Author(s): ZHOU, G., KIM, S.R., YIN, Y., JIANG, H., CAI, X., Institution: NANJING NORMAL UNIVERSITY, Country: CHINA, Abstract-ID: 1182

INTRODUCTION:
Field hockey is a team sport with extremely high demands on physical fitness, and players’ running capacity and level of aerobic metabolism directly affect match performance[1]. This study aims to analyze the match running characteristics of elite Chinese male field hockey players and explore their correlation with maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂ max), thereby providing recommendations for future training.
METHODS:
The subjects were 14 male field hockey players from the Liaoning provincial team (age 26.6 ± 4.8 years, height 178 ± 5.3 cm, body mass 75.6 ± 8.6 kg). Running data were collected during 12 official matches using a GPS device (K-Sport, Italy), including total distance, distances in speed zones (Z1: 0–16.2 km/h; Z2: 16.2–19.8 km/h; Z3: 19.8–27 km/h; Z4: >27 km/h), high-speed running distance, and number of sprints. VO₂ max was measured using a treadmill with an incremental load protocol (MetaMax 2B, Cortex, Germany), recording both relative VO₂ max (Re) and absolute VO₂ max (Ab). Data were analyzed with SPSS 27 using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation tests.
RESULTS:
The team’s average total running distance in a match was 5863 ± 755 m, with an average running distance of 115 ± 7 m per minute, high-speed running distance is 20±7 meters per minute, sprint distance was 5±2 m per minute. Correlation analysis showed that all running performance metrics were positively correlated with relative VO₂ max. The strongest correlation was observed between the number of sprints and relative VO₂ max (r=0.451, P<0.01), followed by high-intensity running distance (Z4, r=0.403, P<0.01), sprint distance (r=0.390, P<0.01), and sprint distance per minute (r=0.373, P<0.01). Maximum speed (r=0.312), high-speed running distance (r=0.318), distance in Z3 (r=0.291), high-speed running distance per minute (r=0.289), and distance per minute (r=0.247) also showed highly significant positive correlations with relative VO₂ max (P<0.01).
CONCLUSION:
Position-specific differences further suggest that forwards and midfielders demonstrate greater high-intensity running demands, whereas defenders show lower sprint and high-speed running outputs. Players’ running performance in field hockey is closely related to their cardiorespiratory aerobic capacity, and high-intensity running and sprinting ability depend on a higher VO₂ max.
Therefore, improving VO₂ max through targeted aerobic and high-intensity interval training should be a central objective to enhance match physical performance, in addition, prior research suggests that field hockey conditioning programs should emphasize both aerobic endurance and the ability to perform repeated short sprints[2]. Conditioning programs should remain position-specific, while also promoting balanced fitness development across intensity domains. Overall, aerobic capacity represents a key physiological foundation underpinning match physical demands in elite Chinese male field hockey players.
1.Boyle PM et al., (1994) 2.Cai,(2016).