Guides · PhotonSport · 9 min read
Sprint testing explained: 30 m splits, the force–velocity profile and the 5-0-5 test
How to read timing-gate data: flying sprint top speed, 30 m splits, the sprint force–velocity profile (F0, V0, Pmax) and left–right asymmetry in the 5-0-5.
By Vikas Kashyap · Updated 13 October 2026
Timing gates produce clean numbers and very little interpretation. A sprint session leaves a column of times, and the questions a coach actually asks, is this athlete faster, what is holding them back, do they turn equally well off both feet, are left to whoever has the afternoon free. Three tests cover those three questions. This guide reads each in turn.
Top speed: the flying sprint
In a flying sprint the athlete has a run-up and is timed over a short section, usually 10 or 20 metres, at full speed. Top speed is simply the distance divided by the time: a flying 10 m in 1.30 s is 7.7 metres per second, or 27.7 km/h.
- Judge it against the athlete's own previous sessions. Squad comparisons are useful once, for profiling; week to week the only question is whether this athlete has changed.
- Decide what counts as a change. Gates, surface, wind and footwear all move the result a little. We treat a difference of 0.3 km/h or less as level.
- Keep the best session in view. An athlete who has run 28.8 km/h and is now at 27.7 has a known ceiling to work back to, which is a different conversation from an athlete setting a new best.
Acceleration: reading the 30 m splits
A 30 m sprint from a standing start with gates at 10, 20 and 30 m gives three times. Reading them only as totals hides the story, so split them: the time for each 10 m on its own, and the speed at each gate.
| Gate | Time at the gate | That 10 m alone | What it reflects |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 m | 2.11 s | 2.11 s | The start and first steps: force at low speed. |
| 20 m | 3.50 s | 1.39 s | The transition: still accelerating hard. |
| 30 m | 4.86 s | 1.36 s | Approaching top speed: the gain per 10 m is now small. |
Two athletes with the same 30 m time can have reached it differently, one with a fast first 10 m and a flat finish, the other slow out of the start and still accelerating at 30 m. The splits show which, and the force–velocity profile puts a number on it.
The force–velocity profile in plain language
From the way speed builds across the sprint, a simple model estimates how much horizontal force the athlete produces at each speed. The relationship is close to a straight line that falls as speed rises: a lot of force at the start, none left at top speed. Four numbers describe it.
| Number | Meaning | In the example |
|---|---|---|
| F0 (N/kg) | The force the line points to at zero speed: how hard the athlete can push at the start, per kilogram. | 7.5 N/kg |
| V0 (m/s or km/h) | The speed the line points to at zero force: the top speed the profile is heading for. | 7.8 m/s (28.1 km/h) |
| Pmax (W/kg) | Peak horizontal power. It always occurs at half of V0 and equals F0 × V0 ÷ 4. | 14.6 W/kg at 14 km/h |
| Slope | F0 divided by V0, written as a negative number. It says which end of the profile dominates. | −0.95 |
Two further numbers describe technique rather than capacity: the ratio of forces, the share of the athlete's total push that goes forwards at the start, and how quickly that share falls as speed rises. An athlete who loses it quickly is producing force but directing less and less of it horizontally.
Force-deficient or velocity-deficient?
The slope sorts athletes by what limits them. A steep slope means plenty of force at the start and a top speed that arrives early: the athlete is velocity-deficient and gains most from maximal-speed work. A shallow slope means the opposite: good top speed built on a weak start, a force deficit that responds to heavy resisted sprinting and strength work. Between the two is a balanced profile, where the sensible plan is to raise both ends together.
Change of direction: the 5-0-5
In the 5-0-5 the athlete sprints in, turns through 180° on one foot at a line, and sprints back out. A gate 5 m before the line times the last 5 m in and the first 5 m out. The test is run turning off each foot, which makes it a left–right comparison as much as a time.
- Compare the two turns first. The slower turn is the weaker side. The usual bands apply: under 10 % balanced, up to 15 % moderate, above that large.
- Then look inside the turn, if your system reports it: braking on the way in and re-acceleration on the way out. An athlete can be level on time and still brake well and push out poorly on one side.
- Separate turning from straight-line speed. Subtracting the athlete's 10 m sprint time from their 5-0-5 time leaves the cost of the turn itself, so a fast sprinter with a poor turn is not hidden by their speed.
Read speed next to force
Sprint data explains itself only so far. A first 10 m that has slipped means more next to a fall in jump power or eccentric hamstring strength in the same fortnight, and a slower turn off one foot means more next to a single-leg jump asymmetry on the same side. The practical obstacle is that speed lives in one system and force in another, and the dates have to be lined up by hand.
A checklist for a sprint testing session
- Top speed against the athlete's own previous sessions, with a rule for what counts as a change.
- The 30 m sprint as three splits and three gate speeds, not one total.
- F0, V0, Pmax and the slope, read as a training direction.
- The 5-0-5 as left against right first, time second.
- Sprint findings set beside the same period's jump and strength testing.
How Kinexis handles this
Kinexis reads PhotonSport timing data into the same athlete profile as the force plate, strength and movement testing. One page shows top speed with its trend and the change since the last test, the 30 m sprint gate by gate, the force–velocity profile, and the 5-0-5 left against right, with a short written analysis per topic. A date picker shows the athlete as they stood on any earlier test day.
- Top speed with the change against the previous session and the trend across sessions.
- The 30 m sprint as a lane: the speed curve with a flag at each gate.
- F0, V0, Pmax and the slope, with the profile marked balanced, force-deficient or velocity-deficient.
- The 5-0-5 as two turns side by side, with the gap and the slower side named.