Performance Trajectory Related to Age, Classification, and Sex in Elite Kayak Para Canoe Athletes.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to verify the performance trajectory related to age, classification (KL: kayak level; M: male; F: female), and sex of elite kayak Para canoe athletes. DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study. RESULTS: Race results and athletes' data were retrieved from publicly available online databases for 17 competitions and 102 finals between 2015 and 2022. Race time reduced over the years except for KL3-M class. There was a reduction in the relative difference between KL2-M and KL3-M over the years ( r = -0.83, 95% confidence interval = -0.34 to -0.97, P ≤ 0.05). In addition, no significant differences were found in race times relative differences between KL2-F and KL3-F over the years. Although the correlation between age and performance was only found to be statistically significant in the KL3-F class, the ages of all classes (35.2, 32.6, 29.5, 34.6, 37.6, and 30.6 yrs for males and females KL1, KL2, and KL3, respectively) were higher than those in Olympic canoeing (27.8 yrs). CONCLUSIONS: Race times have improved overall since 2015, but not for the KL3-M class. Nevertheless, because of the stochastic ages of the finalist athletes, it was not possible to determine the age at which peak performance is achieved in all classes. Kayak Para canoe classes should be monitored in the coming years to determine whether interventions are necessary to improve differentiation.

Internal and External Training Workload Quantification in 4 Experienced Paracanoeing Athletes.

CONTEXT: Paracanoeing is one of the adapted sports eligible for different motor impairments. The acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) is an index between acute and chronic training workload. However, no studies have analyzed this variable in paracanoeing, relating it with training recovery markers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to quantify the internal (session rating of perceived exertion) and external (distance traveled and total training time) training workloads in 4 experienced paracanoe athletes over 9 months and 5 canoeing events. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Rehabilitation Hospital Network, Paralympic Program. PARTICIPANTS: Four experienced paracanoe athletes participated in 36 weeks of training for 5 events. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: The daily and weekly training workload, monotony, ACWR, distance, and total training time were described for all the training phases. The perceived recovery status scale (PRS) and medicine ball throw (MBT) were used to quantify recovery. RESULTS: The average daily and weekly training workload varied from 213.1 to 239.3 and 767.3 to 1036.8 arbitrary units, respectively. Average ACWR results ranged from 0.96 to 1.10 in the 4 athletes, findings that were outside the safety zone in 38% of the training weeks. All the correlations between MBT and PRS were classified as weak (ρ between .20 and .39, P > .05). ACWR showed a very weak correlation with MBT and moderately and highly significant correlations with PRS in 2 athletes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The training workloads of 4 paracanoe athletes may serve as a comparison with other periodization models. Pretraining recovery assessments (MBT and PRS) exhibited a low, nonsignificant correlation. However, ACWR correlated significantly with PRS in 2 athletes and might be a suitable tool for daily training adjustments.

Correlations Between Medicine Ball Throw With Wheelchair Mobility and Isokinetic Tests in Basketball Para-Athletes.

CONTEXT: A detailed analysis of wheelchair basketball skills in beginner wheelchair basketball players (WBP) can provide practitioners with important indications regarding the selection and prospective development of potential sports talents. A comprehensive WBP evaluation can be very time consuming, mainly during the initial phases of the training processes, which could be a barrier in clinical and practical settings. Moreover, the large number and the turnover of beginner WBP attending rehabilitation centers make the applicability of field and strength tests unfeasible. OBJECTIVE: To verify the relationships between the medicine ball throw (MBT) and wheelchair basketball mobility performance field tests and the shoulder and trunk peak torque in male and female beginner WBP. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Rehabilitation Hospital Network, Paralympic Program. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven female and male beginner WBP. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Participants performed wheelchair basketball field tests (speed, agility, strength, and power tests) and the maximum strength test in the isokinetic dynamometer. The outcomes were correlated with the MBT results. RESULTS: The MBT presented significantly very high and perfect correlations with all wheelchair basketball field tests assessed (5-m sprint, 20-m sprint, and zig-zag agility test with and without a ball), and peak torque (R2 ranging from .810 to .995; P ≤ .05) for male and female athletes. CONCLUSIONS: The MBT, a simple and feasible test, can be used for estimating and determining the wheelchair mobility performance of female and male beginner WBP. It is suggested to measure the distance of a 5-kg medicine ball thrown by athletes during training and testing routines to follow the players' progression.