Dr.Biol., Professor B.V. Ermolaev
Moscow Polytechnic University, Moscow

Objective of the study was to identify contradictions between two forms of sensitivity: to the situation (readiness for a starting shot) and to own movement patterns (biomechanics of own body, own movements), as well as to search for possible "marks" of conflict in the implementation of executive actions when distributing attention in a prestart state.
Methods and structure of the study. We analyzed the results of the semifinal race at a distance of 60 m for men at the World Athletics Indoor Championships (Birmingham, 2018, Portland, 2016, Sopot, 2014) - 9 runs, 69 results. The sprinter’s startle response time (latent period of the motor reaction) and demonstrated result served as initial indicators. It was assumed that the startle response time was an integral indicator of the sprinter’s sensitivity to the starting time. Another integral indicator of the athlete’s focus and concentration of attention on himself and his movement patterns, achievement of the "perceptual-motor pool" is the time of running the distance - the difference between the demonstrated result and the startle response time.
Results of the study and conclusions. We detected a moderate negative correlation between two forms of sensitivity in the athletes: to the starting situation (starter signal) and to own biomechanics. The dependence was interpreted as the result of attention allocation in the prestart state. There are concepts according to which attention is viewed as an attribute of control processes aimed to overcome a trend to mechanically perform well-learned actions.
In terms of such an action, it seems to be impossible to pre-configure all the characteristics of attention (control mechanism) to previously unknown parameters of coordinated motor tasks, to form their overall stable "coordination structure".

Keywords: maximum attention concentration, competitive activity, prestart pause, latent period of motor reaction, coordination structure.

References

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