Relative age effects in competitive wrestling: variations by age group and gender

This study examined the presence of the relative age effect (RAE) in wrestling and its association with competitive success across age groups, styles, and gender. Data were drawn from 6,631 wrestlers (5,678 males and 953 females) competing in freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women's categories at the 2025 Turkish Wrestling Championships, spanning ages 10-14 and the senior level. Birthdates were grouped into quartiles, and competitive outcomes were classified as medalists, quarterfinalists, others. Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests and chi-square tests of independence were conducted to examine the distribution of birth quarters and their association with tournament success outcomes. Analyses showed that there were no differences between birth quartiles in male freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers aged 10-13, as well as in all age categories among female wrestlers (p > 0.05); however, athletes born in the early months of the year were statistically significantly overrepresented in the male 14 years and senior categories (p < 0.05). In both styles, for males and in all categories for females, athletes born earlier in the year were found to have a higher likelihood of achieving higher tournament rankings across all youth categories (p < 0.05), whereas this relationship was not observed at the senior level (p > 0.05). Overall, the findings suggest that relative age advantages are most pronounced during developmental stages and diminish at the elite adult level, highlighting the potential value of considering relative-age-related performance differences when designing youth talent identification and development systems.