Reaching greater heights

There are certain competition venues where visiting athletes often struggle to compete at their top-level. What do these sites have in common?

They are generally 6,100 feet/1,860 meters above sea level.

While scientists now understand the physiological effects of high altitude, debate remains in answering why certain athletes perform better than others at altitude and if and how training high can be used as a competitive advantage.

"It's really an individual thing," said Billy Demong, a three-time Olympian and 2009 World Champion in nordic combined. "It's personal in how you use altitude training and how it affects you in training and in competition."

To gain a better understanding of altitude training, the U.S. Olympic Committee has hosted eight International Altitude Training Symposiums (IATS) since 1994. This year's IATS welcomed 18 countries representing six continents to the Doubletree World Arena Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and from Oct. 21-23 top-notch scientists, elite athletes and national team coaches listened, shared and absorbed the latest in high altitude training techniques.

"It's been great to listen to these scientists and learn some of the best practices in use today," said Dave Jarrett, Head Coach of the U.S. Nordic Combined Team and two-time Olympian in nordic combined. "It's also been humbling to speak in front of these great luminaries about what we do."

Jarrett joined Demong in a presentation on the altitude/hypoxic training techniques of the elite U.S. Nordic Combined Skiers. Since Jarrett and Demong live and train at an elevation of 6,561 feet/2,000 meters in Park City, Utah, their technique of live high-train low delineated from the majority of best practices presented at the IATS.

For instance, Bob Bowman, Coach and Director of the North Baltimore Athletic Club and also the primary coach of Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps and former coach of Olympic medalist Katie Hoff, shared his experience of holding 21-day training camps that allow his swimmers to live low and train high.

"You can get six weeks of training in three," Bowman said. "This high level of training in such a short period of time helps our swimmers to reach greater results much faster than remaining at sea level."

Other sessions included a best practice presentation by Terrence Mahon, Head Coach of the Olympic Development Training Group of the Mammoth Lakes Track Club which sits at an altitude of 8,005 feet/2,440 meters. Mahon was joined by one of his athletes and three-time Olympic marathoner and bronze medalist, Deena Kastor.

In addition to best practice sessions by elite coaches and athletes, there were two groupings of presentations labeled, "Hot Topics in Altitude Training" and "Altitude Training around the World."

Speaking on hot topics was Dr. Christopher Gore, PhD, of the Australian Institute of Sport; Dr. Jim Stray-Gunderson, M.D., of the S-G Alter-G Center in Frisco, Texas; and Dr. Ben Levine, M.D. , of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. These presentations offered current research on the effects of altitude on the human body and its performance.

Also presented were altitude/hypoxic training models from Canada, New Zealand and Kenya.

"The primary objective of the symposium was to provide scientifically-based information and best practices to Team USA coaches so that they can readily develop practical strategies for using natural and simulated altitude in the training of their athletes," said Dr. Randy Wilber, USOC Senior Sport Physiologist and Director of the USOC Athlete Performance Laboratory. "Feedback from among 160 Team USA coaches and athletes in attendance indicated that this objective was successfully met.  As such, I am optimistic that a significant number of Team USA athletes will be able to train and compete more effectively as a result of incorporating and/or expanding the use of altitude training within their yearly training plans."  

Although a widely accepted training practice by many top nations, the debate on the effectiveness of altitude training remains.

To continue the quest for knowledge about this edgy training technique, experts, coaches and elite athletes hope to convene again in the near future to discuss the latest tips, techniques and findings.

Tags: Billy Demong, Bob Bowman, Dave Jarrett, Deena Kastor, International Altitude Training Symposium, USOC, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Vanessa Virbitsky