Fitness profiles of elite female judokas of the Serbian national team Profili di fitness di judoka d’elite di sesso femminile della squadra nazionale della Serbia P. DRID 1 , N. MAKSIMOVIC 1 , R. MATIC 1 , B. OBRADOVIC 1 , Z. MILOSEVIC 1 , S. M. OSTOJIC 2 1 Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia 2 Faculty of Sport and Tourism, Novi Sad Metropolitan University, Novi Sad, Serbia SUMMARY Aim. The purpose of this study was to determine fitness profiles of top-level female judokas of the Serbian national team and to find which physical and physiological characteristics separate the more successful from less successful ath- letes. Methods. Sixteen elite female judokas of the Serbian national team (weight categories from 48-78 kg) took part in the study. The participants were allocated in two experimental groups (Group A and Group B) according to their achieve- ments in previous international competitions. Group A (top-quality performers) consisted of eight judokas who won at least one or more individual medals in international competitions in the last five years. Group B (sub-elite athletes) con- sisted of eight athletes who had not won any individual medals internationally. Anthropometric and physical fitness val- ues (including body fat, muscle strength, aerobic and anaerobic fitness) were measured in all subjects. Results. Group A had significantly lower fat mass as compared to group B (P<0.05). The differences between the two groups for aerobic fitness were non-significant after normalizing maximal oxygen uptake (V . O 2max ) for lean body mass (P>0.05). The differences between two groups were significant for bench press and seated-row pull with superior results recorded for elite athletes as compared to sub-elite counterparts (P<0.05). Significant differences between groups were found in number of throws during specific judo fitness test (SJFT) and lactate concentrations 5 minutes post-exer- cise (La 5) (P<0.05). Conclusion. The present study indicates that a strong relationship exists between body fat, strength and performance level in elite female judo. KEY WORDS : Muscle strength - Exercise test - Martial arts. Vol. 62, N. 3 MEDICINA DELLO SPORT 251 RIASSUNTO Obiettivo. L’obiettivo di questo studio era di determinare I profili di fitness di judoka di sesso femminile di massimo livel- lo della squadra nazionale della Serbia e di individuare quali caratteristiche fisiche e fisiologiche permettano di distin- guere le atlete di maggior successo da quelle di livello inferiore. Metodi. Sedici judoka d’elite di sesso femminile della squadra nazionale della Serbia (categorie di peso da 48-78 kg) hanno preso parte allo studio. Le partecipanti sono state suddivise in due gruppi sperimentali (Gruppo A e Gruppo B) in base ai loro risultati conseguiti nelle precedenti competizioni internazionali. Risultati. Il Gruppo A (atlete di massimo livello) era costituito da otto judoka che avevano vinto almeno una o più medaglie individuali in competizioni internazionali negli ultimi cinque anni. Il Gruppo B (atlete di “ sub-elite” ) era costi- tuito da otto atlete che non avevano precedentemente vinto alcuna medaglia individuale in campo internazionale. I valo- ri di fitness antropometrici e fisici (tra cui, il grasso corporeo, la forza muscolare, la fitness aerobica ed anaerobica) sono Functional evaluation area Area valutazione funzionale MED SPORT 2009;62:251-63