Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction This study aimed to assess the physiological profile of the Norwegian National Taekwondo Team (ITF). Methods Thirty-three athletes (Age = 20.8 ± 4.4), participated in the study, including 19 females (Age = 20.4 ± 3.4) and 14 males (Age = 21.6 ± 5.5). The athletes performed anthropometric and body composition, counter movement jump, maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2max ), leg press, brutal bench, and pull-ups tests. A Univariate Analysis of Variance (ANCOVA) was conducted to examine the effects on gender (male, female), experience (junior, senior), and competition level (medalists, non-medalists) on the outcome variables. Results Athletes demonstrated the following anthropometric and physical characteristics: weight (males: 72.7 ± 11.7 kg; females: 61.7 ± 10.5 kg), height (males: 179.2 ± 5.3 cm; females: 168.9 ± 8.5 cm), body fat (males: 9.5% ± 4.4%; females: 18.6% ± 4.9%), VO 2 max (males: 58.8 ± 7.3 mL/kg/min; females: 50.5 ± 4.1 mL/kg/min) brutal bench (males: 15.6 ± 5.7 reps; females: 14.9 ± 8.9 reps), pull-ups (males: 11.4 ± 5.0 reps; females: 13.0 ± 9.3 reps), CMJ (males: 42.1 ± 4.8 cm; females: 31.1 ± 3.3 cm), maximum load (males: 234.0 ± 54.2 kg; females: 168.5 ± 33.6 kg), peak power (males: 1475.6 ± 390.0 W; females: 918.4 ± 162.4 W), and normalized peak power (males: 20.1 ± 2.8 W/kg females: 15.0 ± 1.6 W/kg). Conclusion While physiological parameters show differences based on gender, they do not discriminate for competition level neither experience. Nevertheless, the Norwegian national team exhibit levels of physical and physiological conditions aligned with other elite athletes in other combat sports. The results provide valuable insights into the physiological levels that elite ITF taekwondo athletes should attain.
Source: Frontiers in Physiology
Authors: Vegard V. Iversen, Arild B. Hafstad, Coral Falco, Morten Kristoffersen
Institution: Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Safety Research
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W4416104092