2024, Vol. 11, Issue 2, Part A

In many sports, the participation of women on a competitive basis is a recent phenomenon and female standards continue to rise rapidly as women catch up with their male counterparts. There are many different factors that may contribute to success in sport, and the components of success will vary depending on the particular sport. Scientists, coaches, and athletes may argue about the terminology used, but some of the key characteristics that contribute to success in all sports are:1 and other psychological characteristics; 6 Resistance to injury; 7 Nutritional status; and 8 Skill, technique, and related motor control and biomechanical considerations. Sport occupies a prominent place in modern society and successful athletes enjoy a high level of financial and social reward, so there are considerable incentives to succeed. There are also many obstacles to success: the sportsman or woman who succeeds at the highest level faces bigger challenges than ever before. Although the falling rate of participation in sport and physical activity has been a major factor in the epidemic of obesity and related lifestyle diseases that has afflicted many countries in the last couple of decades, more people than ever before are participating in organized sport. This has brought a greater part of the human gene pool into play than was the case a century ago when the luxury of participating in sport was open to only a privileged few from a small number of countries. As the rewards in sport have increased, an industry has grown up to provide support for participants. The elite athlete is only one member of a team that will include a coach, fitness specialists, advisers on tactics and technique, a medical doctor, and a physiotherapist, and perhaps also a physiologist, psychologist, nutritionist/dietitian, biomechanics, and a performance analyst, as well as several others. Each of these professionals plays - or at least should play - a vital role in ensuring that the athlete can undertake the rigorous training that is a prerequisite of success. They will also ensure that the athlete is prepared for competition by addressing all of the problems that may prevent optimum performance.

Physical activity is not a fad, rather it is part of our evolutionary way of living - the kind for which our bodies are engineered and which facilitates proper function of our anatomy, biochemistry and physiology. Sedentary life habits result in maladaptive changes in our constitution and increase the likelihood of disease and premature death. Fitness and good health are not destinations, but rather a lifelong journey. A major vehicle for travel along this journey is regular physical activity.