RELATIVE AGE EFFECT ON OLYMPIC TRIATHLON ATHLETES

Introduction: In sports contested by age categories, it is believed that young people born in the first months of the year show advantages because they are a few months more mature than their peers. This difference in relative age may influence the selection of athletes by coaches. This phenomenon, commonly studied in team sports, has been little studied in individual sports. Objective: The present study examined the quarter of birth date of triathlon Olympic athletes of both genders, who participated in the London Olympics 2012. Methods: The quartile (quarter) of birth date of 111 athletes (55 men and 56 women) was identified. For data analysis, the chi-square test with a significance level of 5% was employed. Results: In men, there was a predominance of athletes born in the first and second quartiles (X-2 = 11,545; gl = 3; p=0,01), whereas in women this trend was not observed (X-2 = 1,286; gl = 3; p=0,73). There was also a significant relationship between the semester of birth and winning medals. Conclusion: We concluded that the relative age effect was observed in triathletes on the London Olympics 2012 and it is related to performance in men. This suggests that the birth date may have influenced the selection of these athletes in the formative years. Further studies are needed to confirm the relative age effect in triathlon.