Baseline characteristics of 342 elite handball players by age group and gender
| Females (N=217) | Males (N=125) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior (N=75) | U-18 (N=53) | U-16 (N=89) | Senior (N=56) | U-18 (N=41) | U-16 (N=28) | |
| Age (y) | 23.2 (17.1 to 33.1) | 17.5 (16.0 to 18.6) | 15.7 (14.8 to 16-6) | 24.9 (17.4 to 39.9) | 17.6 (16.5 to 19.6) | 15.7 (14.7 to 16.7) |
| Height (m) | 1.76 (1.62 to 1.90) | 1.72 (1.62 to 1.85) | 1.74 (1.61 to 1 to 96) | 1.90 (1.76 to 2.03) | 1.91 (1.76 to 2.02) | 1.83 (1.70 to 2.02) |
| Weight (kg) | 70.5 (56.0 to 90.0) | 66.7 (53.0 to 90.0) | 66.2 (50.0 to 104.0) | 91.7 (61.0 to 110.0) | 83.3 (65.0 to 103.0) | 73.2 (62.0 to 90.0) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 22.7 (19.7 to 29.4) | 22.5 (19.3 to 29.7) | 21.8 (18.0 to 35.2) | 25.2 (18.0 to 30.0) | 23.0 (20.0 to 25.5) | 22.1 (18.4 to 27.13) |
| Previous injuries | ||||||
| 0 | 14 (18) | 12 (23) | 26 (29) | 13 (23) | 13 (32) | 12 (43) |
| 1 | 17 (23) | 16 (30) | 31 (35) | 20 (36) | 5 (12) | 7 (25) |
| 2 | 20 (27) | 13 (25) | 19 (21) | 11 (20) | 12 (29) | 5 (18) |
| ≥3 | 24 (32) | 12 (23) | 13 (15) | 12 (21) | 11 (27) | 4 (14) |
| Weight-training (h/week)* | ||||||
| <2 | 2 (3) | 10 (19) | 9 (10) | 2 (4) | 3 (7) | 0 (0) |
| 2–3 | 47 (63) | 30 (57) | 36 (42) | 26 (46) | 13 (32) | 21 (78) |
| 4–5 | 22 (29) | 11(21) | 40 (46) | 22 (39) | 19 (46) | 5 (19) |
| >5 | 4 (5) | 2 (4) | 2 (2) | 6 (11) | 6 (15) | 1 (4) |
| Injury prevention (h/week)* | ||||||
| None | 5 (7) | 11 (21) | 8 (9) | 6 (11) | 4 (10) | 8 (30) |
| >0–1 | 48 (64) | 35 (66) | 62 (71) | 39 (70) | 28 (68) | 13 (48) |
| >=2 | 22 (29) | 7 (13) | 17 (20) | 11 (20) | 9(22) | 6 (22) |
| National team† | ||||||
| No | 49 (65) | 42 (79) | 36 (41) | 36 (64) | 28 (68) | 22 (79) |
| Yes | 26 (35) | 11 (21) | 52 (59) | 20 (36) | 13 (32) | 6 (21) |
| Player position‡ | ||||||
| Wing | 20 (27) | 12 (23) | 20 (23) | 17 (30) | 8 (20) | 2 (7) |
| Back player | 34 (45) | 24 (45) | 43 (50) | 20 (35) | 23 (56) | 14 (52) |
| Line | 9 (12) | 9 (17) | 14 (16) | 12 (21) | 4 (10) | 6 (22) |
| Goal keeper | 12 (16) | 8 (15) | 9 (11) | 7 (13) | 6 (15) | 5 (19) |