Julien Schipman

Marathon progress: demography, morphology and environment.

Abstract As opposed to many other track-and-field events, marathon performances still improve. We choose to better describe the reasons for such a progression. The 100 best marathon runners archived from January 1990 to December 2011 for men and from January 1996 to December 2011 for women were analysed. We determined the impact of historical, demographic, physiological, seasonal and environmental factors. Performances in marathons improve at every level of performance (deciles). In 2011, 94% of the 100 best men athletes were African runners; among women athletes they were 52%. Morphological indicators (stature, body mass and Body Mass Index (BMI)) have decreased. We show a parabolic function between BMI and running speed. The seasonal distribution has two peaks, in spring (weeks 14 to 17) and autumn (weeks 41 to 44). During both periods, the average temperature of the host cities varies close to optimal value for long distance race. African men and women runners are increasingly dominating the marathon and pushing its record, through optimal eco-physiological conditions.

Secular trend: morphology and performance

In a context of morphological expansion of the general population, how do athletes follow such a pattern of anthropometric growth? Is there any relation to performance? Biometric data including mass, height, body mass index (BMI) and age were collected for 50,376 American athletes representing 249,336 annual performers playing in professional baseball, football, ice hockey and basketball. Distributions by mass in National Football League (NFL) players are described by periods. Field goals have been studied in relation to players’ height in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Between 1871 and 2011, athletes from the four sports have increased significantly in mass, height and BMI, following a multi-exponential function series. Consequently, biometric differences between athletes and the general population are increasing gradually. Changes in the mass distribution within the NFL show the emergence of a biometrical specificity in relation to the field position. At the professional level, performance remains structured around precise biometric values. In the NBA, a height-attractor at 201.3 ± 6.3 cm for the best scorers is invariant, regardless of the level of play. These results suggest that laws of growth and biometrics drive high-level sport and organise performance around the specific constraint of each field position. Discrepancies between some mass and height developments question the (disproportionate) large mass increase (relative to the height increase) during the 1980s and 1990s.

Monitoring fitness levels and detecting implications for health in a French population: an observational study

Objective To analyse the physical fitness of a large sample of the French population across different ages. Design Observational cross-sectional study. Setting Data were collected from the Athletic Track and Field Federation, which organised events dedicated to measuring physical fitness. The events took place in 22 regions between 2006 and 2010. Participants French volunteer citizens (N=31 349) aged between 4 and 80 years old who participated in events dedicated to measuring physical fitness. Primary and secondary outcome measures We assessed the results of the following fitness tests: 20 m shuttle run, standing broad jump, repeated squat jump, 4×10 m shuttle run, speed, flexibility and push-ups in relation to age and body mass index (BMI) using Spearmans rho, a one-way analysis of variance. A bi-exponential model was used to represent the performance with age. Results Our major results showed higher performances for men and for subjects with normal BMI at all age groups except for the flexibility test. BMI was strongly correlated across all ages with physical fitness p<0.0001. Furthermore, through bi-exponential model, a mean peak performance was identified at 26.32 years of age for men and 22.18 years of age for women. Conclusions Physical fitness assessment using a simple series of tests on the general population offers an important indicator of health status. The possibility of observing the evolution of fitness levels with time provides an important monitoring method from a public health perspective. Further research is needed to reinforce and evaluate the approach.

Age and Performance from 10 Seconds to a 6-Days Race

Purpose: An increasing amount of people are turning to new challenges such as the completion of an ultra-marathon and choose to continue to train intensively despite advanced age. As a result, numerous epidemiological data are available and constitute an experimental model for the research community that studies the effects of aging on physiological functions. The objective of the study is to measure the relationships between age and performance over the entire athletic spectrum from 100 m up to the 6-day ultra-marathon event for men and women. Method: The Top 50 male and female ages and race speed races of all time were compiled with 12 events ranging from 100 m to 6-day races (N=1200). A second database made up of record race-speeds by age (N=1682) was created for all 12 events and for both genders. Results: For both genders, a very significant increase (p<0.01) in age for the Top 50 based on race distance is noticeable from the 100 m sprint to the 6-day race, with an even higher climb starting at the marathon. On the other hand, the age range also increases with the running distance for both genders. The area under the curve (AUC) decreases significantly (p<0.01) with the race distance for both genders. Conclusion: This study measured the impact of aging on the worlds best performances ranging from sprints to ultra-endurance events in a context where peak-age performance increases with the distance of the event for both genders.