Relative Age Effect Among World-Class Jump Athletes.

Abstract

The relative age effect (RAE), as a widely recognized phenomenon in the field of sports, reveals the bias in talent selection across various sporting disciplines and the neglect of certain potentially gifted athletes. The study aims to analyze RAE incidence and athletic performance among the top 100 world-ranked high jump and long jump athletes, as well as to examine the differences across the five continents. Finally, successful professional athletes are divided into two groups, namely the "All-Phase Success (AS)" and the "Senior Success (SS)" based on their success during their youth. A comparison is made between the performance and age differences of these two groups. The results indicate: 1) the RAE is present across all age groups (U18, U20, Senior) and both sexes in the high jump and long jump events (except for the senior male high jump). 2) Athletes in the AS group are consistently 2-3 years younger at each key stage of their athletic careers compared to those in the SS group. 3) Relatively younger athletes exhibit higher transition rates during their youth period compared to relatively older athletes. However, despite the larger number of relatively older athletes, AS athletes still outperform SS athletes in high jump and long jump events.