Abstract des Autors

In the years 1987-94, 2422 female athletes were interviewed regarding their biological maturation. They were aged 13 to 26 years and represented 12 diverse sports. Mean age at menarche (AM) was highly differentiated depending on the athletic experience of subjects. In the group beginners (up to 15 years of age), mean AM was 12.48 years, in the moderately advanced ones (15-19 years) 13.02 years, and in the highly advanced ones (over 19 years of age) 13.51 years. In that last group, the latest maturing were the endurance athletes - skaters, ski runners and long-distance runners, the AM ranging from 14.04 to 14.39 years. Less delayed in maturation were kajakers, basketball players, track-and-field athletes, volleyball players, swimmers and rowers, in whom the AM ranged from 13.13 to 13.81 years. Earliest maturing were judoists, fencers and shooters, who had menarche at 12.67 to 12.89 years, on the average. Girls characterized by a high adolescence rate, were eliminated from the first two groups of sports in the course of selection. Verf.-Referat