Research summary · Para sport
Para-athletics talent development rests on a thin evidence base
This review maps how research has approached talent identification and development in para-athletics.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Scoping review
- Journal
- Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
- Population / context
- Para athletics · Track and field
What the publication reports
Only nine publications met inclusion criteria after 1,786 records were screened. Most work emphasized physical assessment and demographic or impairment-related factors, with sprinting the most studied discipline.
Limits and interpretation
Several classifications and disciplines were absent, and four papers supplied physical-testing data. The sparse, uneven literature cannot validate a universal pathway or selection test.
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Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
From potential to podium: what we still don't know about talent identification and development in Para athletics, a scoping review
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42375827DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2026.1782132Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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