Kiselev A.D., Nikolaeva V.N., Vladimirov V.V., Chikov A.E., Kutsalo A.L. A retrospective analysis of athletic performance of Russian speed skaters in 2017-2024

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Publication date: 15.06.2025
DOI: 10.24412/2782-6570-2025_04_02_7
UDC 796.91

A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE OF RUSSIAN SPEED SKATERS IN 2017-2024

A.D. Kiselev¹, V.N. Nikolaeva¹, V.V. Vladimirov¹, A.E. Chikov^1,2, A.L. Kutsalo¹

¹Research Institute of Hygiene, Occupational Pathology and Human Ecology, Saint Petersburg, Russia

²Almazov National Research Medical Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Abstract. The article presents a comparative analysis of the competitive performance of Russian skaters at the Russian championships and foreign skaters at the World Championships in the period from 2017 to 2024 based on the results of the official protocols. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an equally negative impact on the athletic performance of both Russian and foreign athletes. The suspension of Russian athletes from international competitions had a negative impact on the results of the Russian championships and a positive impact on the results of the World Championships. The increase in the athletic performance of foreign athletes at the 2024 World Championships relative to the results of the 2017 performance is 2.3% higher than that of Russian athletes at the Russian championships.

Keywords: speed skating, athletic performance, COVID-19 pandemic, suspension of Russian athletes.

Introduction. In modern history of the Russian sport and sport in whole, two global challenges took place: the COVID-19 pandemic and [1] and suspension of athletes from international arena [2-4]. Their overcoming required non-standard solutions in planning and conducting the training process. Suspension from international competitions has severely affected performance of Russian athletes. The lack of competition from the strongest foreign athletes has staggered progress and motivation among the top, established leaders in Russian sport [3, 5, 6]. Consequently, it had led to a generational change in Russian sport.

One of the most spectacular and popular winter sports is speed skating [7]. Speed skating is usually accompanied by over-the-limit physical activity and high speed that reaches its maximum [8, 9]. The main ways to achieve the highest results in speed skating are improving physical and technical fitness of athletes, using new generation skates to increase running speed, a constant improvement of the training process arrangement, psychological and medical support at all stages of preparation to competitions [10]. All the aforementioned points guarantee achievement of the highest results. The most objective criteria for training process evaluation is progress in athletic achievements, although it can be estimated only after the main season competitions [11]. Analyzing the results of athletes' performances at Russian and international competitions in recent years would allow us to assess the dynamics of the level of sportsmanship of Russian and foreign speed skaters.

Objective of the study – to examine changes in competitive performance of Russian and foreign speed skaters in 2017-2024.

Methods and organization. We have analyzed results of the official protocols from the Russian (RCs) and World championships (WCs). The changes were assessed in relation to the competitive results shown by athletes at the RCs and WCs in 2017. The results of the 2018 and 2022 RCs were excluded from the analysis due to the absence of WCs in this period.

To estimate dynamics of performance of Russian and foreign athletes, we used the following indices:

1. The average value of the results of the skaters who took the first 10 places at the competition (hereinafter X_top) was calculated according to the formula:

Х_top= Ʃi₁,i₂,i_n/n,                       (1)

where i₁,i₂,i_n – individual results of top ten athletes at WCs or RCs, n – number of athletes.

The results of Russian athletes were excluded for the calculation of X_top for the 2017 WC, 2019 WC and 2021 WC.

2. Change in athletic results (Р) at a certain distance was calculated relative to the result obtained in 2017, according to the following formula:

Р = -(Х_topY – Х_top2017)/Х_top2017*100,         (2)

where Х_top2017 – average value of the results of top 10 skaters at 2017 WC и 2017 RC;

Х_topY – average value of the sports result at RCs and WCs in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Results and discussion. In the analysis of competitive performance of athletes at RCs and WCs, we have examined dynamics of the P indicator in 2019-2024 relative to the results of RCs and WCs from 2017.

Changes in athletic results in the Russia men’s national team at RCs are presented in table 1.

Table 1

Changes in athletic results in the Russia men’s national team according to the results from the Russian Championships, %

Distance/Year	2019	2020	2021	2023	2024
500 m	0.87	1.09	-0.62	-0.31	0.62
1000 m	0.82	0.64	-0.59	-1.02	0.18
1500 m	1.22	0.72	-0.43	-1.31	-1.14
5000 m	2.60	3.55	2.69	-0.74	-0.02
Average	1.38	1.50	0.26	-0.85	-0.09

In the period before the pandemic, the Russia men’s national speed skating team had an improvement in athletic performance at all distances in the 2019 and 2020 seasons compared to our selected reference point (2017 results) by 1.38% and 1.50 % respectively (table 1). After the COVID-19 lockdown [4, 12, 13], athletes’ performance reduced significantly but was above the results of the reference point. The P value averaged 0.26%. The results of the 2023 and 2024 sports seasons have a negative trend compared to the reference point and previous seasons. The changes in athletic performance in these seasons amounted to -0.85% and -0.09% respectively. Such changes may be related to the suspension from international competitions, loss of motivation of the team leaders and, accordingly, rejuvenation of the squad for the future. If we take into account the results of the 2024 sports season, we can see a positive trend of the P indicator in all the disciplines.

In the Russia women’s national speed skating team, multidirectional changes in sports results were registered, which are presented in table 2.

Table 2

Changes in sports results in the Russia women’s national team according to the results from the Russian Championships, %

Distance/Year	2019	2020	2021	2023	2024
500 m	-0.23	0.51	-0.97	-1.07	-0.03
1000 m	-1.25	0.19	-2.67	-2.19	-1.47
1500 m	-1.34	-0.42	-2.16	-2.66	-2.05
5000 m	0.98	0.74	-0.83	-4.24	-2.79
Average	-0.46	0.26	-1.66	-2.54	-1.59

Athletic performance in women's disciplines in the 2019 sport season decreased by 0.46% on average in comparison to the reference point (table 2). Female athlete performance increased by 0.26% in the 2020 season followed by a decrease to -1.66% in 2021 compared to the 2017 season. In the 2023 and 2024 sports seasons, a similar upward trend in performance with the men’s team was registered. Thus, the analysis of the changes in athletic performance has demonstrated the negative impact of the pandemic and suspension both in men’s and women’s speed skating disciplines.

To assess changes in athletic performance of Russian athletes, a comparative analysis of the P indicator between the results of Russian athletes at the RCs and the results of foreign athletes at the WCs was carried out.

The P indicator changes in 2019-2024 have similar wave structure for both Russian skaters at the RCs and foreign athletes at the WCs. The data are presented in the figure below.

Fig. Changes in sports results of speed skaters at all distances at World and Russian Championships, %

Before the pandemic, an increase in the P indicator in the 2020 sports season is observed in both Russian and foreign athletes. After COVID-19, the level of athletes’ performance decreased sharply. A negative trend is observed for both foreign and Russian skaters. The P indicator of Russian athletes amounted to -0.70% and to -0.16% for foreign athletes. After participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics and subsequent suspension from international competitions, Russian athletes show a further decrease in performance to -1.69%, while for foreign athletes this indicator increased to 1.05%. Thus, the suspension that followed almost immediately after the pandemic aggravated the level of athletic performance of Russian athletes and simultaneously improved the situation for foreign skaters. The changes of the P indicator by 2024 (fig.) show that Russian skaters managed to overcome the influence of unfavorable “challenges”, and athletic performance has improved from -1.69% to -0.84%.

Conclusion. Analyzing the performance of speed skaters between 2017 and 2024 has revealed significant changes in world sport. Skaters' performance has been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and suspensions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the preparation of athletes around the world. The ‘Post-pandemic’ sports season in 2021 is characterized by a decline in performance of both Russian and foreign athletes.

The suspension of Russian athletes from international competitions in 2022 exacerbated the negative impact of the pandemic on athletic performance of our athletes and, at the same time, led to an improvement in athletic performance of foreign athletes at WCs. The difference between the changes in athletic performance was 2.3% in the 2024 sports season relative to 2017. The decline in the sports performance of Russian athletes at RCs is due to the lack of competition from the strongest foreign athletes, which staggered the progress and motivation of the top, established leaders in Russian sport [3, 5, 6]. In the end, this led to a change of generations of skaters in the sport and an increase in athletic performance of Russian athletes by 2024.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Artem D. Kiselev – Senior Researcher in the Sports Hygiene Laboratory, Research Institute of Hygiene, Occupational Pathology and Human Ecology, Kuzmolovsky, Leningrad Oblast, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Valeria N. Nikolaeva – Researcher in the Sports Hygiene Laboratory, Research Institute of Hygiene, Occupational Pathology and Human Ecology, Kuzmolovsky, Leningrad Oblast, r-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Vadim V. Vladimirov – Senior Researcher of the Sports Hygiene Laboratory, Research Institute of Hygiene, Occupational Pathology and Human Ecology Federal Unitary Enterprise under Federal Medical Biological Agency, Kuzmolovsky, Leningrad Oblast, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Aleksandr E. Chikov – Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of Sports Hygiene Laboratories, Research Institute of Hygiene, Occupational Pathology and Human Ecology, Kuzmolovsky, Leningrad Oblast; Associate Professor of the Department of Physiology, Almazov National Medical Research Center of the Ministry of Health of Russian Federation, Saint-Petersburg, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Anatolij L. Kutsalo – Candidate of Medical Sciences, Head of the Department of Physiological Assessment and Medical Correction, Research Institute of Hygiene, Occupational Pathology and Human Ecology, Kuzmolovsky, Leningrad Oblast, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

For citation: Kiselev A.D., Nikolaeva V.N., Vladimirov V.V., Chikov A.E., Kutsalo A.L. A retrospective analysis of athletic performance of Russian speed skaters in 2017-2024. Russian Journal of Sports Science: Medicine, Physiology, Training, 2025, vol. 4, no. 2(14). DOI: 10.24412/2782-6570-2025_04_02_7