Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Background: The footstrike pattern and cadence are two crucial variables associated with sports performance and injury risks. This study aimed to analyze the footstrike pattern and cadence of male elite athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympic Games marathon. Methods: Two independent researche...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/11/6620 |
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| author | Javier Gamez-Paya Arian Ramón Aladro-Gonzalvo Diana Gallego-de Marcos Carlos Villarón-Casales José Luis Lopez-del Amo |
| author_facet | Javier Gamez-Paya Arian Ramón Aladro-Gonzalvo Diana Gallego-de Marcos Carlos Villarón-Casales José Luis Lopez-del Amo |
| author_sort | Javier Gamez-Paya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The footstrike pattern and cadence are two crucial variables associated with sports performance and injury risks. This study aimed to analyze the footstrike pattern and cadence of male elite athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympic Games marathon. Methods: Two independent researchers examined the footstrike pattern of the first 51 participants at the 5 km mark of the race. Additionally, the cadences of the top eight athletes (finalists) were analyzed in three different segments of the race (10–20 km, 20–30 km, and 30–40 km). Descriptive statistics were used to present the main variables, and a repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to explore cadence differences among race sections (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Results: The mean cadence of the eight finalists was 185.5 steps per minute (SD ± 5.1), and no significant differences were observed among race sections. The most common footstrike pattern was midfoot strike, followed by rearfoot strike, then forefoot strike. The cadence results are consistent with previous studies examining elite athletes, indicating higher values compared with research involving recreational runners. Conclusions: Most elite marathon athletes adopt a non-rearfoot strike pattern and maintain a cadence of more than 185 steps per minute. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:11:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c949c16a85a74e1cb0d7af405e158c36 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:11:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-c949c16a85a74e1cb0d7af405e158c362023-11-18T07:34:32ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-05-011311662010.3390/app13116620Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic GamesJavier Gamez-Paya0Arian Ramón Aladro-Gonzalvo1Diana Gallego-de Marcos2Carlos Villarón-Casales3José Luis Lopez-del Amo4Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, SpainFaculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, SpainFaculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, SpainFaculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea de Valencia, 46010 Valencia, SpainInstitut Nacional d’Educacio Fisica de Catalunya, 08038 Barcelona, SpainBackground: The footstrike pattern and cadence are two crucial variables associated with sports performance and injury risks. This study aimed to analyze the footstrike pattern and cadence of male elite athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympic Games marathon. Methods: Two independent researchers examined the footstrike pattern of the first 51 participants at the 5 km mark of the race. Additionally, the cadences of the top eight athletes (finalists) were analyzed in three different segments of the race (10–20 km, 20–30 km, and 30–40 km). Descriptive statistics were used to present the main variables, and a repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to explore cadence differences among race sections (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Results: The mean cadence of the eight finalists was 185.5 steps per minute (SD ± 5.1), and no significant differences were observed among race sections. The most common footstrike pattern was midfoot strike, followed by rearfoot strike, then forefoot strike. The cadence results are consistent with previous studies examining elite athletes, indicating higher values compared with research involving recreational runners. Conclusions: Most elite marathon athletes adopt a non-rearfoot strike pattern and maintain a cadence of more than 185 steps per minute.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/11/6620marathonperformancefootstrike patternOlympic Gamescadencerunning |
| spellingShingle | Javier Gamez-Paya Arian Ramón Aladro-Gonzalvo Diana Gallego-de Marcos Carlos Villarón-Casales José Luis Lopez-del Amo Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Applied Sciences marathon performance footstrike pattern Olympic Games cadence running |
| title | Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games |
| title_full | Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games |
| title_fullStr | Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games |
| title_full_unstemmed | Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games |
| title_short | Footstrike Pattern and Cadence of the Marathon Athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games |
| title_sort | footstrike pattern and cadence of the marathon athletes at the tokyo 2020 olympic games |
| topic | marathon performance footstrike pattern Olympic Games cadence running |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/11/6620 |
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