Rowing races require extreme physical and psychological effort from every athlete. This study aimed to determine the dynamics of the salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase, as well as blood lactate throughout the specific load represented by a 6 km rowing race, conducted on a rowing ergometer. The sample consisted of 11 junior and senior rowers from HVK Gusar in Split (n = 11) who actively competed at club and international levels. Variables consisted of three repeated oral samples of the hormone cortisol and the enzyme alpha-amylase determined in saliva and three repeated blood lactate samples. Potential differences in the levels of the studied variables at different time points were determined using a repeated-measures ANOVA test. The results showed different dynamics of hormonal (cortisol) and metabolic (alpha-amylase and lactates) variables. All variables experienced a significant post-race increase, while other changes were not significant. The results highlighted that high-intensity rowing causes an increase in the body’s cortisol, alpha-amylase, and lactate levels. This should be implemented in rowing training to find the right balance between high and low-intensity rowing, enabling athletes’ progression while reducing the risk of overtraining.

This longitudinal study investigated the incidence and characteristics of injuries among U9, U11, and U13 male football players in an academy setting over a six-season period, from 2016/17 to 2021/22. A total of 374 injuries were analyzed, with a particular focus on muscle injuries, including Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), muscle ruptures, and contusions. The study revealed that the highest injury incidence occurred in the U13 group, with quadriceps injuries being most prevalent in both the U13 and U11 groups. The study found that muscle injuries accounted for a significant proportion of all injuries, particularly in the U13 group, where muscle injuries increased over time. Intrinsic factors such as physical development during puberty and extrinsic factors like training intensity and psychological pressures may contribute to the higher injury rates in older age groups. Additionally, seasonal fluctuations in injury rates were observed, with a notable decline during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2019/20 and 2020/21, followed by an increase post-lockdown due to deconditioning. The study highlights the vulnerability of young athletes to muscle injuries, particularly during growth spurts, and calls for further research into training methods and injury prevention strategies to mitigate these risks.

This study aimed to examine position-specific associations of contextual factors (match outcome, match location, and opponent quality) and match running performance (MRP). The dataset comprised 1806 individual observations obtained from 160 matches with 509 players from 36 participating teams across the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 season. Metrics included total distance covered (TD), low-(LIR), moderate-(MIR), and high-intensity running (HIR), high-speed running (HSR), sprinting (SPR), and high-intensity accelerations (HIAs) and decelerations (HIDs). Significant playing position × match outcome interactions were observed for TD (F = 2.75, p = 0.005), MIR (F = 2.39, p = 0.015), HIR (F = 5.24, p < 0.001), HSR (F = 3.90, p < 0.001), and SPR (F = 3.69, p < 0.001). Significant playing position × opponent quality interactions were also identified for TD (F = 8.77, p < 0.001), LIR (F = 3.56, p = 0.007), MIR (F = 6.20, p < 0.001), HSR (F = 3.09, p = 0.015), and HIDs (F = 5.14, p < 0.001). In contrast, no significant playing position × match location interactions were observed. Match outcome, match location, and opponent quality explained 0.7–2.5% of overall variability in MRP (Part R² = 0.007–0.025). Therefore, these contextual factors should be considered as supplementary information that may improve the interpretation of position-specific MRP rather than as factors that substantially determine the physical demands imposed during match-play.