Drafting, pacing, winning
Why the fastest 1,500-meter runner did not become the Paris 2024 Olympic champion
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51224/SRXIV.514Keywords:
Fatigue, track running, race strategies, performanceAbstract
Introduction: Considering the season bests before the Olympics as well as individual critical velocities, the question arose, why the obviously fastest runner of the 2024 season, Ingebrigtsen, did not became Olympic champion over the 1,500 m despite being in a top form in Paris. Beside the fact that the winner of the race improved his personal best by 2.9 s in the, the answer may lie in the tactical decision making during the race. Methods: To answer this question a race and performance analysis of Hocker (winner), Kerr (2nd place) and Ingebrigtsen (4th place, world lead 2024) as well as a literature search was carried out to narratively review potential factors of middle-distance race performance in elite athletes that may be modulated by tactical decisions. Results: Based on the data of Kyle (1979) and assuming a distance of 2 m to the front runner at a running velocity of 7.2 m*s-1 an approximately 3% higher energy consumption can be assumed for the front runner Ingebrigtsen compared to the drafting runners. This corresponds to a theoretical time loss of 1.0 to 1.7 s per 400 m for the front runner. Further, empirical data and models of fatigue support the view of a negative effect of a very fast start, as realized by Ingebrigtsen, on middle-distance performance. Conclusion: On the home straight Hocker outpaced Ingebrigtsen (13.84 s) by almost a second in the last 100 m with 13.05 s, probably because of his well-preserved anaerobic capacity through drafting and running the curves on the inner bend.
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