The relationship between race pattern and performance in the men's 400-m sprint

This study was conducted to clarify the relationship between race pattern and performance in the men's 400-m race. Using several video cameras, 154 male 400-m sprinters (45-46 s: 26, 47 s: 35, 48 s: 58, 49 s: 35) in official competitions were videotaped at a sampling rate of 59.94 Hz from the start to the finish. The split time at every 50 m from the start was calculated using the Overlay method, which analyzes the split time by superimposing an image of the 400-m race onto an image of the hurdles in a 400-m hurdle race. Each segment was defined as follows: First segment, from the start to the 100-m mark; 2nd segment, from the 100-m mark to the 200-m mark; 3rd segment, from the 200-m mark to the 300-m mark; 4th segment, from the 300-m mark to the finish. The results of regression analysis revealed significant correlations between the 400-m race time and the all of the segment times (r=0.589-0.887, p