Expertise in Ultra-Endurance Triathletes Early Sport Involvement, Training Structure, and the Theory of Deliberate Practice

Abstract

The theory of deliberate practice (Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer, 1993) is predicated on the concept that the engagement in specific forms of practice is necessary for the attainment of expertise. The purpose of this paper was to examine the quantity and type of training performed by expert UE triathletes. Twenty-eight UE triathletes were stratified into expert, middle of the pack, and back of the pack groups based on previous finishing times. All participants provided detailed information regarding their involvement in sports in general and the three triathlon sports in particular. Results illustrated that experts performed more training than non-experts but that the relationship between training and performance was not monotonic as suggested by Ericsson et al. Further, experts' training was designed so periods of high training stress were followed by periods of low stress. However, early specialization was not a requirement for expertise. This work indicates that the theory of deliberate practice does not fully explain expertise development in UE triathlon.

Notes

¹ These five training zones represent a conventional rating of training intensity that the athletes were familiar with and used as part of their training regimen.

^a Hours Other is made up of the total hours spent in other sports minus time spent in swimming, cycling and running.

^b Total Hours to Date includes training hours as a triathlete as well as the hours accumulated prior to beginning triathlon.

^c Hours Triathlon is made up of the cumulative hours of training in swimming, cycling, and running.

² The one exception is in the mid-pack group which reported a high level of swim training prior to beginning triathlon but is likely due to the inclusion of a near elite level swimmer who performed over 10 000 hours of swim training.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Janice Deakin

The authors would like to thank the following individuals and groups for their support in the completion of this study: Barrie Shepley, Peak Centre for Human Performance, and Endurosport. Appreciation is also extended to the triathletes who took part in the data collection. Support for this study was given by a doctoral fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC Fellowship # 752-2001–1491) and an equipment grant from Computrainer Inc (Seattle, WA) to the first author. Partial support was also provided by a standard research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC Grant # 410-2002-0325) to the second and third authors. The second and third authors had equal contributions to this research project. The authors would also like to acknowledge Janet Starkes and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier version of this paper.