ABSTRACT
The 400â m and 1,500â m are track events that rely on different but important contributions from both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. The purpose of this study is to model men's and women's 400â m and 1,500â m championship performances to gain a deeper understanding of the key mechanical and physiological factors affecting running speed and bend running using high-resolution data from live competition (10â Hz). To investigate World-class athletes' instantaneous speeds, propulsive forces and aerobic and anaerobic energy, we model and simulate the performances of the men's and women's European Athletics 400â m champions, Matthew Hudson-Smith and Femke Bol, as well as the men's European Athletics 1,500â m champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and the women's European Athletics U23 1,500â m champion, Gaia Sabbatini. The simulations show that a fast start is essential in both the 400â m and 1,500â m because of the need for fast oxygen kinetics, with peak running speeds occurring within the first â¼50â m in both events. Subsequently, 400â m athletes slow continually from this maximum speed to the finish, and a total anaerobic contribution of â¼77% is found for both male and female champions. The key to faster 400â m racing is to reduce the decrease in velocity: this comes from both a high VO2 and a high anaerobic contribution. Ingebrigtsen's winning tactic in the European 1,500â m final is to adopt a very fast cruising pace from 300â m onwards that is possible because he is able to maintain a high VO2 value until the end of the race and has a large anaerobic contribution. He has fast VO2 kinetics that does not require as fast a start as his opponents, but then he speeds up in the last two laps, without a fast sprint finish. The comparison between Sabbatini's slower and quicker races (â¼8â s difference) shows that it is the improvement of aerobic metabolism that has the greatest effect on 1,500â m performance. Coaches should note in particular that the all-out pacing nature of the 400â m requires the prioritization of anaerobic energy system development, and those who coach the 1,500â m should note the differing energy contributions between even-paced races and championship racing.