Purpose This study investigated how soccer players reach sprint speeds (> 25.2 km·h-1) and what that fixed threshold represents to each player regarding their individual match peak speeds registered during competition. Methods Twenty professional players (n = 20) from a team competing in the Brazilian first division were monitored with a global navigation satellite system during six matches. All efforts with final speeds > 25.2 km·h-1 were analyzed according to starting speed, and accelerations` duration and magnitude. Peak speeds for each player were also retrieved and compared to the sprint threshold. Results Most efforts > 25.2 km·h-1 (> 91%) start with very short accelerations (< 0.5 s). Efforts started predominately from high starting speeds (20-25 and > 25 km·h-1) than low starting speeds (< 5 and 5-10 km·h-1) with huge effect sizes (p < 0.001). Most accelerations had magnitudes between 1 and 3 m·s-2 (p < 0.05). The 25.2 km·h-1 threshold represented an intensity of 71-91% of players` match peak speed. Conclusion The inclusion of accelerations and peak speeds associated to the sprinting events that occur > 25.2 km·h-1 was shown to be useful for further characterization of soccer sprinting performance. In addition, the fixed threshold fails to individualize players` capabilities and performances, misleading load demands performed by players.
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