Analysis of the race pace for elite long distance speed skaters in 5000 m race

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of the race pace for elite long distance speed skaters. Male speed skaters who participated in the 5000 m race at the Nagano Winter Olympic Games were videotaped with two VTR cameras (60 fields/s), and twenty elite male skaters were selected for analysis. Average skating speed and cycle frequency in every lap were measured in the straight and curved lanes. The ratio of decline (%) in skating speed was calculated as (1- (average speed from 2600 m to 5000 m/average speed from 200 m to 2600 m)) x 100.

The 20 selected skaters were divided into the top and second groups, ten subjects in each group and each group based on the rank of the races. Skating speed of the race for the top group was significantly higher than that of the second group (p < 0.05~0.001). Although there was no significant relationship between the goal time and the ratio of decline, the skaters in the top group could maintain their skating speed during the final phase of the race, keeping the high cycle frequency in the curves during the same phase. In addition, two races of thirteen skaters who participated in both the Nagano Winter Olympic Games and the World Speed Skating Championships Single Distance 2000 were selected for intra-individual comparison. The race of the better record was referred to as the best race, and the other, as the second best race. In the best race, the skating speed in the first half and the cycle frequency of the curves were higher than those of the second best race. These results indicated that the elite skaters could maintain their higher speed longer, keeping the high cycle frequency in the curves throughout the race.