Sports science has made great progress in describing what today`s elite athletes do and which physiological capacities they possess at the top level. For example, we know that Olympic endurance champions often log hundreds of training hours annually with a smart mix of high- and low-intensity work, and they exhibit exceptional aerobic power, efficiency, and sport-specific strength. These attributes are well documented in cross-sectional studies of world-class performers. However, understanding how an athlete develops those capacities over time is an entirely different challenge—one that remains poorly understood scientifically. In other words, we can describe the end product (the elite training regimes and capacities), but we know far less about the process and development pathway that produces that result.
© Copyright 2026 International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.