Performance Trends in Biathlon and Canoe Kayak.DOC

During the last year I collected biographical and survey data on medal winning World Cup biathletes to understand the path of athlete development.. Therefore, the purpose of this paper i

CURRENT PERFORMANCE TRENDS

IN BIATHLON AND CANOE/KAYAK

Tim Gibbons, M.S.

Endurance Training Coordinator

Sport Science and Technology Division United States Olympic Committee

October 1997

Introduction

One of the challenges facing the United States Olympic Committee and member

national governing bodies today is athlete identification and development The essence of the dilemma is how to most effectively identify and focus developmental resources on those athletes who have the greatest chance of international success During the last year I collected biographical and survey data on medal winning World Cup biathletes to understand the path of athlete development In addition, I conducted interviews with coaches and sport scientists from Germany, Russia, and Sweden, which provided further details on development By

understanding the patterns of athlete development comparisons can be made between

successful programs and current U S programs These data reveal a tremendous amount of information about the length of time and support that is necessary to develop elite endurance athletes Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to outline clearly the time course and pattern of athlete development in world-class biathletes and canoe/kayak athletes A second objective is

to synthesize this information into models of athlete development

CURRENT TRENDS ON THE BIATHLON WORLD CUP

International Biathlon Union Biographical Information

Before attempting to design optimal models of athlete development, it is critical to know the time course and developmental patterns of the world’s best athletes Data from the 1996-97 International Biathlon Union calendar book allows us to view athlete age at critical milestones These data are compiled from the top 35 men and top 35 women who are currently competing on the Biathlon World Cup and have placed in the top three Figure 1 illustrates the average age at critical milestones during athlete development Men enter the sport at age of 15.2 with a standard deviation of ±3.7 and women at 18.5 (±3.6) Women, however receive their first medal at the age of 23 (±2.6) and men at 24 (±2.1) Variability of age at critical milestones is assessed by standard deviation

Figure 1 Average age at critical milestones of current medal winning biathletes

from the International Biathlon Union biographical data

The average number of total years in the sport for men is 13.0 years of ±3.4 and women 7.8 years (±3.2) Over two-thirds of the men have been in the sport between 9.6 and 16.4 years

For the women, two-thirds fell between 5.6 and 12.0 years The number of years needed to win

the first medal in World Cup, World Biathlon Championship, or Olympic Winter Games (WC,

WBC, OWG) is 8.8 (±3.2) and 4.5 (±2.8) years for men and women, respectively Current

mean age of the competitors is 26.3 (±2.7) and 28.2 (±2.7) for women and men, respectively

These small standard deviations show the significant strength of the results Table 1 describes

the range (minimum and maximum) in ages and years for biathletes placing in the top three

Range in Ages and Years in Current Medal Winning Biathletes

Start Age Age at 1st

Medal Current Age Total Years in Biathlon Years to 1

st Medal

Table 1 Range in ages and years in current medal winning biathletes.

As indicated by the data, there are several differences evident between men and women

Current Age

Age at 1st Medal

Start Age

10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Age (years)

Women Men

• First, women have been competing in the sport for less number of years than the men

The first WBC for women was in 1984, the first WC in 1989, and the first OWG in 1992 in Albertville, France For men, the first WBC was held in 1958, the first OWG in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, and the first World Junior Championship in 1967 At this year’s World Championships 27 countries entered men’s teams and 24 entered women’s teams At the World Junior Championships 26 countries entered men’s teams and 19 entered women’s

• Second, the depth of the field of the women is not as great as the men

This is reflected by a greater time difference between first and 25th place Women have come from other endurance sports such as cross country skiing and distance running and have

succeeded on the World Cup in a short period Talented athletes such as current overall World Cup Champion, Magdalena Forsberg of Sweden, double gold Olympic champion, Myriam Bedard from Canada, and Shumei Yu of China have placed in the top three within two years of entering the sport

Trends in Yearly Improvement on the World Cup

Data from the last 12 years for men and the last four years for women clearly show that the field is skiing faster and taking less time at the range Women are making the most

improvement regarding total time, ski velocity, and shooting time In 1992, the average age of the top three male competitors was 24 and in 1997 was 28 years old With a few exceptions, the field of athletes remained the same, but grew older For women, the average age is 24-26 and has remained the same for the last five years The older women are winning the Sprint races and the younger women are capturing the Individual races Table 2 presents data showing the yearly improvement in Biathlon performance (from J Wick, 1997 IBU Trainers Seminar, Leipzig, Germany)

20 km Ind 10 km Sprint 15 km Ind 7.5 km Sprint

Table 2 Yearly improvement in determinants of Biathlon World Cup performance and

current shooting performance

Total time (ski time, shooting, and penalties) for men and women has decreased yearly

As demonstrated by the data, all factors of performance have improved No longer will an athlete win on one attribute To be successful, a fine synthesis between skiing velocity and shooting performance must occur

USBA/USOC International Survey

Twenty-eight current and former medallists completed a survey documenting their development in Biathlon Athletes who had placed in the top three in the last ten years

completed the survey One of the objectives of the survey was to document the amount and type of training from the ages of five to 15 A second objective was to detail how much

coaching and training occurred after specializing in biathlon A third objective included

documenting and understanding the time course of development from the time an athlete enters the sport to winning an Olympic medal These data provide additional details in support of the biographical data and the notion of long-term development that is necessary for success in Biathlon It should be noted that the sample size of the survey is small (n=28); nonetheless it does shed some light on development Table 3 illustrates the time course of development Sixty percent of respondents were from Germany and Russia, the most successful biathlon programs

in the history of the sport Other respondents were from Belarus, Canada, France, Sweden, and the United States These data show that at the average age of 11.7 these athletes entered their first cross-country ski race From the ages of 5-15 they were participating in a variety of sports such as cross country skiing, alpine skiing, figure skating, track and field, soccer, gymnastics, and swimming Participation in these activities is essential for developing general coordination that forms the foundation for specific coordination (Drabik, 1996) Developing motor skills

specific to skiing before adolescence may be a prerequisite for attaining proper ski technique during the ages of 16-20

race 1st Biathlon race 1st Top 25result 1st Top 10result 1st Top 3result

Table 3 Age at critical milestones of development in medal winning Biathletes

(USBA/USOC international survey)

Women enter their first biathlon race at age 19.3 and men earlier at age 14.9 To be successful biathletes must begin racing between the ages of 15-18 Women and men exhibit similar patterns of ascendancy at World Cup and Olympic competition Once a top 25 World Cup result has been achieved, it takes 1-2 years for athletes to medal in international

competition A top 25 result occurs at age 22, at top 10 placing at age 23, and a medal at 24 These data suggest that the preparation period leading up the age of 22-23 is crucial for

success This is a “critical period” for physical, technical, and mental development In

countries such as Germany and Sweden, biathletes aged 16-22 receive a tremendous amount of education and support to help them in their development This six-year age group is where successful programs provide support for talented athletes Athlete support comes from daily coaching, sport-specific education programs (physiology, biomechanics, and sport psychology), sports science and medicine services, career and academic counseling for the athlete, and education programs for coaches

Figure 2 describes the first regular and organized training of winning World Cup

biathletes On the average, top biathletes begin cross-country skiing at the age of 11

Successful biathletes have a minimum of four years of cross-country skiing before entering

their first biathlon race The first structured training program (three days per week) for cross country or biathlon starts at age 16 for women and age 13.7 for men and lasts for an average of 9.8 months per year Daily coaching for biathlon begins for men at age 14.8 and for women at age 20 Clearly, early regular training in Biathlon during the ages of 15-18 is necessary to be

successful

Figure 2 Starting age of organized biathlon and cross-country ski training.

The top biathletes indicated they needed on the average 3.6 years of shooting before attaining 80% accuracy and 5.5 years before attaining 95% accuracy Attaining 95% shooting accuracy is the result of daily coaching

Models of Athlete Development

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate models of optimum development for current medal winning Biathletes This represents a compilation of data from IBU biographical information, USBA/USOC international survey, and interviews with German, Russian, French, Finnish, and Swedish sport scientists and coaches From these models, it is clear the length of time that is necessary for an endurance athlete to develop into a world-class competitor This path of development is common to all successful biathlon programs

Figure3 Starting age of organized biathlon and cross-country ski training.

Starting Age of Organized Biathlon and Cross Country Ski Training

Age (years)

5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Participation in a variety of sports

First XC skied

Boys Start Training 3 days/wk 9 months/year Boys 1st Biathlon race

First XC race

Girls 1st Biathlon race

Critical Period of Physical and Technical Development

Girls Start Training 3 days/wk 9 months/year

Figure 4 Model of athlete development in medal winning biathletes.

Observations and Conclusions

• Women enter the sport at a later age than the men However, the growth and depth of women’s biathlon programs are rapidly improving

Model of Athlete Development in Medal Winning Biathletes

Age (years)

5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Participation in a variety of sports

World Cup Placing

Top

25 10 3

Year-round Structured Training.

Physical Training, Shooting, Ski Technique

Current Age Women Men

Critical Period of Physical and Technical Development

• Of the top 35 women and 35 men on the World Cup the average total number of years in the sport is 7.8 and 13.0 for women and men, respectively

• 4.5 and 8.8 are the average number of years needed before attaining a medal for women and men, respectively

• Skiing velocity, shooting time, and shooting accuracy is showing yearly improvements in both women and men

• A clear time course of athlete development is evident from the data

• Common to all medal winners is multi-sport participation between the ages of 5-15

• Cross-country skiing and racing begins at age 11 and is an essential part of development

• Specialization in biathlon with daily coaching begins between the ages of 15-18

• Upon placing in the top 25 in World Cup competition a top 3 finish is achieved, on the average, within two years

CURRENT TRENDS IN CANOE/KAYAK

U S Canoe and Kayak Competitive Excellence Study

To understand the development progression of internationally successful canoe and kayak athletes, U S Canoe/Kayak (Henderson and Endicott) identified more than 100 athletes who had placed in the top 3 in Olympic Canoe/Kayak events over the past 15 years Eighty-five athletes completed a questionnaire with eight questions Figure 5 shows the average at critical milestones

Figure 5 Average age at critical milestones in canoe/kayak events

Canoe/kayak athletes begin competing early at the age of 12.3 with a standard deviation

of ±1.9 Eighty-seven percent of athletes who placed in the top 3 at World Championships started racing before the age of 14 Of the 61 athletes who became a World Champions, 34 of them placed in the top six at World Junior Championships Once athletes begin competing at the World Championships (20.4 ±2.3) they medal within two years at the age of 22.2 ±2.9 Variability as measured by standard deviation is narrow at all ages From the data there

emerges a clear path of development As author Dan Henderson points out, most of the

World Champion

Top 3 Top 8

Sr Worlds start

Jr Worlds 1st race

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Age (years) Age

respondents were from Eastern European countries where athletes “develop along one track.” Opportunities to enter the sport at an older age are not available in those countries

Figure 6 Average age at critical milestones in Biathlon and Canoe/kayak.

This canoe/kayak model is an example of systematic athlete development Henderson makes the point, “In the United States, I believe that we have focused entirely too much on what

we perceive to be the exceptional few who do not fit the strong trends in this study We have counted on our athletes to be exceptions to the norm of how the rest of the world develops canoe/kayak athletes.” Both the biathlon and canoe/kayak models exhibit similar patterns of development as depicted in Figure 6

Biathletes and canoe/kayak athletes ascend very quickly to the top eight or top 10 after some initial exposure to World Cup or World Championship competition On the average, it takes one year to achieve top 8 or top 10 status after entering canoe/kayak World

Championships or placing in the top 25 in the Biathlon World Cup From that point, one

World Champ

Top 3 Top 8/10

Sr WC start or Top 25

1st race

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Age (years)

additional year is needed to place in the top 3 in World Cup or World Championship races What explains this rapid and linear progression? Interpretations of the data suggest strong junior programs and systematic training are the main reasons The basis of systematic training

is daily coaching with sport science support for 4-6 years Most of the preparation and training are done before entering international senior competition At that point, athletes and coaches fine-tune training to achieve increases in performance In both models most of the data are from athletes of Eastern or Central European countries These countries are known for their well-developed club and national team programs that systematically train athletes over a long period

Address for correspondence:

Tim Gibbons

Endurance Training Coordinator

USOC Sport Science and Technology Division

One Olympic Plaza

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

Phone: (719) 578-4778

E-mail: TGibbons@USOC.org