were also sensitive to high SF. In conclusions, important findings regarding high performance in inter-group comparisons do not always corresponded with those in intra-athlete comparisons. All athletes and coaches should first prioritize maintaining high running speeds in the latter half of 400-m hurdles rather than in the first half of the race.

Hurdle Clearance Detection and Spatiotemporal Analysis in 400 Meters Hurdles Races Using Shoe-Mounted Magnetic and Inertial Sensors

“…These results support the evidence from previous studies [21,30], who also observed a significant increase in contact time and a decrease in running speeds for 400-m sprints. Note that the average and SD of step frequency measured in this study (3.52 ± 0.19) are comparable with those of national-level hurdlers presented in [28]. We also observed that the step frequency significantly decreased starting from the third interval.…”

“…As one of the goals of this study was to provide feedback to the participants and trainers, we extracted key performance features from the races [27,28], such as contact time (CT), flight time (FLY), step frequency (STF) and speed (SPE). Moreover, we obtained the speed using the distance between the hurdles (D H ) and the time difference between two consecutive HC.…”

Pacing Strategy in Men’s 400 m Hurdles Accounting for Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Elite Athletes

“…Cooper (1966) , the silver medalist of the 1964 Games, identifies the so-called “coasts” (instants marked by stabilization of the pace) and “kicks” (rapid acceleration) as elements that play decisive roles in the competition ( Cooper, 1966 ). After the introduction of synthetic tracks, basic elements of temporal structure (“split times”) and spatial structure (“stride pattern”) provided interesting insights for scientific analysis ( Ditroilo and Marini, 2000 ; Guex 2012 ; Otsuka and Isaka, 2019 ). Changes in stride variables in different parts of the distance impact the strategy of hurdle races ( Martens et al, 2017 ).…”

Postural Stability in Athletes during Special Hurdle Tests without a Definite Dominant Leg

“…In a 400 m hurdles race, athletes using one attack leg cover the distance using a “rhythm” (i.e., a stride pattern) with 13.15 (men) or 17 steps (women) [ 16 , 20 ]. Due to increasing fatigue, the running step is shortened, and competitors are forced to increase the number of steps (e.g., from 13 to 14) and thus to change the trail leg, e.g., from right to left [ 6 , 19 , 32 , 33 ]. The authors of the training textbooks noted significant differences between the training of athletes with only “one leg” and those who attack hurdles with both their left and right legs [ 11 , 15 ].…”