The COVID-19 pandemic impact on the best performers in athletics and swimming among paralympic and non-disabled athletes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The COVID 19 pandemic has greatly disrupted high performance sport and international competition. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world's top 10 performances in Athletics and Swimming among nondisabled and Paralympic athletes. METHODS:The results of the 10-best world performers in 66 Olympic events since 1891 and 255 Paralympic events since 2010 were collected. To quantify the performance trend, the slopes of the 4 years moving average were calculated and analyzed by time period. The distribution of performances (in % of the world record) by year was analyzed to compare the 2020 values to the ten previous years. The stability rate (athletes joining and leaving each year) since 2010 and the number of annual competitions events were also measured.RESULTS: Over the study period, such declines in performance have only been observed during the two World Wars. In 2020, the level of performances has decreased significantly, corresponding to a 6 to 10 years setback. In 2020, the number of new athletes in the 10-best was significantly higher with a lower number of organized competitions. CONCLUSIONS:The impact on the performances of the best international non-disabled and Para athletes has been considerable.

A tale of two stories: COVID-19 and disability. A critical scoping review of the literature on the effects of the pandemic among athletes with disabilities and para-athletes

“…Contrasting findings were, instead, obtained by Cavaggioni et al (2022), who retrospectively analyzed a case series consisting of four para swimmers. One had cerebral palsy and belonged to the S5 para-swimming functional class, one had a hereditary spastic paraparesis (S6 class), one had a lower limb deficiency (S9 class), and one had lower limb amputation (S8 class).…”

“…This could explain why Shaw et al (2021) were not able to find any detrimental or disruptive effect of COVID-19 on training among para-athletes, since the outbreak could not influence outdoor activities and training, whereas Martínez-Patiño et al (2021) and Clemente-Suárez et al (2020) reported a positive response from Paralympic athletes to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the contrary, Cavaggioni et al (2022) , and Schipman et al (2022) observed a negative impact of the infectious outbreak.…”

“…Six studies ( Shaw et al, 2021 ; Urbański et al, 2021 ; Cavaggioni et al, 2022 ; Peña-González et al, 2022 ; Schipman et al, 2022 ; Trigo et al, 2022 ) have assessed the impact of COVID-19 on training and lifestyles in para-athletes/athletes with disabilities. Shaw et al (2021) conducted a survey concerning the impact of the pandemic on diet, fitness, and sedentary behaviors in a sample of 25 elite national and international (from Canada, the United Kinggdom, Australia, United States, South Africa, and Belgium) para cyclists and para triathletes recruited in the period from early May to mid-June 2020.15 were females, and 10 were males.…”

“…One study ( Schipman et al, 2022 ) has investigated the impact of COVID-19-induced confinement on performance outcomes in para-athletes/athletes with disabilities. The authors conducted a data mining-based study, collecting data from 255 Paralympic events since 2010 and using the 4-year moving average, the slope of which was quantitatively assessed to evaluate changes in the temporal trend.…”

“…Furthermore, the authors found that, whereas no temporal differences could be detected concerning energy intake and exercise expenditure, the latter parameter could be decreased, due to an increase in sedentary screen time (from 4.5 ± 1.9 h per day to 6.1 ± 1.5 h per day, p = 0.001), leading to a net caloric imbalance, which, however, is unlikely to have any consequences in a sample of highly trained, elite athletes and, being short-lived, may quickly restore, returning to the baseline levels prior to the pandemic, once COVID-19 induced strictures are lifted. Similarly, Peña-González et al (2022), performing a 12-week interventional study in an ecological environment with a prepost assessment, found that international football players with cerebral palsy were able to maintain adequate levels of selftraining (which consisted of combined strength, and resistance exercises, four training sessions per week) during the COVID-19 pandemic, thus preserving their fitness. An improvement in free countermovement jump (CMJ) was computed (from 28.60 ± 6.18 cm to 32.79 ± 6.69 cm, p-value <0.001, with an increase of 4.19 [95%CI 2.46-5.93] cm), whereas the other fitness variables (5-m, 10-m, and 20-m sprints, the modified agility t-test or MAT, and the dribbling test) remained stable.…”