The COVID-19 pandemic impact on the best performers in athletics and swimming among paralympic and non-disabled athletes.

Background: The COVID 19 pandemic has greatly disrupted high performance sport and international competition. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world's top 10 performances in Athletics and Swimming among non-disabled and Paralympic athletes.

Methods: The results of the 10-best world performers in 66 Olympic events since 1891 and 255 Paralympic events since 2010 were collected.

Is the visual impairment origin a performance factor? Analysis of international-level para swimmers and para athletes.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of congenital and acquired visual impairments on the international performance of Para swimmers and Para track and field athletes. We collected results from visually impaired Para athletes competing in Para swimming or Para athletic events at all IPC-labelled competitions between 2009 and 2019. The dataset contained 20,689 events results.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Away and Home Victories in Soccer and Rugby Union.

To measure the impact of restrictions due to COVID on the proportion of matches won at home, away and draw in professional soccer and rugby union. Two samples of professional soccer and rugby union matches were collected from 2012-13 to 2020-21 seasons. For soccer, data involved first and second division matches of the England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Scotland, Greece, Portugal, and Turkey championships.

Involvement in Multiple Race Events Among International Para and Non-disabled Swimmers.

International elite Para swimmers form a large portion of the overall multi-medalist winning population. For the highest performing Para swimmers, world class performances were achieved across different strokes. The aim of this study was to quantify the level of involvement across different events and to examine this in relation to the level of performance.

High hopes: lower risk of death due to mental disorders and self-harm in a century-long US Olympian cohort compared with the general population.

Objective: To determine the risk of death due to prominent mental disorders, substance abuse, and self-harm among US Olympians compared with the general population.

Methods: All female (n=2301) and male (n=5823) US Olympians who participated in the summer or winter Games between 1912 and 2012 were followed until 2016. The National Death Index certified their vital statuses and causes of death.

France's 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth: Results and International Comparisons.

Background: Insufficient levels of physical activity and increasing sedentary time among children and youth are being observed internationally. The purpose of this paper is to summarize findings from France's 2018 Report Card on physical activity for children and youth, and to make comparisons with its 2016 predecessor and with the Report Cards of other countries engaged in the Global Matrix 3.0.

Robust Exponential Decreasing Index (REDI): adaptive and robust method for computing cumulated workload.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to define a new index the Robust Exponential Decreasing Index (REDI), which is capable of an improved analysis of the cumulative workload. This allows for precise control of the decreasing influence of load over time. Additionally, REDI is robust to missing data that are frequently present in sport.

Quantifying Collective Performance in Rugby Union.

The aim of this study was to quantify collective experience based on cumulative shared selections of players and to assess its impact on team performance in international rugby union. We assume that the greater the experience, the better the group will perform. Scoresheets of all games involving at least one of all 10 nations participating at the Rugby Championship and the Six Nations Championship were collected from the end of the 1999 Rugby World Cup (RWC) up to the 2015 RWC.

Age-Related Changes in Para and Wheelchair Racing Athlete's Performances.

During the last decades, all para-athletes with disabilities have significantly increased their performance level due to technological progress and human investment, through better training or recovery protocols, medical care and nutritional monitoring. Among these elements, the athlete's age is one of the determining factors in performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of age on maximal performances for para-athletes and wheelchair racing athletes, scaled on able-bodied records.

Geographic enrolment of the top 100 in athletics running events from 1996 to 2012.

Background: It is widely accepted in the literature that athletes of West African origins achieve the best sprint performances, while athletes originating from East Africa are the most efficient at long distances. So far, no study has measured the evolution of these groups' contribution from 100 m to the marathon.

Methods: Speed, morphology and geographic origin of the top 100 male and female athletes (from 100 m to the marathon) were collected and analyzed over the 1996-2012 period.

Has Athletic Performance Reached its Peak?

Limits to athletic performance have long been a topic of myth and debate. However, sport performance appears to have reached a state of stagnation in recent years, suggesting that the physical capabilities of humans and other athletic species, such as greyhounds and thoroughbreds, cannot progress indefinitely. Although the ultimate capabilities may be predictable, the exact path for the absolute maximal performance values remains difficult to assess and relies on technical innovations, sport regulation, and other parameters that depend on current societal and economic conditions.

BMI, a performance parameter for speed improvement.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between anthropometric characteristics and performance in all track and field running events and assess Body Mass Index (BMI) as a relevant performance indicator. Data of mass, height, BMI and speed were collected for the top 100 international men athletes in track events from 100 m to marathon for the 1996-2011 seasons, and analyzed by decile of performance. Speed is significantly associated with mass (r = 0.

Secular trend: morphology and performance.

In a context of morphological expansion of the general population, how do athletes follow such a pattern of anthropometric growth? Is there any relation to performance? Biometric data including mass, height, body mass index (BMI) and age were collected for 50,376 American athletes representing 249,336 annual performers playing in professional baseball, football, ice hockey and basketball. Distributions by mass in National Football League (NFL) players are described by periods. Field goals have been studied in relation to players' height in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Marathon progress: demography, morphology and environment.

As opposed to many other track-and-field events, marathon performances still improve. We choose to better describe the reasons for such a progression. The 100 best marathon runners archived from January 1990 to December 2011 for men and from January 1996 to December 2011 for women were analysed.

Monitoring fitness levels and detecting implications for health in a French population: an observational study.

Objective: To analyse the physical fitness of a large sample of the French population across different ages.

Design: Observational cross-sectional study.

Setting: Data were collected from the Athletic Track and Field Federation, which organised events dedicated to measuring physical fitness.

How they won Rugby World Cup through height, mass and collective experience.

Objectives: To investigate the evolution of anthropometric characteristics in World Cup rugby players and identify elements associated with performance.

Design: Age, weight and height were collected for 2692 World Cup rugby players as well as rankings in each World Cup, and collective experience of winners, finalists, semifinalists and quarter finalists in comparison to the rest of the competitors. Anthropometric parameters were compared according to age and position (back and forwards).