Analysis: Research shows that participating in multiple events may enhance performance for young athletes, but it's not a clear result
Kate O'Connor's magnificent silver medal in the heptathlon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo will hopefully inspire a new generation to take up athletics and multi events in general. But is participating in multi-events useful for more than those looking to "specialise" as all-rounders? Does participating in multi-events in the early teenage years lay a stronger foundation for athletic development in individual events? And does answering this question reveal guiding principles for parents and coaches supporting young people in all sports?
In 2021, we examined how common multi-event participation was in youth athletics and the consequences of either specialising or continue to compete in the multiple disciplines of Sprints/Hurdles, Jumps, Throws and Endurance at both under 13 and under 15. The data we looked at came from a large data set of UK athletics results.
Our first key finding was that relatively few 12-year-olds only competed in a single event. But while many athletes competed in two or three disciplines, completing in all four disciplines was also something that not many athletes did. The chart above shows updated figures from a subsequent larger scale analysis of data reinforcing our original findings.
To investigate the consequences of specialising or competing in multiple events, we looked at top ranked under 20 athletes. We examined what events they participated in at age 12 compared to their peers at U13 who did not progress to be top ranked U20 athletes.
For males, there was no relationship between how many disciplines they competed in at U13 and later achieving a top ranking at U20, but we did see a relationship for females. Top ranked female athletes in the U20 category were more likely to have participated in multiple events at age 12 then their peers at age 12 who did not go on to become top ranked U20 athletes. So there is a hint that participating in multiple events may enhance performance, but – as so often when examining a topic as complex as athlete development – it's not a clear result.
From RTÉ Sport, Kate O'Connor takes the silver medal in the heptathlon at the Athletics World championships in Tokyo
What is going on here? One likely part of the answer was expressed really nicely by a participant in another study where we looked at coaches' and parents’ views about the development of athletes. The coach emphasised that when thinking about an athlete’s sporting diet – imagine a "food pyramid" of sports – it is important not just to think about the sport of athletics but all of the sports that an athlete participates in:
"It doesn't mean they must do different kinds of athletics such as jumps and throws as well as running if they like running. Kids can do other sports BESIDES [emphasis respondent’s] athletics such as cycling, swimming, rugby. They shouldn't be forced into doing hurdles and jumps if they don't want to do it just to please the multi event enthusiasts whose horizons don't extend beyond the athletics arena" (Participant 34; coach)
If a young athlete who participates predominantly in throwing events also plays Gaelic football, then their sporting diet may include sufficient endurance running from football and they may not need to engage in endurance running within track and field.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's News at One, RTE's Darren Frehill discusses how Kate O'Connor's heptathlon at the World Athletics Championship started with personal bests in both the 100m hurdles and high jump
A limitation of our analysis is that we were only working on competition data. It is possible that individuals who were only competing in a single event were actually training for multiple different events and were gaining the benefits of running, jumping and throwing through their training sessions. After all, jumping forms an important part of the training of throwers and sprinters while throwing medicine balls can be an important part of the training of sprinters and jumpers. As such, participating in multiple athletic disciplines is a great way to familiarise young athletes with a variety of skills that will potentially underpin their training in future years.
So what is the take-home message. Should young athletes be encouraged to train and compete in all four athletics disciplines? And does answering this question reveal broader principles for parents and coaches supporting young people in all sports?
It's vital to show athletes how enjoyable and engaging this aspect of track and field can be
The development of sporting excellence is complex and simple answers to complex questions should always be treated with suspicion. Anyone who studies the development of expertise appreciates the uniqueness of individual journeys. Bearing this in mind, a sound starting point when designing training for young athletes is to think about general development before specific exercises, multiple events before specialisation (or multiple positions in the case of team sports), and an athlete’s full diet of sports informing what they do within each sport.
As a former multi-eventer, I absolutely want to encourage participation in this branch of athletics. To do so, it's vital to show athletes how enjoyable and engaging this aspect of track and field can be - and congratulations to Kate O’Connor for being a tremendous role model for that.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
