CAN ALTITUDE TRAINING AFFECT SEA LEVEL PERFORMANCE?
Athletes who resided permanently at high altitude not only did well in Mexico City; many also excelled in endurance events held at sea level! These observations provoked one of the most asked questions that resulted from the Mexico City experience, i.e., Will athletes perform better at sea level if they are raised at high altitude or even trained at high altitude? As residence at high altitude causes adaptations in all aspects of the oxygen transport chain, it might be expected, if these adaptations last long enough after return to sea level, that they would be beneficial for performance at sea level. The early studies on this question gave variable results. Balke et al., (1965) studied five male athletes who trained for 10 days at 2,300 m. On return to sea level VO2 max had increased from 3.5 L/min to 3.75 L/min. Furthermore, a one mile time trial improved from 5.29 mins to 5.13 mins. However, as can be seen from their times, these subjects were not exceptional athletes. Faulkner et a
