146 Chapter 7 maturity-related biases that favor early-maturing swimmers and overlook those who mature later in talent selection processes (Malina et al., 2015). Hence, gaining insight into the development of performance and its underlying performance characteristics (e.g., height, maximal swimming velocity, stroke index and CMJ) throughout puberty, while differentiating between performance levels, is essential to optimize talent identification and development (TID) in swimming. Obtaining a thorough understanding of the developmental pathways during the pubertal years, such as objective insights into skill levels and rates of progression for swimmers who are on track to the elite level in comparison to those who are not, can provide valuable knowledge to contextualize a swimmer’s current performance and future potential. This can facilitate the advancement of science-based, informed decision-making processes, which may lead to more effective and improved strategies in TID. Therefore, the present study followed swimmers throughout puberty (males aged 12-15; females aged 11-14) and retrospectively analyzed their developmental patterns, differentiating by their performance level at the end of puberty (males aged 16; females aged 15). We first examined whether swimmers who are considered to be on track to the elite senior level (referred to as high-performing late juniors) differed from those who are not (referred to as lower-performing late juniors) on levels of swim performance and underlying performance characteristics throughout puberty. Second, we investigated whether developmental differences in swim performance and underlying performance characteristics emerged during the pubertal years based on late junior performance-level attainment. We hypothesized that high-performing late junior swimmers showed better scores and faster rates of development on both swim performance and its underlying performance characteristics than lower-performing late junior swimmers throughout puberty.
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