a Carnegie School of Sport , Leeds Beckett University , Leeds , UK.
b School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences , University of Essex , Colchester , UK.
J Sports Sci. 2018 Nov;36(22):2614-2620. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2018.1472200. Epub 2018 May 3.
The aim of this study was to analyse qualification patterns in middle distance running and identify whether athletes adopt theoretically optimal tactics, or whether the will to win overrides these. The performances of 295 men and 258 women finalists in the Olympic and IAAF World Championship 800 m and 1500 m events from 1999 to 2017 were analysed across all three rounds of competition. Finishing position, time and ranking amongst all competitors were found for each athlete. Position in the final was correlated with finishing position in the heats and semi-finals (all P < 0.001), but not with finishing times in those rounds. Of the 57 champions, 40 won both their heat and semi-final, even though a lower automatic qualification position would have been sufficient, and only 18 achieved a season's best time in the final. The will to win amongst the eventual champions (and other medallists) suggests predominantly ego oriented behaviour that is encouraged by a performance climate, and which did not appear to differ between men and women. Coaches and athletes are recommended to note that championship-specific physiological and psychological factors are important to develop in training and prior competition to improve both short- and long-term championship strategies.
本研究旨在分析中长跑运动员的资格模式，确定运动员是否采用理论上的最佳战术，还是获胜的意愿压倒了这些战术。对 1999 年至 2017 年奥运会和国际田联世界锦标赛 800 米和 1500 米项目中 295 名男子和 258 名女子决赛选手的所有三轮比赛进行了分析。为每位运动员找到了决赛中的名次、时间和在所有参赛者中的排名。决赛中的位置与预赛和半决赛中的名次相关（均 P<0.001），但与这些轮次的完赛时间无关。在 57 名冠军中，有 40 名运动员在预赛和半决赛中都获胜，尽管较低的自动晋级位置就足够了，只有 18 名运动员在决赛中创造了赛季最好成绩。最终的冠军（和其他奖牌获得者）表现出强烈的求胜欲望，这表明他们的行为主要是自我导向的，这种行为受到比赛氛围的鼓励，而且在男女运动员之间似乎没有区别。建议教练和运动员注意到，锦标赛特有的生理和心理因素对于在训练和比赛前发展很重要，这有助于提高短期和长期的锦标赛策略。
