Running preparation and the final decathlon score in terms of sports career development

Introduction: Success in decathlon contests is achieved by athletes of all ages from 18 to almost 40 years. The development and importance of individual competitions in the final point score have changed during many years of sports ontogenesis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes taking place in sports performance level within the decathlon running competitions and their impact on the final result during the long-term sports championship (sports career) development. Materials and methods: In the analysis, data concerning the "sports ontogenesis” of the world’s best decathletes (N= 25, mean score 8198 points) were used. The final point score and results in three running competitions, i.e. 100, 400 and 1500m runs were taken into account. In the evaluation of sports championship development, four stages were singled out: junior (up to 19 years), youth (to 23 years), the age in which the best results are achieved (up to 30 years), and the final stage of sports championship (decrease of the performance level 31 years and more). The changes in performance level were evaluated based on analysis of variance (ANOVA), the relationship between the partial results (runs) and the final score (decathlon) was evaluated based on the Pearson correlation analysis. Results: The calculated values of correlation coefficient showed that there is a relationship between the results achieved in the running events and the total score at the individual stages of athletes’ sports development. The highest Pearson correlation values in all researched periods were determined for the 400m run (|rxy| > 0.59; p < 0.05). Additionally, at the third stage of sports career development (stage, at which athletes achieve the best results), the final score is also impacted by the level of results achieved at the distance of 100m. The correlation values for distances of 100 and 400m, are at this stage comparable and are approx. |rxy| = 0.6. Conclusions: The greatest impact on the final score achieved by decathletes at all stages of their sports career is running preparation over the distance of 400m.