# High-Speed Running and Sprinting Thresholds in Elite Female Team Sports: A Systematic Review
## 4 Discussion
In studies on men players, activity categories were classified as high-speed running (>15.5 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)) and sprinting (>20.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)) [117]. This variation allows for direct comparisons with previous research on male elite hockey, as similar methodologies and speed zones were used. In outdoor sports, four studies used the same thresholds to define HSR and sprint in female Australian football [27; 28; 29; 89] (see Figure 3). The consistency of these four studies supports the robustness of the proposed thresholds for Australian football in female athletes. These findings suggest that despite rule differences across rugby codes, thresholds may be interchangeable; however, caution is warranted given the potential differences in game dynamics. Similarly, rugby sevens and rugby union show considerable variability in HSR and sprinting thresholds. However, nearly 50% of the studies applied the same thresholds for HSR (18.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)) and sprinting (20.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)). Based on our findings, despite the differences in rules and disciplines across rugby modalities, the thresholds for HSR and sprinting could be interchangeable within the rugby codes. The same variability in GPS speed-zone metrics has been observed in men's rugby leagues [118]. [PERSON] et al. 2016 [119] found significant variations in speed-zone classifications across studies, making it difficult to compare player performance consistently. For example, different studies defined low-speed zones or low-speed activities using thresholds like 0.1-6.9, 0-10.8, 0-12.6, 0-14.4, 0-18, and 0-19.4 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\). Similarly, while some studies categorized high-speed/intensity running starting at 14.4 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\), the majority used 18.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) as the baseline [118]. In female soccer, some differences were observed for HSR (minimum 12.5 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) and maximum 19.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)) and sprint (minimum 19.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) and maximum 25.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)) (Table 3). Therefore, based on the current literature, the definitions of the thresholds for HSR and sprint remain arbitrary, with no consensus in the soccer literature. However, 36% of authors used 20.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) to define sprint velocities, while most studies in professional adult soccer set the sprint threshold at \(>\)25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)[120]. This indicates that using male-derived thresholds may underestimate high-intensity distances in female athletes, reinforcing the need for sex-specific benchmarks. In lacrosse, only two studies met our inclusion criteria [35; 50]. Both studies fixed the same HSR threshold (16.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)) and similar sprint velocities of 19.0 (25) and 20.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (49). The consistency of speed zones and movement pattern definitions demonstrated in the two previous lacrosse studies could enable more accurate comparisons and performance analyses among players and across various levels of competition within the sport. In outdoor sports, the mean HSR threshold was 16.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)\(\pm\) 2.8 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\), and for sprint velocity, the most frequently used threshold across different outdoor sports was 20.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\), with the exception of lacrosse (19.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)) and rugby union (15.0 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\)). This similarity in HSR between outdoor sports may be partly explained by their comparable field sizes [5]. For outdoor sports, our analysis suggests that some measures of external load (e.g., high-speed running or sprinting) may be used interchangeably, but this is not the case for indoor modalities such as handball or basketball. Another critical consideration rarely addressed in the literature is the influence of tracking technology on the reported thresholds. Differences in sampling rates, device placement, and data processing methods may substantially impact speed measurements.