Files and links (1)
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Body Composition Characteristics of Elite Senior and Under 23 Australian Sprint Kayakers
Sports, Vol.13(5), pp.1-10
2025
PMID: 40423279
Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare body composition characteristics of elite senior and U23 sprint kayak athletes and report body composition changes during the COVID-19-interrupted preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. A total of 32 Australian kayakers (Men: 20 (Senior = 13, U23 = 7); Women: 12, (Senior = 5, U23 = 7)) undertook body composition assessment using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) from 2017 to 2021. The first DXA assessment for each athlete was used for a cross-sectional analysis to compare senior and U23 sprint kayak athletes. Of the thirty-two kayakers, five senior men kayakers had repeat DXA scans over the data collection period which were used to monitor longitudinal changes in body composition. Senior men kayak athletes were heavier than U23 athletes (p = 0.017; 10.4 ± 1.9 kg; d = 1.23) but had similar body composition. In contrast, body mass was not different between senior and U23 women kayak athletes (p = 0.187), however senior women athletes had a significantly higher lean body mass (LBM; p = 0.048; 5.1 ± 1.3 kg, d = 1.32) and lower body fat percentage (p = 0.011; −4.3 ± 0.8%, d = 1.82). The five senior men kayakers exhibited a non-significant decrease in fat mass (p = 0.774; 2.9 ± 3.0 kg, d = 0.97) and increase in LBM (p = 0.234; 2.2 ± 5.9 kg, d = 0.38) across the Olympic quadrennial with little change in body mass. Senior men kayak athletes while heavier, have similar body composition compared to their U23 counterparts, whereas senior women kayakers are similar in body mass but differ in body composition compared to their younger counterparts. The relative influence of maturation, specificity of training, or dietary strategies on the observed differences in body composition between senior and U23 men and women kayak athletes are currently unknown and warrant further investigation.
Details
- Title
- Body Composition Characteristics of Elite Senior and Under 23 Australian Sprint Kayakers
- Authors
- Ashleigh Keefe (Author) - Bond UniversityGyan Wijekulasuriya - Victoria UniversityAmy-Lee Bowler (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Nutrition & DieteticsNicola Bullock - Bond UniversityVernon Coffey - Bond UniversityGreg Cox (Corresponding Author) - Bond University
- Publication details
- Sports, Vol.13(5), pp.1-10
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.3390/sports13050143
- ISSN
- 2075-4663
- PMID
- 40423279
- Copyright note
- © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Data Availability
- The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors on request. Due to the small sample size of elite kayakers, to ensure participant confidentiality, individual participant age will not be provided.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Health - Nutrition & Dietetics
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991125906002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
136 File views/ downloads
27 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Sport Sciences