Although female wrestling has received minor research attention, in male participants few studies examined differences in physical fitness and anthropometrical markers between successful and less successful wrestlers (García-Pallarés et al., 2010). These data have been of great importance for optimizing training programs, talent selection and weight cutting strategies for Greco-Roman and Freestyle male wrestlers (Horswill, 1992). Therefore, the first aim of this study was to investigate which anthropometric, physiological and neuromuscular factors are different between elite and amateur female wrestlers. Our second aim was to compare physical fitness markers between these elite female and those of a recent study conducted in our laboratory with elite male wrestlers. Methods: Thirty five female wrestlers were assigned into 4 groups according to their body mass (light and middle weight) and their competitive level (elite and amateur): Light Weight (49-58 kg) in elite (LWE, n=6) and amateur (LWA, n=12) level; and Middle Weight (58-67 kg) in elite (MWE, n=7) and amateur (MWA, n=10) level. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify which variables better predict female wrestling successes. Results: Elite female wrestlers were older (8%-10%), had more training experience (27%-29%), fat free mass (FFM) (3%), maximum strength in absolute and allometrically scaled values (13%-33%), maximal muscle power (16%-34%), anaerobic capacity and power in absolute and allometrically scaled values (17%-23%) compared to amateur wrestlers (p<0.05). Discussion: Based on the logistic regression analysis, FFM and 1RM strength were the most important factors of successful female wrestling performance. These results may suggest that the higher absolute and normalized maximum strength, muscle power and anaerobic metabolism, although explained in part by the differences in FFM, will give elite female wrestlers a clear advantage during Olympic wrestling compared to amateurs. When these results and those of a recent study performed in our laboratory with elite male wrestlers (García-Pallarés et al., 2010) were compared, elite females presented lower (p<0.05) physiological and neuromuscular values even when these data were normalized using allometric methods. In addition to differences in the FFM, other sex distinctions such as hormonal, enzymatic and/or neural activations patterns could be related to the physical fitness performance differences between genders (Weber et al., 2006).
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