Comparative Evaluation of Lower-Body Anaerobic Power and Fatigue Characteristics in Youth Athletes Across Distinct Sport Categories

Abstract

Optimum lower-body anaerobic power represents a decisive physiological prerequisite for athletic execution across varied competitive disciplines. This cross-sectional investigation evaluated lower-limb anaerobic power profiles and examined the distinct and interactive influences of sex, chronological developmental age, and sport categorization. Three hundred and seventy-six competitive adolescent athletes (N = 376, ages 12–21 years) completed a standardized 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) on an electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer. Peak power (PP), average power (AP), minimum power (MP), and the fatigue index (FI) were calculated. A three-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated significant main effects for sex (p < 0.001), developmental age group (p = 0.013), and sport discipline classification (p < 0.001) on overall anaerobic parameters. Male athletes exhibited significantly superior PP (11.5 ± 1.4 W/kg vs. 8.7 ± 1.5 W/kg), AP (8.2 ± 0.7 W/kg vs. 6.4 ± 0.8 W/kg), and MP outputs relative to females across developmental cohorts. Athletes specialized in explosive power disciplines generated the greatest PP (10.3 ± 2.0 W/kg) and AP (7.3 ± 1.1 W/kg), whereas endurance athletes demonstrated higher MP preservation and the lowest fatigue indices (50.2 ± 8.2%). Establishing age-, sex-, and sport-specific anaerobic benchmarks enables athletic conditioning specialists to monitor conditioning progress and structure targeted power-development protocols.