title: Olympic lightweight and open-class rowers possess distinctive physical and proportionality characteristics.
abstract: Rowers competing at the 2000 Olympic Games were measured for 38 anthropometric dimensions. The aim was to identify common physical characteristics that could provide a competitive advantage. The participants included 140 male open-class rowers, 69 female open-class rowers, 50 male lightweight rowers, and 14 female lightweight rowers. Body mass, stature, and sitting height were different (P < 0.01) between the open-class and lightweight rowers, as well as a comparison group of healthy young adults ("non-rowers", 42 males, 71 females), for both sexes. After scaling for stature, the open-class rowers remained proportionally heavier than the non-rowers, with greater proportional chest, waist, and thigh dimensions (P < 0.01). Rowers across all categories possessed a proportionally smaller hip girth than the non-rowers (P < 0.01), which suggested the equipment places some constraints on this dimension. Top-ranked male open-class rowers were significantly taller and heavier and had a greater sitting height (P < 0.01) than their lower-ranked counterparts. They were also more muscular in the upper body, as indicated by a larger relaxed arm girth and forearm girth (P < 0.01). For the male lightweight rowers, only proportional thigh length was greater in the best competitors (P < 0.01). In the female open-class rowers, skinfold thicknesses were lower in the more highly placed competitors (P < 0.01). In conclusion, the rowers in this sample demonstrated distinctive physical characteristics that distinguish them from non-rowers and other sports performers.
authors.affiliation: Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA, Australia. d.kerr@curtin.edu.au
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Norton
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hume
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kagawa
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Ackland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012885:Skinfold Thickness; D013008:Somatotypes / Q000502:physiology; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*