REF-666 · van Ingen Schenau, de Groot & Hollander, 1983 · European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, · Paper · PubMed
Elite speed skaters differ from well-trained ones in position as much as engine: a smaller pre-extension knee angle with more work per stroke, higher stroke frequency and "efficiency"
Plus higher aerobic power
Participants
n=19 speed skaters: 5 elite and 14 well-trained skaters of a lower performance level.
Protocol
Three maximal tests: a 3,000 m race (skating position and stroke frequency derived from it), an oxygen-consumption test during skating, and one on a bicycle ergometer; anthropometric measures in all.
Key Findings
Elite group VO2: 64.4 ± 3.5 ml/kg/min cycling, 59.4 ± 3.7 ml/kg/min skating.
Compared with the lower-level group, elite skaters showed: a shorter upper leg relative to total leg length, higher aerobic power in cycling, higher stroke frequency, a smaller pre-extension knee angle coupled to higher work per stroke, higher "efficiency" in skating, and higher external power in both skating and cycling.
Authors' conclusion: an important prerequisite for speed skating appears to be the ability to skate at a small pre-extension knee angle without an excessive claim on anaerobic metabolism.
Practical Application
In 5 elite vs 14 well-trained skaters, the elite skated a 3,000 m race with a smaller pre-extension knee angle, more work per stroke and a higher stroke frequency, at higher skating "efficiency" and higher aerobic power (cycling VO2 64.4 ml/kg/min). Position and stroke are trainable levers alongside the aerobic engine, not instead of it.
Inference, not tested: the goal is a low position the athlete can hold without tipping into heavy anaerobic cost — build the specific strength and endurance to sustain it for the full race (REF-667 shows the low position restricts muscle blood flow).
Skating VO2 (59.4) sat below cycling VO2 (64.4) even in the elite group — the cycling number overstates what is usable on skates.
Limitations
Cross-sectional, n=19, only 5 elite; differences are associations, not tested causes.
Early work; equipment (klapskate) and technique have evolved since 1983.
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from B+: cross-sectional comparison, n=19
Content correction 2026-09-27
Level B+ -> B (cross-sectional, n=19). Added n, the protocol and the abstract's VO2 values; Tier 4-5 -> 3-5 (14 of 19 were a lower performance level).
"Effective long push-off" and "deep posture constrains muscle blood flow" -> not in this abstract (blood flow is REF-667); replaced by the abstract's findings (higher work per stroke, stroke frequency, efficiency, aerobic power, leg proportions).
Title "technique and position, not fitness alone" kept in spirit but the elite also had higher aerobic power, now stated.