The relationship of anthropometric characteristics of elite scullers and sweep rowers with their performance parameters

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the anthropometric features of the elite scullers and sweep rowers on their sports performance.A total of 31 licensed elite male rowing athletes, 10 scullers (age: 21,70 ± 3,30 years; height: 184,2 ± 6,11 cm; weight: 75,28 ± 6,78 kg) and 21 sweep oar rowers (age: 20,95 ± 2,50 years; height: 190,19 ± 5,71 cm; weight: 88,31 ± 8,83 kg), aged between 18 and 26 years with at least 5 years of rowing experience voluntarily participated in the study. In order to determine the rowing performance of the athletes, Oartec rowing simulation machine (Oartec Pty Ltd. Australia) was used. With the help of this simulator, 500 meters sweepoar and sculling events were performed race conditions. The data for mean power produced, finish time, stroke number and rate as well as mean speed values were collected from the rowing simulator machine. Before the test, the weight and lean body mass values of the athletes were measured using Tanita SC330 Body Analyzer. The effects of the height, arm span, sitting height, and leg length on performance parameters of the athletes participating in the study were measured. In this study, it was found that the anthropometric values (height, weight, BMI, arm span, leg length and lean body mass) of the sweep rowers are greater than scullers, which positively affects the performances of the sweep rowers.