Abstract

In contrast to flat-water canoeing and kayaking, there is only little evidence on physiological characteristics of elite white-water paddlers. Both white-water and flat-water canoeing call for high upper body aerobic and anaerobic capacities, however specific differences in these two sports as regards their character, intensity, duration, and technical difficulty, may impose different challenge on the physical capacities of the athletes. Studies in flat water canoeing and kayaking had shown that physiological parameters related to aerobic and anaerobic upper body capacity seem to be good predictors of flat water canoe and kayak performances, however similar study performed in white water paddlers failed to distinguish successful and less successful white water Olympic competitors. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to describe the upper body aerobic and anaerobic capacity in elite white water slalom paddlers and compare the results with those in non-elite white water paddlers. Comparative studies among the white-water and flat-water paddlers, using the same tests and exercise protocols had not been yet performed. Therefore, the second aim of the present study was to evaluate the upper-body aerobic and anaerobic capacity in elite male and female athletes competing in white- and flat-water paddling. Einführung