title: Anthropometric Characteristics of Chinese Professional Female Marathoners and Predicted Variables for Their Personal Bests.
abstract: To investigate anthropometric characteristics of Chinese professional female marathoners and suitable predicted variables correlated with their personal bests (PB), 96 Chinese female long-distance runners were divided into international (< 2 h 34 min), national (2 h 34 min~2 h 45 min) and average (2 h 45 min~3 h 19 min) levels according to their PB in marathon during the process of talent identification for London Olympic Games. Selected anthropometric variables, including height, body mass, percentages of body fat, girths, breadths, lengths and skin-folds were measured. Only iliac crest skin-fold of international athletes was significantly lower than it is in national group. Girth of forearm and lower limbs, length of lower limbs, and all skin-folds of national athletes were significantly lower than those from average level group. Percentages of body fat, girth of forearm and calf, length of lower limbs, and skin-folds at sites of subscapular, abdominal and iliac crest of athletes from average level group were significantly higher than those in international athletes. Positive correlation was found between forearm girth and PB, and between the subscapular, abdominal, iliac crest and triceps surae skin-folds and PB for total athletes. Negative correlation between biiliac breadth and PB in international athletes, and positive correlations between abdominal and triceps surae skin-folds and PB in national athletes were found. For average runners, high positive correlation was found between upper arm girth and PB, and between subscapular, abdominal, iliac crest and triceps surae skin-folds and PB. The findings suggested that compared to stride length, stride frequency and efficiency were more important factors influencing running performance, which were in accordance with running technique in Chinese female marathoners.
authors.forename: Xian-Gang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Da-Peng
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D044466:Asian People; D056352:Athletes; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*