This week in the world of sports science, here’s what happened…
- Exploring the youth careers of Olympic Athletes
- What age does peak Olympic performance occur?
- What lies beyond the Paris Olympics?
Exploring the youth careers of Olympic Athletes
The recent Paris Olympics showcased remarkable sporting talent, prompting curiosity about the age at which these athletes displayed their exceptional abilities. Last month, Dr Phil Kearney, a prominent Irish lecturer and renowned expert in skill acquisition, authored an insightful piece addressing this topic.
Kearney initially recounts the youth sporting journeys of two Irish Olympic athletes, noting the contrasting paths they took. While one excelled as a teenage sensation, the other struggled to achieve a top 100 ranking in their event. This highlights Kearney’s emphasis on the diverse routes to reaching the pinnacle of Olympic competition.
Furthermore, Kearney provides a comprehensive overview of research on the translation of youth sporting success to adult achievements, reporting striking findings. For instance, a study assessing over 130,000 youth track and field performances in the UK between 2005 and 2015 revealed that approximately 90% of senior top 20 performers were not ranked in the top 20 when they were under 13. Additionally, Kearney presents compelling data demonstrating that athletes who were not considered top performers at age 12 later attained the qualifying time for the 2023 under 20 European 800-meter event.
Supporting his argument with findings from various scientific studies, Kearney shares significant results, including the low percentage of top Italian track and field stars who were elite performers under the age of 16 and the limited improvement seen in the personal best times of top Czechia athletes after the age of 20. He also highlights that many male middle-distance runners who later represented Germany at international senior levels did not meet the national association standard indicating their potential at age 16.
While the piece predominantly revolves around track and field athletes, Kearney draws from research in other Olympic sports such as swimming and cycling, demonstrating similar patterns. He attributes the inadequacy of talent identification programs to the varying maturation rates and times of children, underscoring the importance for coaches to recognise these differences.
In emphasising that youth-level performances may not reflect senior-level success, Kearney encourages parents and coaches not to be overly swayed by exceptional junior performances or disheartened by mediocre youth results. He advocates for the provision of progressive and enjoyable opportunities to every child for as long as possible.
If you are interested in producing the Olympians of the future, we highly recommend that you check out Kearney’s piece here and the studies he discusses. Kearney is also a prominent member of Movement and Skill Acquisition Ireland (click here) and their YouTube channel is well worth checking out. Also, why not check out our excellent blog: Maturation and our course: Long-Term Athletic Development
What age does peak Olympic performance occur?
It’s quite common for people to ask about the ages when athletes are at their best. Notably, the age range of athletes in the Paris Olympics spanned from 11 to 65 years, reflecting the diverse age spans across Olympic sports. Recent insights from a Live Science article shed light on the scientific underpinnings of peak ages for specific sports.
The article outlines that endurance performance typically reaches its peak in one’s 30s, while speed athletes generally peak in their 20s. This discrepancy arises due to the prevalence of fast-twitch muscle fibres in speed athletes, which tend to decline from one’s 30s onward. Conversely, the quantity of slow-twitch muscle fibres in endurance athletes remains relatively constant throughout life. Moreover, speed athletes face the challenge of diminishing reaction times, with research indicating that reaction time peaks at approximately 24 years of age.
The article also examines dynamic Olympic sports such as gymnastics, noting that successful Olympic gymnasts rarely continue competing into their 30s. At the London 2012 Olympics, the average age of successful female gymnasts was 19 years. The peak performance age in gymnastics is attributed to flexibility, which diminishes with age. Nevertheless, the exceptional performance of 27-year-old gymnast Simone Biles at the Paris Olympics signals a shifting trend towards older peak ages for gymnasts, supported by positive ongoing research in this area.
Although various factors such as training, injury, nutrition, and motivation can influence an athlete’s peak performance age, the article provides a comprehensive overview of the ageing process of physical characteristics, offering valuable insights worth exploring.
What lies beyond the Paris Olympics?
With the conclusion of the Olympics for another four years, the apt recent article titled “Beyond the Olympic and Paralympic Games” presents a comprehensive review of recent scientific papers on several pertinent subjects. These include doping, gender issues in sports, the dominance of East African athletes in distance running, and matters of equality in sports participation.
The first research discusses strategies aimed at preventing blood doping. The authors of this study emphasise the historical challenges associated with combating blood doping, while also outlining improvements in strategies to address this issue. They particularly focus on monitoring athletes’ blood passports for potential irregularities as a positive step. The study acknowledges current limitations, yet offers hope for the implementation of a more robust testing approach for blood doping in future Olympic events.
The second paper delves into the growing concerns surrounding transgender athletes. Notably, the paper monitors and evaluates the performance of a female transgender cyclist through performance tests. The research follows the impact of gender-affirming hormone therapy on performance metrics and sheds light on the eligibility of transgender athletes to compete in specific categories.
A previous study challenges the idea of genetic dominance in East African distance runners. Instead, it highlights the importance of physical attributes such as an increased aerobic capacity, an efficient running economy and extensive exposure to high-altitude training. The research underscores the rigorous training methods adopted from a young age and the cultural value placed on distance running by East African athletes as crucial factors contributing to their success.
The final research scrutinises prevailing equality issues in specific regions, using volleyball in China as a case study. This comprehensive analysis examines gender equality and highlights the persistence of certain issues despite recent progress.
Collectively, these studies provide valuable insights into significant issues in the realm of sports. While remarkable progress has been achieved, the findings point to the need for continued attention to these challenges in future Olympic events.
From us this week:
>> New course: Strength Training for Youth
>> New podcast: Muscle Misconceptions: How To Be Big And Flexible
>> New infographic: Strength Training For Youths Infographic
>> New article: ForceDecks Dual Force Plate System By VALD
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