Correlation between heart rate and performance during Olympic windsurfing competition

The aim of this study was to examine the heart rate (HR) response to Olympic windsurfing competition and to check if there was any correlation between racing HR, performance, and the variables measured during laboratory maximal exercise. Ten elite windsurfers [age: 20.93 (3.46) years; height: 178.10 (6.34) cm; body mass: 66.79 (5.90) kg] performed a laboratory maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) trial and national windsurf competitions wearing a HR monitor. One hundred and forty-three individual races were examined. Racing HR was expressed as a percentage of (1) HRmax (maximal treadmill HR) and (2) HRreserve (HRmax-HRrest). The performance (racing classification: RC, which is inversely proportional to performance) was significantly correlated to the racing HR response in both light wind (LW): LW-RC = -0.12(%HRreserve) + 13.03; r = -0.71, r2 = 0. 50, p < 0.001, and medium wind (MW): MW-RC= -0.11(%HRreserve) + 10.99; r = -0.66, r2 = 0.43, p < 0.001. The results showed similar correlations between performance and %HRmax. Post racing lactate concentration was higher in LW compared to MW [7.14 (0.21) and 5.18 (2.02) mmol·l-1, respectively]. There was a negative correlation between the highest racing HR (%HRreserve) of each athlete and the second ventilatory threshold expressed as a percentage of VO2max (r = -0.71, p<0.05). To summarize, this study showed that light and medium wind Olympic windsurfing performances are highly dependent on the capacity of the athlete to maintain a high HR for long periods of time. Furthermore, windsurfing is highly dependent on the athlete's physical fitness level as shown by the correlations between racing HRs and laboratory physiological variables.