Characteristics of youth female judo athletes

Marina Saldanha da Silva Athayde; Rafael Lima Kons; David Hideyoshi Fukuda and Daniele Detanico
Adolescence comprises a phase where a several important biological manifestations occur, such as peak height velocity (PHV), peak weight velocity, sexual maturation, and, specifically for girls, the menarche [1]. Although these changes occur differently in girls and boys, several studies have investigated the role of growth and maturity status on physical performance only in young male judo athletes [2,3,4]. Thus, the information about maturational aspects in girls’ athletes/practitioners of combat sports is still scarce.
Recently, Athayde et al. [5] (full text in: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12829) compared body size measurements (height and weight) and physical performance among female youth judo athletes (n=19, age 13.9 ± 2.3 years, range 10.9–17.0 years) with differing menarcheal status and identified indicators of physical performance in post-menarcheal girls. The athletes were evaluated through neuromuscular tests (handgrip strength, medicine ball throw and standing long jump tests) and judo-specific assessments (Special Judo Fitness Test and Judogi Grip Strength Test). The main results showed higher performance in the post-menarche group for most variables analyzed. In addition, the age at menarche and somatic growth variables were the primary indicators of physical performance in young female judo athletes (see Table 1 for more details).

REFERENCES
- Malina, R.M.; Bouchard, C.; Bar-Or, O. Growth, Maturation, and Physical Activity, 2nd ed.; Human Kinetics: Champaign, IL, USA, 2004.
- Detanico, D.; Kons, R.L.; Fukuda, D.H.; Teixeira, A.S. Physical Performance in Young Judo Athletes: Influence of Somatic Maturation, Growth and Training Experience. Res. Q. Exerc. Sport 2020, 91, 425–432.
- Fukuda, D.H.; Beyer, K.S.; Boone, C.H.; Wang, R.; La Monica, M.B.; Wells, A.J.; Hoffman, J.R.; Jeffrey, R.; Stout, J.R. Developmental associations with muscle morphology, physical performance, and asymmetry in youth judo athletes. Sport Sci. Health 2018, 14, 555–562.
- Giudicelli, B.B.; Luz, L.G.O.; Sogut, M.; Sarmento, H.; Massart, A.G.; Júnior, A.C.; Field, A.; Figueiredo, A.J. Chronological Age, Somatic Maturation and Anthropometric Measures: Association with Physical Performance of Young Male Judo Athletes. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 6410
- Athayde MSDS, Kons RL, Fukuda DH, Detanico D. Body Size Measurements and Physical Performance of Youth Female Judo Athletes with Differing Menarcheal Status. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021, 18, 12829.
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