The primary objective of this research was to determine coaches’ assessments of the key variables that define the success model in athletic throwing disciplines, as well as to evaluate differences between sexes in the disciplines of javelin, discus, shot put, and hammer throw. Thus, 35 elite coaches were asked about the influence of maximum strength and explosive power factors, manifested through various physical exercises, on final success in throwing disciplines. The questionnaire gathered general information about the coach’s achievements as an athlete and coach and key strength and power metrics, including knee lunge, knee jerk, back squat, bench press, deadlift, standing long jump, standing triple jump, and the 20 m sprint. A two-way within–within 2 × 4 ANOVA revealed a significant effect of sex (male, female) (p < 0.001, η² ranged 0.820–0.996) and discipline (javelin, discus, shot put, hammer) (p < 0.001, η² ranged 0.359–0.996) in all variables except triple standing jump. These findings offer valuable insights into how explosive power and maximum strength are perceived by elite coaches to affect success in different throwing disciplines. The results have practical applications, as they can inform the design and refinement of success models tailored to throwing disciplines, providing essential guidelines for optimizing contemporary training approaches in elite athletics and enhancing performance outcomes across genders and specific events.

This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and predictive validity of specific athletic running drills: A-skip, B-skip, bounding step, and jumps, in relation to sprint performance over 5 m and 20 m distances. Sixty-three young males (mean age: 21.3 ± 2.1 years; body height: 183 ± 6.5 cm; body weight: 77 ± 9.3 kg) were enrolled in the study. Running drill performance was recorded on an athletics track using high-speed cameras and evaluated based on predefined criteria and a scoring system. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficients of variation (CV). Predictive validity was determined via Pearson correlations and multiple linear regression analyses. The results indicated good to excellent inter-rater reliability for A-skip (ICC = 0.897) and jumps (ICC = 0.9), while B-skip and bounding step showed good reliability (ICC = 0.808 and 0.874, respectively). The 20 m sprint demonstrated excellent reliability (ICC = 0.969, CV = 2.07%), while the 5 m sprint had good reliability (ICC = 0.863, CV = 3.58%). B-skip emerged as the strongest predictor for both sprint distances, with significant negative associations (5 m: β = -0.531, p < 0.01; 20 m: β = -0.322, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that specific drills, particularly B-skip, demonstrate high inter-rater reliability and moderate predictive validity as indicators of short-sprint performance, with B-skip showing the strongest association. Coaches and practitioners can use these drills to enhance training programs to improve acceleration and speed over short distances.

Setting up anthropometric profiles for elite athletes in each sport, sport discipline, or specific sport positions could be a key element of sport selection processes. The main purpose of this study was to determine the anthropometric characteristics, body composition, and somatotype profiles of elite international ILCA 7 class sailors and to determine the differences contributing to different levels of competitive success. The subject sample included 97 elite ILCA 7 class sailors. A set of 25 anthropometric variables was applied. The sailors were divided into three groups according to their level of general competitive success according to the World Sailing Rankings. Differences between elite ILCA 7 sailors, separated into Higher, Medium, and Lower groups based on their success, were found in terms of age, body mass, muscle mass, trunk muscle mass, leg muscle mass, biepicondilar humerus width, sum of skinfolds, triceps skinfold, supraspinale skinfold, medial calf skinfold, and endomorphy rating. The most successful group of sailors was, on average, 4.9 years older than the least successful group. More highly successful sailors were also found to have an average of 2.73 kg more muscle mass but an 8.81 mm lower sum of skinfolds than those in the lower success group. Considering the average values of somatotype categories, ILCA 7 sailors fit the endomorphic–mesomorph somatotype category (3.23 ± 0.99–4.81 ± 0.90–2.25 ± 0.86). This research clearly identifies the anthropometric profile of elite ILCA 7 sailors, which can significantly contribute to a more informed choice of sailing class. Given the results of this research, current ILCA 7 sailors can easily compare their own anthropometric parameters with elite ILCA 7 sailors and eventually adjust their training process to obtain a more desirable anthropometric profile.

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between internal training intensity and physiological and performance markers, including heart rate variability, resting heart rate, sleep duration, and countermovement jump performance in professional soccer players during a five-week preseason.Methods: This longitudinal design included 10 professional soccer players (age: 20.8 ± 2.3 years) with the following variables measured weekly: ITI, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate (RHR), sleep duration, and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance.Results: Results showed a significant reduction in ITI (p < 0.001) across the preseason, reflecting effective intensity management. CMJ performance showed an initial decline before significantly increasing after week 2 (p < 0.001), while no significant changes were observed in RHRmean (p = 0.25) or lnRMSSDmean (p = 0.27). However, lnRMSSDCV decreased by 39.9%, indicating improved autonomic stability. A moderate negative correlation was observed between lnRMSSDmean and lnRMSSDCV (r = –0.54, p < 0.001), suggesting that greater parasympathetic tone is associated with reduced daily HRV fluctuations. ITI showed moderate negative correlations with Sleepmean (r = –0.32, p = 0.045) and CMJ performance (r = –0.43, p = 0.005) and a positive correlation with lnRMSSDCV (r = 0.35, p = 0.03).Conclusions: Higher ITI is associated with reduced CMJ performance, likely due to fatigue, emphasising the need to monitor CMJ for optimising training loads and preventing overtraining. Similarly, its link to shorter sleep duration highlights the importance of tracking sleep for effective recovery management. Additionally, the inverse relationship between lnRMSSDmean and lnRMSSDCV suggests that greater parasympathetic activity stabilises HRV fluctuations, reflecting improved autonomic balance and aiding in training adjustments. This study highlights the importance of integrating HRV, sleep, and CMJ into preseason training programs for professional soccer players. A tailored training approach emphasising reduced ITI and monitoring autonomic stability and recovery effectively improves physiological resilience and neuromuscular performance, ensuring players’ readiness for the competitive season.

This study aimed to examine weekly variations and within-subject relationships between internal training intensity (ITI), perceived recovery (TQR), neuromuscular performance (CMJ), and perceived muscle soreness (PMS) during a four-week preseason period in professional soccer players. Twenty-three soccer players (age 24.8 ± 4.4 years; height 182 ± 7 cm; body mass 74.6 ± 6.7 kg) classified as Tier 3 athletes from the Croatian Second Soccer League were monitored using session rating of perceived exertion, TQR scales, countermovement jump tests, and PMS questionnaires. A significant reduction in ITI and concurrent improvement in TQR scores were observed across the preseason, with the highest intensity in week 1 and the lowest recovery in week 2. CMJ height performance declined during peak fatigue but rebounded as training intensity tapered. Repeated-measures correlations revealed negative associations between weekly ITI and TQR of the following week (rrm = −0.72), and between ITI and CMJ (rrm = −0.55), indicating that greater training intensities may impair both perceptual and neuromuscular recovery. The training stimulus–recovery difference index was positively associated with next-day TQR, suggesting it may serve as a sensitive marker of session-level readiness. These findings highlight the interplay between intensity, recovery, and fatigue, emphasizing the utility of low-cost subjective and objective tools for monitoring preseason responses and guiding individualized training strategies in elite soccer settings.

Telemedicine is a term that covers all procedures supported by communication technology, which has the purpose of providing health services at a specific spatial distance. This is an area that is developing rapidly and has found particular application in otorhinolaryngology, given that a large number of surgeries are performed with the help of endoscopes and microscopes. Telemedicine also represents a significant advantage during the coronavirus pandemic, both in terms of treating patients and monitoring them more effectively. For the purpose of preparing this article, research published on Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Google was reviewed using the keywords “telemedicine” and “otorhinolaryngology”. This review article provides a summary and the latest insights in this broad and fast-growing area. The development of telemedicine in Croatia as well as a special review of the application of telemedicine during the coronavirus pandemic is also presented in this article.