Emerging Portable Technology Provides Preliminary Predictive Models of Maximum Velocity Sprinting in National Australian Track Athletes: A Foundation for Measuring Sprint Performance in the Field

Maximal velocity (MaxV) is a key determinant of sprint performance, yet its biomechanical predictors have rarely been examined in the field. This exploratory study developed preliminary predictive models of sprint time and MaxV in national level Australian track sprinters using portable technology. Twenty-eight sprinters (16 male, 12 female) each completed two maximal 60 m sprints recorded with a MuscleLab LaserSpeed radar, SportScientia Techlayer instrumented insoles, and VueMotion kinograms. The two trials per athlete were averaged (intraclass correlation 0.83–0.98) to give 28 independent observations, and best-subsets multiple regression selected by leave-one-out cross-validated R2 subject to all variance inflation factors below five was used to model 60 m and 20 m sprint time and MaxV. The 60 m sprint time was almost entirely explained by MaxV alone (R2 = 0.94, cross-validated R2 = 0.93), an expected mechanical relationship. The 60 m MaxV was associated with normalised peak force, vertical loading rate, time to peak force and thigh angular velocity (R2 = 0.85, cross-validated R2 = 0.78). The 20 m sprint time was predicted by 20 m MaxV (R2 = 0.80), while vertical loading rate was the only significant predictor of 20 m maximal velocity (β = 0.65, R2 = 0.59). These preliminary findings suggest that portable instrumented insoles, sagittal plane kinematics and infrared radar may assist in identifying candidate biomechanical variables associated with MaxV in the field. Given the small sample and absence of external validation, the models require confirmation in larger, independent cohorts.