Sex-based differences in shot put, javelin throw, and long jump in 8-and-under and 9–10-year-old athletes

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate regarding the necessity for sex-segregated sports particularly in youth. However, there has been minimal evaluation of prepubertal sex-based differences in the events of shot put, javelin throw, and long jump. Therefore, the top eight performances from the USA Track and Field National Youth Outdoor Championships and National Junior Olympic Championships during the years 2016–2023 for shot put, javelin throw, and long jump in the 8-and-under and 9–10-year-old age groups were analyzed for sex-based differences. The 8-and-under males threw the shot put farther (P < 0.0001 and Hedges’ g = 0.922) than females by 19.3% and the 9–10-year-old males threw the shot put farther (P = 0.016 and Hedges’ g = 0.332) than females by 6.5%. The 8-and-under males threw the javelin farther (P < 0.0001 and Hedges’ g = 1.269) than females by 32.6% and 9–10-year-old males threw the javelin farther (P < 0.0001 and Hedges’ g = 1.169) than females by 23.5%. The 8-and-under males long jumped farther (P = 0.010 and Hedges’ g = 0.359) than females by 4.7% and 9–10-year-old age males long jumped farther (P = 0.007 and Hedges’ g = 0.552) than females by 3.9%. The average between sex differences were larger than the within sex differences between the first through fourth place finishers in all but 9–10-year-old shot put. In all events, the greatest individual distance for a male exceeded that for a female. Therefore, the present data indicate that, in elite competition, males in the 8-and-under and 9–10-year-old age groups typically performed long jump and throw the shot put and javelin farther than females of the same age.