| Abstrakt: |
Indisputably, sport today plays a very important role in society and is marked by a kind of social popularity. Events that directly affect the sport, such as the Olympics, world championships, and continental championships, have huge ratings. The aim of this paper is to present the normative characteristics of elite taekwondoists. The sample consisted of 40 male respondents, who were participants in the European Senior Championships in the Olympic categories. The sample of variables consisted of 13 anthropometric points measured with appropriate instruments, and 2 points were related to the achieved placement and weight category of the competitors. Based on the obtained results, there were differences between male weight categories. They were visible at all measured anthropometric points. The biggest difference was noticeable in the percentage of body fat and muscle mass, where the lowest weight categories had a slightly lower percentage of adipose tissue, while the highest weight categories had slightly higher muscle mass. Between the categories of up to 58 kg and up to 68 kg, there was one significant difference in the shin length (cm). Between the categories of up to 58 kg and up to 80 kg, there were differences in 2 variables (skin fold of the back and length of the shin), while there were no significant differences for up to 68 kg and up to 80 kg. Significant differences between the categories of up to 58 kg and over 80 kg occurred in 6 to 9 variables (triceps skin fold, back skin fold, abdominal skin fold, body fat, thigh length, and shin length). Between the categories of up to 68 kg and over 80 kg, we observed a difference between 2 variables (skin fold of the back and body fat), and we observed the same differences between the categories of up to 80 kg and over 80 kg. The obtained normative values can help trainers in the planned transition from a lower to a higher weight category, whose precondition is growth and development, taking into account the health of young taekwondo athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
