In the Past Ten Years, Our Country’s Sprint Research Hotspots and Trends: Based on CiteSpace Visual Analysis

This study primarily employs research methods such as visual analysis and literature review to analyze the hotspots and trends in research related to sprinting in China, providing references for the sustainable development of the country’s sprinting events. Using CiteSpace software, the study conducted a visual analysis of 85 CSSCI core journal articles on sprinting from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database published between 2013 and 2022, systematically revealing the research status, hotspots, and trends. The main findings are as follows: (1) Temporal Characteristics: The publication volume showed a three-stage evolution (decline → rise → fluctuation), significantly correlated with the Olympic cycle (e.g., peaks in 2016 and 2021). (2) Subject Distribution: Core institutions include Beijing Sport University (28 articles), the Research Institute of Sports Science under the General Administration of Sport of China (13 articles), and Tsinghua University (13 articles), forming a pattern of concentration in the east and weakness in the central and western regions. Institutional collaboration density is low (0.0265). Centered around Jiang Zili (12 articles), Li Qing (10 articles), and Su Bingtian (6 articles), a large collaboration group has formed, but the overall author network remains loose. (3) Hotspots and Frontiers: 1) Keyword Burst Detection: Six burst terms were detected. “Speed Endurance” (2016-2017, Strength=6.37), “Stride Length” (2018-2019, Strength=4.82), and “Resisted Sprinting” (2019-2020) were strong burst themes, reflecting the phased focus on training methods and technical indicators. 2) Keyword Co-occurrence: High-frequency keywords include “Sprint” (Frequency 26, Centrality 0.66), “Competitive Sports” (Frequency 5), and “Training Load” (Frequency 3). High-centrality keywords reveal “Sprint” as the core hub. 3) Keyword Clustering: Seven thematic clusters were generated. Based on silhouette values (all >0.9), they can be categorized as: Technical Focus: #0 Sprint (Silhouette 0.985), #2 Stride Length (0.929), #7 Leg Drive (0.984), focusing on stride length optimization and leg drive technique; Competitive Focus: #1 Competitive Sports (0.951), #3 Energy Output (0.938), #4 Training Load (0.944), #5 Sports Performance (0.985), associated with load regulation and performance enhancement. (4) Evolutionary Trends: Research has expanded from traditional training topics (speed endurance, stride frequency/length) towards interdisciplinary areas. Emerging hotspots include refined technical directions such as body cognition, gluteal muscle depression, and ineffective flight phase.