OXYGEN SATURATION AND HEART RATE VARIABILITY DURING ORIENTEERING RACES

ABSTRACT Orienteering is a hard, physically demanding sport. The combination of running and map reading tests competitors’ mental and physical endurance. The high speed during races requires an intense oxygen uptake. This paper discusses oxygen deficiency during orienteering races. Competitors’ oxygen saturation and heart rate values were monitored by smart watches and pulse oximeters. A group of eight male elite orienteers were tested from March 2021 to October 2021 through laboratory and terrain tests. The laboratory spiroergometry was carried out on a treadmill. Spiroergometric parameters and gas analysis results were recorded in real time (breath-by-breath) with a Meta Max 3B metabolic analyzer. The terrain tests - pulmometry and measurement of oxygen levels in the blood (SpО2) were taken by Huawei GT Pro 2 watches. Indicators of movement, speed per kilometer, average and maximum heart rate values were collected. Field studies to monitor oxygen levels in the blood (SpO2) were conducted during orienteering competitions for the first time in Bulgaria. Descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, and correlation analysis were used for data analysis. The research results revealed that the orienteers do not suffer oxygen deficiency during orienteering races, which led us to the conclusion that the level of oxygen in the blood (SpО2) does not influence technical errors during the competitions. Statistically significant differences in the average heart rate values of the subjects for forest versus sprint disciplines were observed, which implies specialization of the competitors by discipline. Further studies should be done for interpreting and comparing the terrain tests data with the laboratory functional tests by taking into account the individual characteristics of each competitor.