Anthropometric profile of the top-class male handball players participating in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to try to determine the factors that differentiate the height, weight, BMI and age of high-level handball players participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Methods: The study included handball players participating in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The study material consisted of data on athletes' body height, body weight, age and BMI. The collected study material was analyzed about the position of the game, quarter and semester of the birth, continental location of the country and geographical region. In parametric distribution, Student's t-test and ANOVA were used. In non-parametric variables, the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used.

Results: The highest average heights, weights and BMIs were found in players playing in the pivot position, while the lowest were found in wing players. Interactions were shown within the body weight and BMI of the athletes. Players from Europe have the highest weight and BMI in the second semester of birth, while other players' highest results were in the first semester.

Conclusions: The factors that most strongly differentiate body height, body weight, and BMI are playing positions. Factors that differentiate height and weight are the continental location and region of the country represented.