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Abstract

The present study aimed to: (1) compare the strength level in Portuguese rhythmic gymnasts across competitive levels; (2)investigate the strength variables with higher discriminatory power between the groups and (3) determine which strength variables better explain performance. Participants included young gymnasts (n=164) in three competitive levels (Base, 1 st division and Elite). Six specific strength tests were used. For the statistical analyses, Kruskal-Wallis test, Discriminant Function, Person Correlation and Linear Regression were applied. The 1 st division and Elite reached higher results than Base in all strength tests. We observed a statistically significant superiority from Elite only in 50% of tests (Back power kick; Partial trunk elevations and Rope skipping tests). The partial trunk elevations and rope skipping tests were the strength variables with higher discriminatory power between the competition levels. 59.1% of gymnasts were well reclassified in the original groups. Finally, rope skipping test explained 7.2% of the variance in performance with some differences in the variables explaining performance across levels.