Influence of starting position on finishing position in World Cup 500 m short track speed skating

Top short track speed skaters and their coaches have suspected that starting positions influence finishing positions, especially in the 500m racing distance. The objective of this study was to examine systematically the influence of starting position on finishing position in 500m short track speed skating. The data analysed included results from World Cup 500m races ranging from the 1999 - 2000 season through to the end of the 2003 - 2004 season. All 500m men's and women's races with four skaters starting and finishing (preliminaries, heats, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals) were included in the data set. The association between starting position and finishing position was examined using Kendall's tau. Results show that for both sexes, there is a significant positive correlation between starting position and finishing position (P <= 0.001). This effect is generally more pronounced in semi-finals and finals than it is in preliminaries, heats and quarter- finals. Strategies to counter this inequity are proposed, drawing upon similar experiences in other sports.