An analysis of technique and technical effectiveness in current elite level male and female 110/100m hurdlers.

Abstract

Performance analysis has been used in different running events in athletics, including sprints, middle and long distance events (Brown and O’Donoghue, 2006). However, there is a dearth of specific literature carried out on present technique and technical effectiveness in current 110m/100m hurdlers, which will allow for a reason as to why certain times are now performed and whether or not they differ with analysis performed on athletes in the past. This study analysed video footage of elite 110m/100m hurdlers using specified tailored SportsCode software of major championship races since the year 2008. Gathering data for 175 athletes, 80 athletes (40 male, 40 female) had a full set of data (10 split times, flight times, rhythmic unit and a finishing time) and were used when calculating the data seen in the results. The data was then used to spot any clear trends and predictors of performances for both genders as well as calculating performance indicators. Various predictors of performance were found to be similar across both genders, yet for the women speed became more of a dominant factor. The velocity curve of a sprint hurdle race still adopts the same race distribution as those athletes analysed in the 1997 IAAF World Championship in Athens among men, yet the technical ability of current male and female athletes was shown to be more advanced in terms of hurdle clearance, as the range of flight times being achieved . It was concluded that the performance predictors found can be implemented by both UK Athletics; to predict the future potential of forthcoming youth athletes and current elite athletes, and coaches; to review an athlete’s performance in specific ways that will lead to the most beneficial improvements in the correct areas of the athlete’s performance. For future research it would be more valuable to look at a greater number of subjects with full sets of data in order to create a wider and more accurate range of results.