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Previous studies on periodization have led to the view that most athletes fail to peak at major events. These conclusions might be based on definitions of “peak performance” that are too narrow. In this study, a track and field athlete was defined as succeeding in a competition if their outcome was within the acceptable range from the best result of the season. The data are from seven championship finals and semifinals together with 42 Diamond League competitions from the 2010s, altogether 7,087 individual results. All field events and running events up to 400 m were included. The majority of athletes succeeded in major events (67.0% in sprint and 57.5% in field events). Overall, championship finals elicit success rates that are more than 70% higher than the basic level achieved in Diamond League competitions (p

Purpose Long-term development of endurance performance requires a proper balance between strain and recovery. While responses and adaptations to training are highly individual, this study examined whether individually-adjusted endurance training based on recovery and training status would lead to greater adaptations compared to a predefined program. Methods Recreational runners were divided into predefined (PD, n = 14) or individualized (IND, n = 16) training groups. In IND, the training load was decreased, maintained or increased twice a week based on nocturnal heart rate variability, perceived recovery, and heart rate-running speed index. Both groups performed three-week preparatory, six-week volume and six-week interval periods. Incremental treadmill tests and 10 km running tests were performed before the preparatory period (T0) and after the preparatory (T1), volume (T2), and interval (T3) periods. The magnitude of training adaptations was defined based on the coefficient of variation between T0 and T1 tests (high >2 x, low