the triathlon is a relatively new sport with only three decades of competition at international level . the triathlon involves a combination of three separate disciplines - swimming , cycling and running . the order of events is usually swimming , cycling , and running although some professional sprint triathlons vary . the olympic distance triathlon includes swimming ( 1500 meters ) , cycling ( 40 kilometers ) and running ( 10 kilometers ) ( 1 ) . the most successful athletes have amorphology of competitors in , such as to the ironman triathlon event , as these athletes are usually heavier and have a stronger build . recognizing current participants with potential in sports is important , and to develop their skills and groom their learning ability has its own importance . in most organizations , physiological parameters and anthropometry may guide coaches and trainers in optimizing training and identifying talent ( 3 ) . however , the coaching staff remains in a dilemma to determine what somatotype , proportions , and shape are best in order to maximize sporting performance ( 4 ) . earlier , it had been established that body type could play a crucial role in determining the position of players in the game of volleyball . sports scientists were encouraged to utilize such information while determining the position of a specific program ( 5 ) . similar observation were suggested in playing positions for handball players after analyzing anthropometric profiling ( 6 ) . height and body mass had been found to be correlated with sprint performance using anthropometric profile for young teen soccer players ( 7 ) . however , knechtle ( 8) noticed that no association existed between total race performance time , body weight loss and skeletal mass . similarly , in another study knechtle ( 9 ) found that anthropometry and its influence on race were very little on ultra - endurance triathletes in the longest triathlon . while in swimming events , the length of limbs played a more vital role than the frequency of stride or stroke length . on the other hand , body fat was marked negatively as a dead weight that an athlete needs to carry with him or her during the whole event ( 10 ) . therefore , there is a need to identify the influence of anthropometric profiling on triathlon events , particularly on running and cycling performances . overall , anthropometric characteristics and performances are interlinked in the majority of athletic sports ( 11 ) . past studies have been observed at international competition level and with good validity to predict success by using anthropometric characteristics . however , very few studies have been conducted to date on the anthropometric characteristics of the new zealand junior elite triathletes and little data exists to compare with international data . therefore , the general objective of this study was to determine the correlation between physical traits of calf girth or sum of eight skinfolds ( anthropometry ) and running or cycling performance of junior elite triathletes selected for the new zealand national squad . in addition , we also compared the anthropometric data from our study of new zealand junior elite triathletes with that of previously published data from the world elite and world junior elite triathletes ( 4 ) . this was a cross - sectional study conducted at a sports camp in hamilton , new zealand . the study population comprised of junior elite triathletes who were selected for the new zealand national squad . all junior elite triathletes who were selected for the new zealand national squad were invited to the camp . subsequently , athletes who agreed to be the part of investigation and showed a willingness to sign informed consent were examined in the study . the standard procedure for anthropometric profiling by the international society for advancement of kinanthropometry ( isak ) guideline was followed for each athlete . criterion anthropometrist ( isak level 3 accredited ) marked the key anthropometric positions on the triathletes and then directed the athletes towards three stations . this included skinfold ( 8 measurements ) , length ( 7 measurements ) , girth ( 7 measurements ) , breadths ( 7 measurements ) , body weight and height . all triathletes were measured by a trained anthropometrist ( isak level 2 ) , whose technical error was less , than which was recommended by isak . the 5-km running time and 10-km cycling time were evaluated as minute : seconds ( m : s ) . the correlation between anthropometric profile and cycling and running performances were tested using interclass correlation ( icc ) along with 90% confidence interval ( ci ) limits . all collected data was compiled on microsoft excel 2007 , and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences ( spss inc . this was a cross - sectional study conducted at a sports camp in hamilton , new zealand . the study population comprised of junior elite triathletes who were selected for the new zealand national squad . all junior elite triathletes who were selected for the new zealand national squad were invited to the camp . subsequently , athletes who agreed to be the part of investigation and showed a willingness to sign informed consent were examined in the study . the standard procedure for anthropometric profiling by the international society for advancement of kinanthropometry ( isak ) guideline was followed for each athlete . criterion anthropometrist ( isak level 3 accredited ) marked the key anthropometric positions on the triathletes and then directed the athletes towards three stations . this included skinfold ( 8 measurements ) , length ( 7 measurements ) , girth ( 7 measurements ) , breadths ( 7 measurements ) , body weight and height . all triathletes were measured by a trained anthropometrist ( isak level 2 ) , whose technical error was less , than which was recommended by isak . a 5-km running performance the 5-km running time and 10-km cycling time were evaluated as minute : seconds ( m : s ) . the correlation between anthropometric profile and cycling and running performances were tested using interclass correlation ( icc ) along with 90% confidence interval ( ci ) limits . all collected data was compiled on microsoft excel 2007 , and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences ( spss inc . , chicago , il , usa ) program , version 15 . the participation in the study was voluntary . prior to anthropometric profile testing , written informed consent was obtained from all participants . the study included 11 junior elite triathletes ( 6 females , 5 males ; av . furthermore , the overall performance data for the 5-km run on two occasions and 10-km cycling time trial for top 5 athletes are given in table 2 . the individual body measurements , ( i.e. skinfold and girth average ) the top 5 triathletes are given in table 3 . the findings of correlation analysis between skinfold measurements and athlete performance data are given in table 4 . similarly , the findings of correlation analysis between girth measurements and athlete performance data are given in table 5 . overall , a non - significant positive correlation was observed between the sum of eight skinfolds and running performance ( icc : 0.10 ; 90% ci : 0.68  0.77 ; p>0.05 ) as well as cycling performance ( icc : 0.15 ; 90% ci : 0.65  0.79 ; p>0.05 ) , which suggested athletes with greater body fat may have a better athletic performance . conversely , a significant negative correlation was observed between calf girth and running performance ( icc:0.66 ; 90% ci : 0.94  0.12 ; p<0.05 ) and a non - significant negative correlation was observed between calf girth and cycling performance ( icc:0.94 ; 90% ci : 0.97 0.68 ; p>0.05 ) . this study was to investigate whether the physical traits of calf girth or sum of eight skinfolds ( anthropometry ) correlate with running or cycling performances in the triathlon event . from the data , it can be said that athletes with i d number 13 and 17 had a very close overall performance time . athlete number 13 had a higher thigh girth than athlete number17 , and secured a faster time in the 5-km run . athlete number 17 had a higher calk girth than athlete number 13 , and had better cycling performance . however , it should be noted that athlete number10 secured first place in both events despite having a lower calf and thigh girth than athlete number 8 . additionally , the anthropometric data obtained by ackland et al . ( 4 ) on world elite and world junior triathlons were compared with new zealand junior triathlons from the present study . new zealand female athletes had a lower amount of 8 skinfolds by 8% ; had a larger arm span by 12% ; had about 5% less chest girth , waist girth , femur breadth , and thigh girth ; had a 4% longer forearm length ; and a 3% longer hand length as compared to the world junior athletes . similarly , new zealand male athletes had a lower sum of 8 skinfolds by 17% ; had a longer thigh length by 9% ; had a lower thigh girth by 5% ; a lower chest girth by 6% ; a lower waist girth by 4% ; and a lower femur breadth by 4% as compared to the world junior athletes . the stature of new zealand s athletes was longer than world junior athletes by 3% . the comparison of anthropometric profile between the new zealand junior triathletes and the world junior triathletes could help in identifying and selecting youth players from schools and the communities . it can be considered as a little step towards an era where sports will select the athlete rather than the athlete select the sport . however , it should also be considered that if only by body shape or by physical characteristic one could determine the success of an athlete , it could be easier to judge the winner . although many other aspects are involved in it , we are of strong opinion that body structure or shape is a major contributing factor in choosing an athlete . the present study investigated whether the physical traits of calf girth or sum of eight skinfolds ( anthropometry ) correlate with running or cycling performances of junior elite triathletes from new zealand . the study indicated a correlation between the calf girth and performance , suggesting that the triathletes ran well if they had smaller calves . we believe that anthropometric data can help in predicting the ideal body profile for specific athletic events , and may help in choosing the ideal athlete .