Games Event 4 Sprint Couplet: Were some lanes faster than others? /w Stats

[theparadox116]

https://imgur.com/X6y56cN

Background: There were some reports from athletes that some lanes seemed faster than others during the sprint couplet. A large part of the workout was a sled push that may be effected by differences in turf resistance due to moisture or temperature.

Method: To see if the lane results were correlated, I looked at whether an athlete in a particular lane did better than the median for their gender. Each lane was used 4 times, 2 heats per gender. In each lane there were 3 scenarios possible: all 4 athletes did better/worse than the median, 3 athletes did better/worse, and 2 athletes did better while 2 did worse. If lane didn't matter, we should expect a particular distribution of the number of each type.

For example, if many lanes had all 4 athletes simultaneously doing better than the median than it will be a strong indication that the lane mattered.

I also looked at 5 previous events with 2 (or 3) heats to compare.

Results: The lane did seem to matter for the Sprint Couplet. In the Sprint Couplet 6/20 lanes had all 4 athletes do better or worse than the median (p=0.03). In addition, only 2 lanes had 2 athletes do worse and 2 athletes do better than the median (p=0.0069). In the 5 other events tested, there were no other statistically significant results.

In other words, the chance of getting results as extreme as we saw in the Sprint Couplet, given the lanes were truly equal, is 1 in 145.

Comments:

”Lane assignments aren’t random and could effect results”: Maybe, but it doesn’t seem to have a significant effect in the other workouts.

”It doesn’t matter now that the Games are over” Sure, but in future events with sled pushes it might be fair to the athletes to test the turf.

”Champions will win regardless and stop making excuses”: Should still try and make the test as fair as possible. And in this case some athletes complaints may be warranted b/c it seems some lanes were actually faster than others.

 

[james2016]

@theparadox116 This is something that happens in some swimming pools. Distance swimmers are amazingly consistent from lap to lap over a long event, but some pools have a current so you’ll see one end lane be significantly faster going away from the diving block than coming back and the end lane on the other side will be the opposite, with the middle lanes being unaffected. At big meets they’ll check for this by dropping empty water bottles with the lids on in the pool and making sure they don’t move, although I’m not sure if there’s a test for deeper currents or if the bottles would catch that.

 

[chantelle1989g]

@james2016 I remember reading about a pool design for one of last few Olympics - maybe Beijing - where they talked about how they designed the pool so that the force generated by the swimmers was dissipated to the greatest extent, using some new techniques. It's a tough problem to solve.

At Rio, there was (possibly) a problem. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/aug/18/olympic-pool-current-swimming-results-rio-2016

 

[praynmama]

@james2016 It's not some -- it's pretty much all swimming pools. It's why the higher seeded swimmers are put in the middle lanes.

 

[james2016]

@praynmama They put faster swimmers in the middle lanes so they don’t get the wake from swimming in a wall lane, not because of a current. Well designed pools do not have currents.

 

[praynmama]

@james2016 Yes I read the comment wrong, I had meant in reference to the outer lanes being more affected by the race. Thank you.

 

[arrow93]

@theparadox116 While I was watching the event, I really wondered how different the sledges were sliding. For some it looked like they were pushed over ice while others seemed to be stuck in mud. We‘ll never find out... but what I find extremely poor is Castro‘s self justice on instagram where he constantly praises his programming while making fun of people that formulate (reasonable) criticism / ideas for improvement.

 

[theparadox116]

@arrow93 Yes 100% agree. He's basically saying "I believe there isn't a difference between lanes. I won't bother to test it rigorously to find out but everyone who disagrees with my belief is making excuses and deserves ridicule."

 

[arrow93]

@theparadox116 Exactly! The constant „Don‘t criticize, you just didn’t train hard enough“ attitude pisses me off. But most ridiculous comment was Dave saying „We found the 10 fittest athletes in the first 7 events, and afterwards we could test their strength“ referring to the max clean event. Including that aspect earlier might have been very useful to figure out the 10 fittest ones. Different topic...

 

[dawn16]

@arrow93 That's pretty much why all conversation about the CrossFit Games being the test to find the fittest has to stop. They even contradict their original concept of fitness.

The Games is an abstract art form of GG and TDC. They just 'Jackson Pollock it'!

 

[dawn16]

@theparadox116 I was at the Games and specifically recall making comments during this event that some of the lanes looked much more resistant than others on the return. Fraser and Toomey were in the same lane and looked like they were pushing a 500-lb sled on the way back. There's no way that "bad form" is to blame there.

 

[praynmama]

@dawn16 Fraser dug his into the ground immediately, and had trouble with HIS FORM throughout both legs of the sled push. It ABSOLUTELY was his bad form to blame.

Stop grasping at straws, people. Jesus.

 

[dawn16]

@praynmama I have no dog in the fight, so not really sure who’s grasping for straws. This was my own observation. You’re free to disagree. Have a nice day!

 

[praynmama]

@dawn16

There's no way that "bad form" is to blame there

Fraser starts the event out by immediately shoving his sled straight into the ground. But there's no way that "bad form" is to blame?

Your observation is wrong.

 

[dawn16]

@praynmama Listen pal, I specifically stated that the lane was resistant on their return, not on their first push. So your argument that Fraser dug his sled into the ground is misplaced.

 

[praynmama]

@dawn16 He had poor form throughout both sled pushes.

This submission is using data overall, which includes bad times due to poor form, to reach conclusions.

Both your observation and the "conclusion" reached by this post are wrong at worst, and misleading at best.

 

[dawn16]

@praynmama Your statement that he had “poor form” is no more than your opinion. Similarly, your conclusion about the lanes is an opinion - one that a lot of people on this thread disagree with. But sure, we’re all wrong and you’re right, just because you say it’s so. Got it.

 

[praynmama]

@dawn16 Go watch the event again, it's not an opinion dude.

 

[visilda]

@praynmama It could have been both - bad initial push cost him time, then after adjusting and getting the sled on the move, the lane for whatever reason looked to have an impact as well.

I remember watching it and it seemed some athletes were pushing an empty sled and some were pushing 2-3 plates - the difference seemed more drastic than you can reasonably imagine.

 

[praynmama]

@visilda Yet making statements like "there's no way that bad form is to blame there" is fine? C'mon, man. You guys are just making excuses for Fraser.