Morphological prototypes, assessment and change in elite athletes

Abstract

The concept of a morphological prototype in relation to the development of athletes is examined from the standpoint of the kinanthropometric techniques available to the sport scientist. Examples of the utility of the morphological prototype in the context of modern-day sport are provided in a variety of winter and summer sports. Somatotypes drawn from competitors at the 1988 Olympic and 1991 World Junior Speed Skating Championships are presented representing the somatotypic prototype. Statement of the prototype in variables that are both discrete and sensitive to change over the short term is considered to be more appropriate for evaluating the progress of young athletes. Examples drawn from speed skating, figure skating, swimming and synchronized swimming are used to illustrate changes and differences in muscle mass, skinfold corrected muscle diameters, bone mass and sum of skinfolds. The concept of establishing an individual ideal prototype through optimizing morphological variables is introduced.