Authors: Moesch K, Elbe A, Hauge M, Wikman J. (2011)

Scandinavian Journal Of Medicine & Science In Sports. December 2011;21(6):e282-e290

Commentary by Leo Thornley

As we approach another summer Olympic Games we inevitably reflect on the athletes that are in their final preparation stages, the level they have reached and the level of their international rivals. Many sports discuss which of their top performers will be around for another quadrennial and where the next ones will come from. It is the examination of what current elite performers have done that can offer us some insight into where the next round may come from.

Moesch and colleagues take a thorough look at 148 Danish elite and 95 “near” elite athletes in sports measured by length, weight or time. The information gathered includes the number of hours of practice at the early stages of development and the number of sports played.

The key findings are that the elite athletes specialized later than their near elite counterparts and interestingly accumulated less training during childhood. It is not until later adolescence that those who became elite surpassed the non-elite counterparts in training hour accumulation.  An interesting point here is that the number of sports played at an early age was not different between elite and nearly elite with both groups participating in approximately “1.5” sports on average. This is in contrast to previous research that suggests a multisport background was beneficial. Under closer examination however this may be less surprising as the vast majority of sports sampled here are focused on time, in contrast to previous research on this topic that has included other types such as team sports.

In looking at this cross sectional information we can see that when training increases is an important factor in elite athlete development. We should look to close any gaps we might have in letting talent go within our sports as well as examining ways to perhaps identify, develop and fast track new talent.

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