Pace and place tactics of top performers in the world's 3000 m steeplechase competitions.

Fangzhou He, Anning Guo, Mujuan Zhao, Jiqing Cui, Włodzimierz S Erdmann

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Article in Journal of exercise science and fitness, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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5 authors.

Fangzhou HeGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Department of Biomechanics and Sports Engineering, 1 Kazimierza Gorskiego street, Gdansk, 80-336, Poland.

Anning GuoGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Physical Culture, 1 Kazimierza Gorskiego street, Gdansk, 80-336, Poland.

Mujuan ZhaoKyungpook National University, Department of Recreation and Sports, 2559, Gyeongsang-daero, Sangju, 37224, South Korea.

Jiqing CuiWeifang Institute of Technology, Physical Education and Sport, No. 9888, South Yunmen Street, Weifang, 262500, China.

Włodzimierz S ErdmannGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Department of Biomechanics and Sports Engineering, 1 Kazimierza Gorskiego street, Gdansk, 80-336, Poland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aim: This study compared pacing and in-race place distribution patterns between successful and non-successful athletes in world-class men's and women's 3000 m steeplechase competitions, using official 100-m split data from heats and finals. Methods: A total of 339 performances from 144 athletes were collected from the Olympic Games and World Athletics Championships between 2021 and 2025. Indicators related to velocity and place were calculated, including the late-race deceleration index (LDI), coefficient of variation (CV), quotient of velocity deviations (QVD), CV Results: Both men and women displayed an overall fast-slow-fast pacing profile. Successful athletes showed higher peak velocity and lower LDI than non-successful athletes across all sex-by-round scenarios. In men, success was generally associated with greater global velocity modulation, particularly in the heats. In women, successful athletes showed better velocity maintenance and greater place variability, with earlier separation between successful and non-successful groups. In the GLMMs, lower LDI was the most consistent correlate of success, while the second success-related indicator differed by scenario: CV in men's heats, V Conclusions: Successful 3000 m steeplechase performances were characterized by superior overall velocity, greater peak velocity, and reduced late-race velocity loss. Late-race velocity maintenance appears to be a central feature of successful performance, whereas velocity modulation and place adjustment show specific patterns by sex and round.

Indexed as

3000 m steeplechaseElite athletesPerformancePlace distributionRace tacticVelocity distribution

Identifiers

PMID42571529

DOI10.1016/j.jesf.2026.200497

PMCPMC13452380

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.