215 ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD AS A PREDICTOR OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE IN YOUNG FEMALE RUNNERS

Abstract

While maximum voluntary oxygen consumption (VO2max) is an excellent standard of cardiopulmonary fitness in adults and children, it is not a discrete predictor of endurance athletic performance. The anaerobic threshold (AT) has proven to be a more discriminate method for predicting high-level endurance athletic performance in adults. AT and VO2 max were evaluated in 10 young (11-13 years) female cross country runners and compared to their individual performance records and to a group of unconditioned controls. Correlation of team performance in the runners with measured parameters using the Kendall correlation coefficient yielded a P of 0.005 for %AT of exercise time, P 0.005 for %AT max heart rate, P 0.05 for VO2 max, and P 0.1 AT% VO2 max. VO2 max/kg (51.3 cc/kg vs 39.6 cc/kg) and %AT of exercise time (67.3 vs 52.5) were both higher in the conditioned groups. Striking overlap of VO2 max was noted between the two groups, while none occurred with %AT of exercise time. AT appears to be a useful intergroup discriminator of endurance athletic performance in childhood and affords a sharper definition between fit and unfit children.