Anaerobic Speed Reserve: A Key Component of Elite Male 800-m Running.

Purpose: In recent years (2011-2016), men's 800-m championship running performances have required greater speed than previous eras (2000-2009). The "anaerobic speed reserve" (ASR) may be a key differentiator of this performance, but profiles of elite 800-m runners and their relationship to performance time have yet to be determined.

Methods: The ASR-determined as the difference between maximal sprint speed (MSS) and predicted maximal aerobic speed (MAS)-of 19 elite 800- and 1500-m runners was assessed using 50-m sprint and 1500-m race performance times.

Tactical Behaviors in Men's 800-m Olympic and World-Championship Medalists: A Changing of the Guard.

Purpose: To assess the longitudinal evolution of tactical behaviors used to medal in men's 800-m Olympic Games (OG) or world-championship (WC) events in the recent competition era (2000-2016).

Methods: Thirteen OG and WC events were characterized for 1st- and 2nd-lap splits using available footage from YouTube. Positive pacing strategies were defined as a faster 1st lap.

The Relationship Between Training Load and Injury in Men's Professional Basketball.

Purpose: To establish the relationship between the acute:chronic workload ratio and lower-extremity overuse injuries in professional basketball players over the course of a competitive season.

Methods: The acute:chronic workload ratio was determined by calculating the sum of the current week's session rating of perceived exertion of training load (acute load) and dividing it by the average weekly training load over the previous 4 wk (chronic load). All injuries were recorded weekly using a self-report injury questionnaire (Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Injury Questionnaire).

Relationships Between Pacing Parameters and Performance of Elite Male 1500-m Swimmers.

Purpose: Pacing has a substantial effect on endurance performance. The authors characterize pacing and identify its parameters for optimal performance in 1500-m freestyle swimming.

Methods: Web sites provided 50-m lap and 1500-m race times for 330 swims of 24 elite male swimmers.

Age of Peak Competitive Performance of Elite Athletes: A Systematic Review.

Background: Knowledge of the age at which elite athletes achieve peak performance could provide important information for long-term athlete development programmes, event selection and strategic decisions regarding resource allocation.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to systematically review published estimates of age of peak performance of elite athletes in the twenty-first century.

Methods: We searched SPORTDiscus, PubMed and Google Scholar for studies providing estimates of age of peak performance.

Modeling parameters that characterize pacing of elite female 800-m freestyle swimmers.

Pacing offers a potential avenue for enhancement of endurance performance. We report here a novel method for characterizing pacing in 800-m freestyle swimming. Websites provided 50-m lap and race times for 192 swims of 20 elite female swimmers between 2000 and 2013.

Predicting a nation's olympic-qualifying swimmers.

Unlabelled: Talent identification and development typically involve allocation of resources toward athletes selected on the basis of early-career performance.

Purpose: To compare 4 methods for early-career selection of Australia's 2012 Olympic-qualifying swimmers.

Methods: Performance times from 5738 Australian swimmers in individual Olympic events at 101 competitions from 2000 to 2012 were analyzed as percentages of world-record times using 4 methods that retrospectively simulated early selection of swimmers into a talent-development squad.

The performance effect of centralizing a nation's elite swim program.

Unlabelled: Many national sporting organizations recruit talented athletes to well-resourced centralized training squads to improve their performance.

Purpose: To develop a method to monitor performance progression of swimming squads and to use this method to assess the progression of New Zealand's centralized elite swimming squad.

Methods: Best annual long-course competition times of all New Zealand swimmers with at least 3 y of performances in an event between 2002 and 2013 were downloaded from takeyourmarks.

Career performance trajectories of Olympic swimmers: benchmarks for talent development.

The age-related progression of elite athletes to their career-best performances can provide benchmarks for talent development. The purpose of this study was to model career performance trajectories of Olympic swimmers to develop these benchmarks. We searched the Web for annual best times of swimmers who were top 16 in pool events at the 2008 or 2012 Olympics, from each swimmer's earliest available competitive performance through to 2012.