Retrospective Study; Comparison of the Stride Pattern of Elite 400 meters Hurdlers in Sri Lanka with Elite Athletes in Asia and the World

Abstract

This study aimed in identifying and comparing the stride pattern in the 400mH event of the top 10 Sri Lankan, Asian, and World levels athletes of 2019 top list. A retrospective research design was used and following a selective sampling method top 10 athletes were selected from each group as subjects (N 30). Each athlete’s 400 mH 2019 season best video was analysed. 400m event timings were recorded from World Athletics. Kinovea software version 0.8.26 and Minitab software version 19 were used for data analysis. One-way ANOVA, Tukey test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient tests were performed. It was significantly different from the 1st hurdle to the 6th hurdle in all three groups. Tukey test further revealed a significant difference in Sri Lankan athletes from the start to the 1st hurdle, and from the 6th hurdle to the 10th hurdle. Moreover, only the world-level athletes were significantly different from the 10th hurdle to the finish line. The 400m time was significantly different in all three levels. World-level athletes’ group have a moderate, and the Asian-level athlete group have a very weak correlation while the Sri Lankan athlete group have a strong correlation between 400m time and 400 mH time (r= 0.607, 0.135, 0.849) respectively. In conclusion, to improve the level of performance among Sri Lankan 400mH athletes compared with the other levels, the times taken from start to the first hurdle, between hurdles, and from last hurdle to the finish line needed to be improved while improving 400m performance.