Caffeine can significantly improve athletic performance, according to a study that found caffeine supplementation shortened 100-meter sprint times. World Athletics, formerly known as the International Association of Athletics Federations, recognized caffeine as an “ergogenic aid” in a consensus statement on a nutritional strategy for athletics.
Caffeine, a stimulant that affects the nervous system, is a popular choice among athletes as a performance-enhancing aid. Published in journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the study recruited 13 male college sprinters. The study showed that the corrected 100m sprint time was significantly reduced in athletes receiving caffeine, with a drop of 0.14 seconds compared to controls.
The reduction in time was largely associated with a reduction in sprint time for the first 60 meters of the sprint, the researchers said. They also found that the average sprint speed for the 0-10m and 10-20m splits was significantly higher in athletes who received caffeine.
“Although previous studies have investigated the effects of caffeine on running activity, the evidence from these studies is not strong enough to support the consensus of world athletics,” said Professor Takeshi Hashimoto of Ritsumeikan University in Japan.
“Most of them looked at its effects on single sprint runs of less than 60 meters. Therefore, it was important to study the ergogenic effects of caffeine on 100-meter sprint performance,” said Hashimoto.
In a preliminary test, the researchers determined the time required for each athlete to reach the maximum concentration of caffeine in the blood plasma after its ingestion. The athletes were challenged twice more to perform 100m time trials after consuming either caffeine or a placebo. As a measure of performance, the researchers measured sprint speed and calculated sprint time. After excluding the effects of environmental factors, corrected sprint time was used to examine the effects of caffeine supplementation.
According to the researchers, no significant difference in sprint time was observed in the last 40 meters of the sprint, despite a reduction in sprint time in the first 60 meters. These observations suggest that caffeine supplementation gave sprinters more explosive acceleration early in the race, they said. These results could translate into improved athletic performance in athletes by increasing the use of caffeine as an ergogenic aid during sprints, the researchers added.
