An analysis of longitudinal speed trends in local youth athletics performance over a 13-year span from 2013-2026

Description

The analytical dataset was constructed from publicly available archival competition results obtained from annual city and provincial high school track and field championships conducted between 2013 and 2026. The dataset included finalist performances in sprint (100 m, 200 m, and 400 m) and middle-distance (800 m, 1500 m, and 3000 m) events across boys' and girls' novice, junior, and senior age categories. Data extracted for each performance included competition year, competition level, event, age category, gender category, athlete name, school affiliation, finishing time, and wind reading (where available). Historical environmental data, including temperature, humidity, humidex, and precipitation, were linked to each competition using the closest available weather station. Following data cleaning and verification, wind-adjusted running speeds were calculated and used as the primary outcome variable. The final analytical dataset represented 13 years of championship competition (2013–2026; excluding 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic-related event cancellations) and included only the top eight finalists within each competition, event, age category, and gender grouping to ensure consistent comparisons across years.

Institutions

• University of Windsor

  Ontario, Windsor

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