Gender Differences and Performance Changes in Sprinting and Long Jump Among Young Athletes.

Abstract

This research aimed to examine the dynamics of changes in sprint and long jump performance and the age of gender divergence in well-trained young athletes specialising in athletics. Data were collected from 1249 male and 1497 female athletes aged 10 to 15 years who participated in the final round of the annual national athletics tournament "Shipovka Yunykh" from 2017 to 2019. The top 50 results in each age group for the 60-metre sprint and long jump were analysed. Boys showed significantly higher performance than girls in both events from ages 11 and 12. Significant performance improvements were noted between ages 12 and 13 for boys in the long jump and 10-11 in the sprint. Girls showed significant improvements between ages 12 and 13 in the long jump and 11-12 in the sprint. Gender divergence in sprint and long jump performance occurs around age 11. The dynamics of performance changes are influenced by the timing of the growth spurt, highlighting the need for age-specific competition categories in athletics.