When there were still 400 meters left in the competition, Henan's 19-year-old Liang Tiantian suddenly accelerated, throwing off Zhang Deshun, Xu Shuangshuang, Xia Yuyu, Liu Min and other famous players, and won the women's 5000m championship of the 2024 National Track and Field Grand Prix (Zhaoqing Station).
A few days later, Liang Tiantian defeated Zhang Deshun, Li Zhixuan, Li Dan, Xia Yuyu and many other national team players to win the women's 10,000-meter championship of the 2024 National Track and Field Grand Prix (Hangzhou Station), becoming the best women's track 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runners in China.
Instead of fighting for the last 100-meter sprint with an opponent with absolute speed, a longer 400-meter sprint is adopted, and this kind of technical and tactical play also appears in the men's 5000m final of the 2024 National Track and Field Grand Prix (Zhaoqing Station).
Mao Jinhu, a famous player from Guizhou who has been training overseas, dragged down all his opponents with his super speed and endurance and won the men's 5000m gold medal with a time of 13:57.66. In the last 400 meters, Mao Jinhu soared an astonishing speed of 56 seconds, more than 4 seconds faster than the runner-up Wang Hongwei (14:02.43), becoming the only player in the men's 5000m final to open the "14 points".
In the past, when we watched world-class middle-distance running races, we often saw athletes starting to choose a better sprint position in the last 200 meters, and after entering the last 100 meters of straight, athletes would accelerate with all their might, and the competition would be more intense, and there would even be a subtle difference of 1,000 seconds between the champion and the runner-up.
In the men's and women's 5000m finals of the 2024 National Track and Field Grand Prix (Zhaoqing Station), Liang Tiantian and Mao Jinhu did not take the last 100-meter sprint, but chose a longer 400-meter sprint, which can illustrate two points:
First, the absolute speed of the two is not dominant among the competitors, or they are not completely sure of the absolute speed of the last 100 meters compared to the 5000 meters with the athletes in the main 1500 meters.
Of course not. First of all, the characteristics of the track race and the marathon are different, and the training concept is also different (especially the pre-race training);
Secondly, due to the more fierce competition in the track race, the requirements for the athletes' follow-up position, card position awareness, position selection and timing in the sprint stage are very high, and the type of skills and tactics and the complexity of the competition are much higher than those of the marathon event.
Third, depending on the athlete's athletic talent and type of sport, coaches will also use their brains when formulating training plans and technical and tactical formulations.
Therefore, when athletes are at the same level of athletic ability, athletes with good "absolute speed" have a psychological advantage in the competition, or have more technical and tactical options, while athletes with less "absolute speed" can only continue to strengthen their specific endurance, so as to drag down their opponents before the final sprint, thereby increasing the probability of winning the competition. Based on the meaning and importance of "absolute speed" and "speed endurance", let's talk about the significance of technical and tactical choices.
In the competitive arena, the master duel, the difference of a millimeter, at this time, the athlete with absolute speed will have a psychological advantage before the game, and have the initiative in the choice of skills and tactics in the game.
For example, the 2023 National Track and Field Championships men's 800m (PB: 1:48) and 1500m (PB: 3:39) "double champion" Xie Dongsheng of Shanghai, with the advantage of absolute speed, can take the whole process of following running skills and tactics when participating in the men's 5000m and even half marathon, so as to increase the probability of winning the competition.
In the men's 3000m final of the 2023 National Indoor Track and Field Championships and the men's 5000m final of the 2023 First National Student Games, Xie Dongsheng won the championship by relying on the advantage of absolute speed.
Absolute speed is important, but not everyone has the athletic talent of "absolute speed". Although scientific and systematic training can improve the comprehensive athletic ability of athletes in the later stage, due to congenital defects in core strength, explosiveness, body coordination, height, etc., professional athletes will spend more time on continuously strengthening their speed and endurance levels in order to make up for the shortcomings in absolute speed, so as to drag down opponents through super endurance levels and not give athletes with absolute speed the opportunity to "kill".
For example, the style of Tibetan star Tashi Tsering is "after the start, he likes to bring up the speed (atmosphere) first, then adopt a period of following the running technique, and then go forward again in the last few kilometers, and use super speed and endurance to drag down the opponent and win the race." ”
In short, for professional middle-distance runners, recognize the rules of competitive competitions, the characteristics of sports events, based on their own sports ability, sports type, and sports goals, endlessly improve their comprehensive sports ability, constantly make up for the shortcomings of a certain sports ability, infinitely play and improve their sports expertise, and dare to take skills and tactics that are conducive to their own play in the competition, which is the strongest "killer weapon" for athletes in the competition.