Morphogenetic markers of fast trainability in wrestling

Aim. The article deals with identifying the informative morphological criteria of selection in judo at the stage of athletic performance improvement. Materials and methods. We measured 42 athletes engaged in judo (body weight 66-73 kg, 18-25 years old, Candidate of Master of Sport or Master of Sport) by using complex anthropometric and somatometric techniques. For quickly trained athletes it took not more than 6 years for achieving the rank of Candidate of Master of Sport and not more than 8 years for achieving the rank of Master of Sport. Slowly trained athletes obtained the same rank of Candidate of Master of Sport for 7-9 years and that of Master of Sport for 9-11 years. Results. In both quickly and slowly trained athletes we revealed significant differences in partial, circumference, and transverse body size, body composition, and somatotype. We found out that the morphogenetic markers of fast trainability in judo include the following parameters: high values of humerus lengths (34.4 ± 0.23 cm) and thorax circumference (98.2 ± 1.68 cm), low content of adipose tissue (8.1 ± 0.3 %), and a high value of mesomorphy (5.8 ± 0.25 points). Conclusion. The results obtained allowed us to most effectively carry out the selection at the stage of athletic performance improvement and to predict the success of competitive activities in judo.