title: The effect of chronological age and gender on the development of sprint performance during childhood and puberty.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of chronological age and gender on speed development during different sprinting phases in children and adolescents of both genders. The sample consisted of 360 sedentary pupils aged between 7 and 18 years, with 15 pupils representing each subgroup. The 30-m sprint speed was measured with photocells every 10 m. According to the results, boys and girls showed a gradual improvement in running speed during each sprint phase. The 18-year-old boys had significantly higher sprint speed in all measured distances compared to the 15-year-old or younger boys (p < 0.05), whereas the 18-year-old girls had significantly higher speed at the distances of 0 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30, and 0 to 30 m compared to the 13- and 12-year-old or younger girls (p < 0.05). Significant differences between genders in the 15-years-old or older participants were observed. It is concluded that, from 7 to 18 years of age, gender and chronological age are factors that affect running speed during the 30-m sprint. Furthermore, the performance on each sprint phase is uniformly affected by the chronological age. Boys run faster than girls in all running phases, and the span between genders increases after the age of 15 years. It is useful that coaches take these findings into consideration when evaluating children in sprint performance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Sports Biomechanics, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papaiakovou
authors.forename: Athanasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giannakos
authors.forename: Charalampos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michailidis
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patikas
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bassa
authors.forename: Vassilios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kalopisis
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Anthrakidis
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kotzamanidis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001823:Body Composition; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011627:Puberty / Q000502:physiology*; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013997:Time Factors