Introduction: Triathlon is a relatively new sport that has gained popularity over the last 45 years, culminating in its representation in two Olympic racing formats. As an endurance sport, the surrounding literature heavily emphasises describing and developing physiological capacity. However, understanding the motor skills that govern the biomechanics of swimming, cycling, and running is also crucial, as the biomechanical quality of these motor skills impacts the speed and efficiency of movement. Currently, there is no consensus in the scientific literature regarding the motor skills performed during elite triathlon. Additionally, how these motor skills are learned over time is not well understood. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to investigate how the performance of important triathlon motor skills changes over time and identify any common factors that affect these changes. Method: In study one, 25 stakeholders in Australian triathlete development (Mage = 41 years, SD = 12.3 years; male: n = 20, female: n = 5) participated in semi structured interviews to gain novel insights into the beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of these stakeholders regarding the important motor skills for elite triathlon success. In study two, seven triathletes (female: n = 3, male: n = 4; Mage = 16.29 ± 2.5 years) participated in a sprint-distance triathlon, which was simultaneously filmed and monitored by a single trunk-mounted wearable IMU to validate the measurement of swimming strokes, cycling pedal strokes, and running strides. Following this, in study three, a peak detection algorithm and machine learning model were created for use in triathlon to automatically detect and measure triathlon motor skills. Finally, in study four, 12 junior triathletes (female: n = 4, male: n = 8; Mage = 16.85 ± 1.16 years; average time in sport = 4.15 ± 1.74 years) wore a wearable IMU during every race for two years to understand how triathlon motor skill performance changes over time. Results: Study one identified that stakeholders in Australian triathlon believe it is essential to train the invariant features of the motor skills required for each discipline, as well as relevant discrete skills such as cornering, change of direction, and transition skills. They also emphasised the importance of training adaptability in performance to different environmental and task contexts. The results of studies two and three demonstrated that a single trunk-mounted IMU could validly measure and automatically detect movement cadence in triathlon; however, further investigation is required to validate changes in cycling subtasks to create a more comprehensive measurement tool. The final study found substantial individual variation in changes in movement cadence over time, but there was a positive, non-significant trend of improvement over the course of the two seasons. Furthermore, changes in movement cadence were largely influenced by temporal factors and the coaching received. Conclusion: The investigations performed in this thesis demonstrate a `roadmap` to identifying the important motor skills for success at the elite level in a sport, create a measurement tool to measure motor skills performance with high ecological validity and practical utility, and monitor changes in motor skill performance to demonstrate how performance changes over time.
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