Factor analysis on the performance of elite male fencing athletes

BACKGROUND: We analyzed how stress and heart rate variability affect the performance of male fencing athletes expected to compete in various international events representing Korea. METHODS: This study included 72 fencing athletes who participated in training and competition from January 2020 to December 2023. The stress was analyzed using the Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT). Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured using an autonomous neurodiagnostic device (SA-6000). Heart rate variability measurement items were time domain analysis (heart rate, standard deviation of NN interval, and root mean square of the successful differences) and frequency domain analysis (total power, low frequency, and low frequency/high-frequency ratio). All athletes were classified into two categories: victory (high performance) and defeat (low performance) groups in the recent national championships. RESULTS: In SCAT, there was no significant difference between high and low performance. After comparing HRV, it was found that there is a significant difference in heart rates (P=0.030) and low frequency/high-frequency ratio (P=0.006) between high and low performance. heart rates and low-frequency/high-frequency ratio during the high performance were observed to be higher than during low performance. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we found that SCAT does not affect performance, while HRV has been shown to have an impact on performance. These findings can be valuable for coaches and athletes in developing strategies to improve performance results, particularly for elite male fencing athletes.