Race analyses among Winter Olympic sliding sports: A cross-sectional study of the 2018/2019 World Cups and World Championships
Abstract
Studies about the three Olympic sliding sports are sparse, little is known other than factors related to start performance. Therefore, this study aimed to add to the current literature by analysing the race characteristics of the nine different events. A non-experimental retrospective method was applied to analyse all races of the 2018/2019 season. A total of 3371 race trials sampled across the sports of bobsleigh (n = 1105), luge (n = 1401) and skeleton (n = 865). Split rankings were correlated to finish rankings using Pearson product-moment correlation to analyse the relationship of sectional rankings and race outcome throughout the race. The results exhibited sequentially increasing correlation coefficients in all events. Yet, there were distinctive characteristics differentiating the sports. Bobsleigh illustrated correlations coefficients that at a minimum were very large (r ≥ .71) among all split rankings. Luge and skeleton depicted lower correlations for split 1 (r = .30 – .68) and thereafter substantially increasing as the race progressed. Thus, sliding performance can potentially have a greater impact in luge and skeleton than in bobsleigh. The differentiating race characteristics show the need for different training methods.
Keywords
References
Astorino, T., Baker, J., Brock, S., Dalleck, L., Goulet, E., Gotshall, R., & Laskin, J. (2012). The relationship between mental skills, experience, and stock car racing performance. J Exerc Physiol Online, 15(3).
Bullock, N., Martin, D. T., Ross, A., Rosemond, D., Holland, T., & Marino, F. E. (2008). Characteristics of the start in women's World Cup skeleton. Sports Biomech, 7(3), pp. 351-360. https://doi.org/10.1080/14763140802255796
Colyer, S. L., Stokes, K. A., Bilzon, J. L., Cardinale, M., & Salo, A. I. (2017). Physical predictors of elite skeleton start performance. Int J Sports Physiol Perform, 12(1), pp. 81-89. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2015-0631
Colyer, S. L., Stokes, K. A., Bilzon, J. L., Holdcroft, D., & Salo, A. I. (2018a). The effect of altering loading distance on skeleton start performance: Is higher pre-load velocity always beneficial? J Sports Sci, 36(17), pp. 1930-1936. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1426352
Colyer, S. L., Stokes, K. A., Bilzon, J. L., Holdcroft, D., & Salo, A. I. (2018b). Training-related changes in force–power profiles: implications for the skeleton start. Int J Sports Physiol Perform, 13(4), pp. 412-419. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0110
Crossland, B. W., Hartman, J. E., Kilgore, J. L., Hartman, M. J., & Kaus, J. M. (2011). Upper-body anthropometric and strength measures and their relationship to start time in elite luge athletes. J Strength Cond Res, 25(10), pp. 2639-2644. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e318207ed7a
Fedotova, V., & Pilipiv, V. (2012). Hip and shoulder kinematics during initial sled acceleration in luging–A case study. Hum Mov Sci, 13(4), pp. 344-349. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10038-012-0040-3
Filho, E., Di Fronso, S., Mazzoni, C., Robazza, C., Bortoli, L., & Bertollo, M. (2015). My heart is racing! Psychophysiological dynamics of skilled racecar drivers. J Sports Sci, 33(9), pp. 945-959. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2014.977940
Hopkins, W., Marshall, S., Batterham, A., & Hanin, J. (2009). Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 41(1), p 3. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31818cb278
International Olympic Committee. (2018) Future Games sports programmes full of passion and excitement. Retrieved October 15, 2019 from https://www.olympic.org/news/future-games-sports-programmes-full-of-passion-and-excitement
Lembert, S., Schachner, O., & Raschner, C. (2011). Development of a measurement and feedback training tool for the arm strokes of high-performance luge athletes. J Sports Sci, 29(15), pp. 1593-1601. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.608433
Lopes, A. D., & Alouche, S. R. (2016). Two-man bobsled push start analysis. J Hum Kinet, 50(1), pp. 63-70. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2015-0143
Mccradden, M. D., & Cusimano, M. (2018). Concussions in sledding sports and the unrecognized ‘sled head’: a systematic review. Front Neurol, 9, p 772. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2018.00772
Morlock, M. M., & Zatsiorsky, V. M. (1989). Factors influencing performance in bobsledding: I: Influences of the bobsled crew and the environment. J Appl Biomech, 5(2), pp. 208-221. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsb.5.2.208
Osbeck, J. S., Maiorca, S. N., & Rundell, K. W. (1996). Validity of field testing to bobsled start performance. J Strength Cond Res, 10(4), pp. 239-245.
Peeters, T., Van de Velde, M., Haring, E., Vleugels, J., Beyers, K., Garimella, R., & Verwulgen, S. (2018). A Test Setting to Enhance Bobsled Performance at Start Phase. Appl Hum Factors Ergon Conf, Orlando, FL. Louisville, KY: AHFE International. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94000-7_30
Platzer, H.-P., Raschner, C., & Patterson, C. (2009). Performance-determining physiological factors in the luge start. J Sports Sci, 27(3), pp. 221-226. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410802400799
Potkanowicz, E. S., & Mendel, R. W. (2013). The case for driver science in motorsport: a review and recommendations. Sports Med, 43(7), pp. 565-574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0040-2
Tomasevicz, C. L., Ransone, J. W., & Bach, C. W. (2018). Predicting Bobsled Pushing Ability from Various Combine Testing Events. J Strength Cond Res. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0000000000002489
Zanoletti, C., La Torre, A., Merati, G., Rampinini, E., & Impellizzeri, F. M. (2006). Relationship between push phase and final race time in skeleton performance. J Strength Cond Res, 20(3), p 579. https://doi.org/10.1519/r-17865.1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2021.162.18
Copyright (c) 2018 Journal of Human Sport and Exercise

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.