Objectives  To determine the influences of different drafting formations on the core athlete's aerodynamic drag as well as the drag reduction effects compared to individual race walking conditions, and to quantify the effects of different drafting formation strategies on race walking performance.

  Methods  Drafting formations composed of different elite race walkers were used to simulate different race walking scenarios, and the core athlete's aerodynamic drag in different formations positions was obtained by wind tunnel tests, including individual, two-athlete, three-athlete and four-athlete drafting formation tests, respectively.

  Results  Compared to individual race walking situations, when the core athlete was located directly behind the auxiliary athlete, his aerodynamic drag reduced most obviously with the reduction rate of 64.9%, which could be the optimal two-athlete drafting formation. When the core athlete was located in the middle part of the line while the other two auxiliary athletes moved along, his aerodynamic drag reduced most obviously with the reduction rate of 79.9%, the position of which is relatively optimal; While when the core athlete was located directly at the rear of the Type V formation of three other auxiliary athletes, his aerodynamic drag reduced most obviously with the reduction rate of 83.8% as the optimal four-athlete drafting formation. In the 50 km race walking, compared to the individual race walking, the two-athlete's result would be improved approximately by at least 3.89% with the optimal drafting formation strategy; similarly, the result for three-athlete drafting formation would be improved by 4.79%, and the result for four-athlete, 5.03%.

  Conclusions  There exist differences of aerodynamic drag reduction effects for race walking core athletes in different drafting formation positions. Related research can provide important scientific guidance for reducing aerodynamic drag for core athletes, optimizing energy distribution, improving teamwork strategies and athletic performance.