An analysis of the athletic profiles of athletes competing in different athletics disciplines

The aim of this study was to examine the athletic profiles of athletes competing in different athletics disciplines. A total of 49 athletes, comprising 33 men and 16 women actively training in Adana province, participated in the study. Participants underwent vertical jump tests, dynamic balance tests, and handgrip strength measurements. The data obtained were analysed using the SPSS 25 software package. ANOVA was used to determine differences between groups, while Pearson's correlation test was used to identify relationships between variables. According to the research results, the peak power values of athletes in the throwing discipline were found to be statistically significantly higher than those of athletes in the sprint and jumping disciplines (p<0.05). No significant difference was found between disciplines in terms of dynamic balance performance (p>0.05). In female athletes, both right and left hand grip strength values in the throwing discipline were found to be significantly higher than in the sprint and jumping disciplines (p<0.05). Correlation analyses showed a high level of positive correlation (r=0.908) between right and left hand grip strength. As a result of the findings, it was determined that athletics disciplines create discipline-specific differences in physical performance. While the throwing discipline showed superiority in terms of peak power and hand grip strength, the significant relationships between physical parameters revealed the necessity of a holistic approach in training programmes. Keywords: Athletics, Gender, Dynamic balance, Vertical jump, Handgrip strength