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Anthropometric characteristics of outstanding male and female gymnasts A.L. Claessens a

a c

b

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, F.M. Veer , V. Stijnen , J. Lefevre , a

H. Maes , G. Steens & G. Beunen

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Institute of Physical Education, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, B‐3030, Belgium b

Royal Dutch Gymnastics Association, The Netherlands

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Instituut voor Lichamelijke Opleiding, Tervuursevest 101, Leuven, (Heverlee), B‐3030, Belgium Published online: 14 Nov 2007.

To cite this article: A.L. Claessens , F.M. Veer , V. Stijnen , J. Lefevre , H. Maes , G. Steens & G. Beunen (1991) Anthropometric characteristics of outstanding male and female gymnasts, Journal of Sports Sciences, 9:1, 53-74, DOI: 10.1080/02640419108729855 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02640419108729855

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Journal of Sports Sciences, 1991, 9, 53-74

Anthropometric characteristics of outstanding male and female gymnasts A.L. CLAESSENS1*, F.M. VEER2, V. STIJNEN1, J. LEFEVRE1, H. MAES1, G. STEENS1 and G. BEUNEN1 1

Institute of Physical Education, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, B-3030 Leuven, Belgium Royal Dutch Gymnastics Association, The Netherlands

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Accepted 22 January 1990

Abstract Anthropometric data of outstanding gymnasts were gathered on the occasion of the 24th World Championship Artistic Gymnastics, held at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in October 1987. In total 165 males and 201 females were investigated, constituting 84% of the total number of participants. The data of these gymnasts were descriptively compared with both reference data and data reported in previous studies on gymnasts competing at international events. Also, based on the data obtained, 'gymnasticspecific' anthropometric reference values (i.e. profile charts), were established for both male and female gymnasts. Finally, the maturational characteristics (skeletal age and menarche) of the 'Rotterdam' female gymnasts were described. Keywords: Anthropometry, gymnasts.

Introduction

Athletes, both male and female, differ significantly from reference populations in their physical and biological make-up. Also, there is a wealth of scientific and empirical evidence that there are structural differences among athletes in different sports, and among events or weight categories within some sports (e.g. Carter, 1982, 1984; Cureton, 1951; de Garay et al., 1974; Hirata, 1979b; Tanner, 1964). Although anthropometric profiles of Olympic athletes, as a group, are already available (Carter et al, 1978) there is still a need for 'sport-specific' reference values. In order to establish such 'sport-specific' anthropometric profiles, a sufficient number of outstanding athletes of the same sport or event, measured for several anthropometric dimensions in standardized circumstances, is necessary. Studies that have analysed the physical characteristics of outstanding male and female gymnasts, measured at the time of international tournaments (e.g. Olympic Games, World Championships) are already at hand (Carter, 1982; Cureton, 1951; Dybowska and Dybowski, 1929; de Garay et al., 1974; Gajdos, 1980, 1984; Gajer (cited in Lopez et al, 1979); Hirata, 1966, 1979a,b; *Send all correspondence to: Dr A.L. Claessens, Instituut voor Lichamelijke Opleiding, Tervuursevest 101, B-3030 Leuven (Heverlee), Belgium. 0264-0414/91 $03.00 + .12 © 1991 E. & F.N. Spon Ltd.

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Kunze et ai, 1976; Lopez et al., 1979; Novak et ai, 1976,1977; Pool et ai, 1969; Staub, 1986; Zaharieva et ai, 1979). An overview of these studies together with the anthropométrie variables under study is given in Table 1. In view of the small sample sizes and/or the insufficient number of variables studied (mostly only height and weight), and the lack of up-to-date anthropométrie data, it is of interest to collect more complex information, so that 'gymnastic-specific' anthropométrie reference values can be established. On the occasion of the 24th World Championships Artistic Gymnastics 1987 held at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, an unique opportunity was offered to carry out a comprehensive anthropométrie investigation. The aims of this study are as follows: (1) to describe the body characteristics and the somatotype of male and female outstanding gymnasts and to establish specific anthropométrie profiles; (2) to analyse the maturational characteristics of young female gymnasts.

Methods Subjects On the occasion of the 24th World Championship Artistic Gymnastics (Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 18-25 October 1987), 165 male and 201 female gymnasts were studied. They represented 84% of the total number of participants and came from 35 countries. The distribution of the gymnasts by nation is given in Table 2. According to race/ethnicity, 126 males and 154 females were of caucasoid ethnicity, 27 and 31 respectively were of oriental origin; the remaining gymnasts were negroid, mixed or of unknown ethnicity. From the 27 participating male teams, 23 are included in this study. Based on the final ranking results of the total team, only the teams classified at the 1st, 8th, 12th and 27th place were not investigated, as no authorization to measure them was given. Among the females, 27 of the 31 participating teams are included in this study, and only the 2nd, 13th, 15th and 19th could not be recruited. It can thus be concluded that our test groups, both male and female, constituted nearly the total population of participants at the 24th World Championships. The chronological age of the male gymnasts varied between 16.0 to 28.6 years, with a mean age of 21.9+2.4 years. For the female gymnasts the mean chronological age was 16.5 + 1.8 years, ranging from 13.2 to 23.8 years. Recruiting and data collection The investigation was carried out during the entire week of training (13-18 October) prior to the actual competitions. All measurements took place in a laboratory room, set up especially for this study, located near the Medical Service. The research team consisted of 11 persons who acted in various capacities. Two of them (V.S. and A.B.) recruited the gymnasts. Prior to the championships several contacts were made (by letter via the Organizing Committee and the International Gymnastic Federation) with the National Gymnastic Federations of all participating countries in order to inform them about the planned anthropométrie project and to solicit their collaboration. The first personal approach was directed toward the delegation chiefs, coaches and/or medical staff members during the week of training to

Number of

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OG - Munich 1972

WC-Varna 1974

OG - Montreal 1976

IC - Santiago 1977 WC-Budapest 1983 OG - Los Angeles 1984 WC-Montreal 1985

Weight

Lengths

Breadths Girths

Skinfolds

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Dybowska and Dybowski (1929) Cureton (1951) Hirata (1966; 1979b) Hirata (1966; 1979b) Pool et al. (1969) de Garay et al. (1974) de Garay et al. (1974) Hirata (1979a,b) Hirata (1979a,b) Novak et al. (1976,1977) Malina et al. (1984) Zaharieva et al. (1979) Zaharieva et al. (1979) Gajdos (1980) Hirata (1979a,b) Hirata (1979a,b) Gajer (in Lopez et al., 1979) Gajer (in Lopez et al., 1979) Carter et al (1982a) Carter et al. (1982a) Lopez et al. (1979) Lopez et al. (1979) Gajdos (1984) Gajdos (1984) Staub (1986) Staub (1986)

"EC = European Championships/OG = Olympic Games/WC=World Championships/IC = International Competition b M = males/F=females 'Polish gymnasts only d Danish gymnasts only 'All of them less than 18 years of age

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EC - Amsterdam 1967 OG - Mexico City 1968

19 M c 15 M d 122 M 102 F 38 F 28 M 21F 126 M 133 F 5F 10 F e 126 M 106 F 105 F 101 M 93 F 103 M 99 F 11 M 15 F 33 M 24 F 169 M 161F 75 F 42 F

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Anthropométrie variables studied

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Table 1. Overview of studies on outstanding male and female gymnasts competing during international tournaments indicating the available anthropométrie data

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Anthropometric characteristics of outstanding male and female gymnasts.

Anthropometric data of outstanding gymnasts were gathered on the occasion of the 24th World Championship Artistic Gymnastics, held at Rotterdam, The N...
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