The match-play sprint performance of elite senior hurlers during competitive games

PLoS One. 2019 Apr 24;14(4):e0215156. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215156. eCollection 2019.

Abstract

The typical sprint profile in elite hurling has yet to be established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sprinting demands of elite hurling competition and characterize the sprinting patterns of different playing positions. GPS (10-Hz, STATSports Viper) were used to collect data from 51 hurlers during 18 games. The total sprint (≥22 km·h-1) distance (TSD), the number of sprints (NOS) classified as length (<20 m, ≥20 m) and relative speed thresholds (<80%, 80-90%, >90%), the between-sprint duration and the number of repeated-sprint bouts (≥2 sprints in ≤60 s) were analyzed. The NOS was 22.2 ± 6.8 accumulating 415 ± 140 m TSD. The NOS <20 m, ≥20 m was 14.0 ± 4.7 and 8.1 ± 3.6 respectively. The NOS <80%, 80-90% and >90% was 10.6 ± 4.3, 8.2 ± 3.6, 3.4 ± 2.4 respectively. The between-sprint duration and the repeated-sprint bouts were 208 ± 86 s and 4.5 ± 2.6 respectively. TSD (ES = -0.20), NOS (ES = -0.34), NOS <20 m (ES = -0.33), ≥20 m (ES = -0.24), 80-90% (ES = -0.35) >90% (ES = -0.13) and repeated-sprint bouts (ES = -0.28) decreased between-halves. Full-backs performed a lower NOS <80% than half-backs (ES = -0.66) and a shorter mean duration of sprints than half-backs (ES = -0.75), midfielders (ES = -1.00) and full-forwards (ES = -0.59). These findings provide a sprint profile of elite hurling match-play that coaches should consider to replicate the sprint demands of competition in training.

Publication types

  • Observational Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Athletic Performance / physiology*
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Humans
  • Ireland
  • Male
  • Running / physiology*
  • Sports / physiology
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

The research was funded by grants from the French Ministry of National Education, of Research and of Technology (EA3920) and from Tomsk Polytechnic University Competitiveness Enhancement Program grant; DY, Project № ВИУ-ИСГТ-108/2017 - TPU CEP-HSTI-108/2017. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.