Change-of-Direction Ability, Linear Sprint Speed, and Sprint Momentum in Elite Female Athletes: Differences between Three Different Team Sports

The aim of this study was to compare the performance of elite female players from 3 different sports in linear sprint and change-of-direction (COD) tests and examine their efficiency for changing direction through the calculation of the COD deficit (i.e., the difference in velocity between a linear sprint and a COD task of equal distance). One hundred fifty-four elite players (rugby, n 5 40, national team members; soccer, n 5 57 and handball n 5 57, first division players from the respective Brazilian National Championships) were assessed in the 20-m linear sprint and Zigzag COD tests. A one-way analysis of variance with a Tukey post hoc was used to detect between-sport differences. Female rugby sevens players achieved faster sprint velocities than handball (20-m: 6.21±0.24 m s21; 6.07±0.27 m s21, respectively; p , 0.05) and soccer players (5-m: 4.71±0.26 m s21 vs. 4.51±0.20m s21; and 20-m: 6.0860.19m s21; p,0.05) and exhibited the greatest COD deficits (2.9560.25m s21; 2.6960.19m s21; 2.8260.17m s21, for rugby, handball, and soccer, respectively; p,0.05). Handball players outperformed all other athletes in the Zigzag test (3.3860.15m s21; 3.2660.10m s21; 3.2660.10m s21, for handball, rugby, and soccer, respectively; p,0.05) but presented the lowest COD deficits (p , 0.05). Furthermore, soccer players displayed inferior sprint momentum when compared with the other sports (p , 0.05). Linear sprint and COD ability differ significantly among elite female athletes from different team sports, with handball players exhibiting a greater COD speed and efficiency to change direction, with respect to their maximum sprint velocity. The between-sport differences observed suggests that specific training and game demands may affect both sprint and COD performance.