Olympic lightweight and open-class rowers possess distinctive physical and proportionality characteristics

Abstract

Rowers competing at the 2000 Olympic Games were measured for 38 anthropometric dimensions. The aim was to identify common physical characteristics that could provide a competitive advantage. The participants included 140 male open-class rowers, 69 female open-class rowers, 50 male lightweight rowers, and 14 female lightweight rowers. Body mass, stature, and sitting height were different (P < 0.01) between the open-class and lightweight rowers, as well as a comparison group of healthy young adults ("non-rowers", 42 males, 71 females), for both sexes. After scaling for stature, the open-class rowers remained proportionally heavier than the non-rowers, with greater proportional chest, waist, and thigh dimensions (P < 0.01). Rowers across all categories possessed a proportionally smaller hip girth than the non-rowers (P < 0.01), which suggested the equipment places some constraints on this dimension. Top-ranked male open-class rowers were significantly taller and heavier and had a greater sitting height (P < 0.01) than their lower-ranked counterparts. They were also more muscular in the upper body, as indicated by a larger relaxed arm girth and forearm girth (P < 0.01). For the male lightweight rowers, only proportional thigh length was greater in the best competitors (P < 0.01). In the female open-class rowers, skinfold thicknesses were lower in the more highly placed competitors (P < 0.01). In conclusion, the rowers in this sample demonstrated distinctive physical characteristics that distinguish them from non-rowers and other sports performers.

Current Status of Body Composition Assessment in Sport

“…Individual and sum of skinfolds can be compared to published norms for Olympic or world class athletes [72,73,74,75,76] . The rationale for proposing the skinfold thickness as a valid measure in its own right without conversion to FM or % body fat, centres on the avoidance of a series of assumptions which are known to be invalid -especially so in an athletic sample.…”

Predição Do Desempenho a Partir Das Características Antropométricas, Fisiológicas E De Força No Remo

“…Os resultados demonstraram uma forte correlação entre a potência média e a massa magra com a velocidade média no remoergômetro, o que confirma que a massa magra exerce forte influência sobre o desempenho no remoergômetro 13,[23][24][25][26] , sugere-se, de acordo com os dados apresentados, que uma ênfase no treinamento de força para aumento na massa magra, pode auxiliar na melhora do desempenho nos atletas de remo. Com efeito, Gallagher et al 27 avaliaram 18 remadores, e observaram que o treinamento de força duas vezes por semana, durante oito semanas, mostrou uma melhora no desempenho.…”

Características Morfológicas y Perfil Antropométrico en Mujeres que Practican Pilates Clásico y Mat Clásico

“…Diversas investigaciones refieren diferencias en las características antropométricas en función de la posición de juego en deportes colectivos como el fútbol (Hencken & White, 2006), voleibol (Toledo et al, 2010), baloncesto (Goncetas & Landor, 2005) y en función de la disciplina practicada en deportes individuales como el atletismo (Vucetic et al, 2008), la natación (Carter & Ackland, 1994) el remo (Kerr et al, 2007) y el piragüismo (Alacid et al, 2012). La práctica de un tipo u otro de Pilates también podría generar diferencias en las características antropométricas de quien realiza esta actividad.…”