Female military pentathlon athletes and scientific research - a mini-review

military pentathlon is a discipline that comprises five events, namely: rifle shooting, obstacle run, obstacle swimming, throwing, and cross country running. Our search initially identified 275 records, which were reduced to the final list of 14 after the eligibility criteria analysis was performed in two phases: title + abstract reading and full-text reading. The first record was published in 2007 (recent field of study) and most studies were cross-sectional ones (scarcity of experimental studies), investigating outcomes like psychological, anthropometric, biochemical, biomechanics, cardiopulmonary, nutritional, skin temperature, performance, and prevalence of injury. The female military pentathlon athletes present low values of body fat, energy intake, and high weekly training volume, so professionals must be aware to prevent relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S) syndrome. The obstacle run was the most investigated event, with lower blood lactate and skin temperature for women athletes. It was also observed that anthropometric, muscle power, and cardiopulmonary variables are well correlated with athletic performance and in some studies, these correlations were stronger for female athletes.

Conclusion:

scientific research with female military pentathlon athletes is still incipient, especially for experimental design researches, which are highly encouraged in future studies.

Keywords
athletic performance; sports; military personnel; sex characteristics; sports medicine

Databases	Strings
Pubmed/Medline	“military pentathlon” AND (women OR woman OR female OR girl)
Scielo	(military pentathlon) AND (women OR woman OR female OR girl)
	(pentatlo militar) AND (mulher OR feminino OR feminina OR menina OR garota)
Google Scholar	women OR woman OR female OR girl “military pentathlon”
	mulher OR feminino OR feminina OR menina OR garota “pentatlo militar”

Reference	Year	Sample	Outcomes	Study design and Main results
Patra et al¹³13. Patra AK, Grargava P, Grewal VS. Medical cover plan - 4th World Military Games, 2007. Available From: https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.625.25&rep=rep1&type=pdf [Accessed: 25th October 2021]. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/do...	2007	n = 51 women, 151 men (MP athletes)	Prevalence of injury during 4^th WMG	Cross-sectional
Full-text report		Participants of 4^th WMG		Women: lower prevalence of injury
		Countries in 4^th WMG		(7.8 vs. 24.5%)
		Age: NR
Genial et al.¹⁴14. Genial LO, Cotian MS, Fortes MSR. Avaliação psicométrica de atletas militares participantes dos 5° Jogos Mundiais Militares. R Min Educ Fís. 2011;19(3):7-18.	2011	N = 7 women, 9 men (MP athletes)	Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2	Cross-sectional
Full-text article		Participants of 5^th WMG	(CSAI-2)	Cognitive anxiety: women > men
		Brazil	• Cognitive anxiety	Somatic anxiety: women > men
		Age: 27.9 ± 6.4 (women)*	• Somatic anxiety	Self-confidence: women = men
		29.8 ± 5.2 (men)*	• Self-confidence
			Higher values, higher anxiety.
Cotian et al.¹⁵15. Cotian MS, Genial LO, Fortes MS. Avaliação das habilidades psicológicas de coping em atletas militares participantes dos 5° Jogos Mundiais Militares. J Phys Ed. 2012;81(154):13-17. doi doi...	2012	N = 7 women, 9 men (MP athletes)	Athletics Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28)	Cross-sectional
Full-text article		Participants of 5^th WMG	• Coping with Adversity	Peaking under pressure: women < men
		Brazil	• Peaking under Pressure	Other coping skills: women = men
		Age: 27.8 ± 3.4 (women)*	• Goal Setting/Mental Preparation
		30.1 ± 5.3 (men)*	• Concentration
			• Freedom from Worry
			• Confidence and Achievement Motivation
			• Coachability Higher values, a higher coping skill.
Batista and Mainenti¹⁶16. Batista HB, Mainenti MR. Velocidade de platô de VO2 e velocidade máxima: variáveis cardiopulmonares potencialmente importantes na seleção e treinamento de atletas de pentatlo militar feminino. J Phys Ed. 2015;84(1):35.	2015	N = 6 women (MP athletes)	Cardiopulmonary variables during progressive exercise	Cross-sectional
Abstract		Participants of 6^th WMG	• VO₂max	Very strong correlation
		Brazil	• vVO₂max	CCPP and vVO₂max (r = 0.98)
		Age: 27.5 [25.0; 29.3]**	• VO₂VT1	Strong correlation
			• VelV1	CCPP and Velmax (r = 0.79)
			• Velmax
			Cross country running performance (CCPP)
Correia and Charbel¹⁷17. Correia RC, Charbel M. Altura de queda ótima em treinamento pliométrico para equipes de pentatlo militar. J Phys Ed. 2015;84(1):14.	2015	n = 4 women (MP athletes)	Drop jump variables	Cross-sectional
Abstract		Participants of 6^th WMG	• Drop height	Correlations between
		Brazil	• Flight time	Drop height and flight time
		Age: 29.3 ± 2.5*	• Ground contact time	Drop height and ground contact time
			Obstacle run performance
Schramm et al.⁸8. Schramm FF, Bastos LFV, Mainenti MRM. Atletas de pentatlo militar feminino com melhor composição corporal apresentam melhor desempenho na modalidade. J. Phys. Educ. 2017;28:e2806. doi. doi...	2017	n = 5 women (MP athletes)	Body size variables (shoulder width, arm span, hand length, arm length, knee height, and others)	Cross-sectional
Full-text article		Participants of 6^th WMG	Body composition variables (abdominal girth, arm muscle circumference, skinfold sum, body fat, FFM, and others)	Cluster of athletes with better performance comprises the cluster of athletes with better body composition
		Brazil	PP of each MP event
		Age: 28 [25; 29]**
Neves e Mainenti¹⁸18. Neves AN, Mainenti MRM. Estudos em antropometria e psicologia do esporte acerca do desempenho de atletas militares - contribuições da Escola de Educação Física do Exército - EsEFEx. In: Pesquisa Científica em Instituições Militares. Rio de Janeiro, Centro de Estudos de Pessoal e Forte Duque de Caxias; 2018. p. 221-247.	2018	n = 5 women, 5 men (MP athletes)	Body fat (%)	Cross-sectional
Book chapter		Participants of 6^th WMG (women)	PP of each MP event	Body fat (%) vs PP of each MP event:
		Participants of 64^th WMPC (men)		Women: weak, fair, and strong correlations
		Brazil		(r ranging from 0.08 to 0.75)
		Age: 26.4 ± 2.6 (women)*		Men: weak and fair correlations
		27.0 ± 2.8 (men)*		(r ranging from 0.02 to 0.49)
Neves¹⁹19. Neves EB. Explosive force production in military pentathlon athletes. CISM 2019 International Symposium Abstract. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322821896_Explosive_force_production_in_military_pentathlon_athletes [Accessed 25th October 2021]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication...	2019	n = 27 women, 57 men (MP athletes)	Sargent jump test (SJT)	Cross-sectional
Abstract		Participants of 64^th WMPC	Relative throwing distance (RTD)	Women: lower values SJT, RTD, ORP
		Countries in 64^th WMPC	Obstacle run performance (ORP)	SJT and RTD vs performance
		Age: 20-35***	Obstacle swimming performance	Women: weak, fair, and strong correlations
			Cross country performance	(r ranging from -0.616 to -0.138)
				Men: weak and fair correlations
				(r ranging from -0.324 to -0.086)
Leite et al.²⁰20. Leite DG, Moraes Filho JEM, Mello DB, Wechinewsky FM. Nível de lactato sanguíneo, em homens e mulheres, verificados antes e após a execução da pista de pentatlo militar. Revista Agulhas Negras. 2019;3(3):126-31.	2019	n = 4 women, 6 men (MP athlete cadets)	Blood lactate	Pre-post (OR)
Full-text article		AMAN cadets		Higher values after OR
		Age: 22.0 ± 2.8*		Women: lower values than men
Souza²¹21. Souza DCA. Perfil dietético de atletas da seleção brasileira de pentatlo militar. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso [Bacharelado em Educação Física], Escola de Educação Física do Exército, Rio de Janeiro; 2019.	2019	n = 4 women, 9 men (MP athletes)	Dietary energy intake (DEI)	Cross-sectional
Monograph		2019 Brazilian team	Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)	For both groups mean values:
		Age: 28.9 ± 3.9 (women)*	DEI/TDEE (%)	CHO intake lower than recommended
		26.1 ± 2.2 (men)*	CHO, LIP, PTN intake	PTN and LIP as recommended
			VitC, Ca, Iron intake	Ca intake lower than recommended
				Iron intake higher than recommended
				VitC intake lower than recommended
				Women: higher DEI, lower TDEE, higher DEI/TDEE (just descriptive, no statistical tests applied)
Souza Filho²²22. Souza Filho MA. Ingestão alimentar e disponibilidade de energia nos atletas da seleção brasileira de pentatlo militar no ano de 2020. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso [Bacharelado em Educação Física], Escola de Educação Física do Exército, Rio de Janeiro; 2020.	2020	n = 5 women, 4 men (MP athletes)	Dietary energy intake (DEI)	Cross-sectional
Monograph		2020 Brazilian team	Energy expenditure on exercise (EEE)	Women: lower DEI, EEE, TDEE
		Age: 24.4 ± 3.9(women)*	Energy availability (EA)	(just descriptive, no statistical tests applied)
		26.5 ± 1.7 (men)*	Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)	Women EA: 80% lower than minimal recommended values
				Men EA: 100% lower than minimal recommended values
Santos-García et al²³23. Santos-García DJ, Aznar JP, Fernández FA, Yustres I, Barragán R, Mayoralas FG-M. Relationship between 50 m freestyle swimming and 50 m obstacle swimming performance in military. Med Sport. 2021;74(1):35-42. doi. doi...	2021	n = 7 women, 7 men (MP athletes)	50m freestyle swimming (FS) performance	Pre-Post (50 m FS or OS)
Full-text article		Spanish team	50m obstacle swimming (OS) performance	OS higher BL (both sexes)
		Age: 33.7 ± 5.5(women)*	Blood lactate (BL) after FW and OS	BL: women = men after FS or OB
		33.4 ± 3.7 (men)*		Fair correlations between FS and OS:
				Women: 0.40; men: 0.60

Mello et al.²⁴24. Mello D, Dias T, Romão W, Neves EB, Pierre JR GL, Rosa G, et al. The influence of military pentathlon obstacle run on athletes’ skin temperature. CISM 2021 International Symposium Abstract. In press.	2021	n = 7 women, 9 men (MP athletes)	Skin temperature (Tsk) at lower limbs ROIs	Pre-Post (OR)
Abstract		2021 Brazilian team		Post OR: higher Tsk (both sexes)
		Age: 26.3 ± 3.3*		Tsk: lower for women, especially post OR
Loyola et al.²⁵25. Loyola MVM, Mainenti MRM, Santos LVC, Miarka B. Pentatlo militar: qual a prova determinante no resultado final do campeonato mundial feminino 2019? J Phys Ed. 2021; 90(4 Suplemento Especial), S35.	2021	n = 48 women (MP athletes)	PP of each MP event	Cross-sectional
Abstract		Participants of 7^th WMG	Final 7^th WMG position standing	Correlations among final standing and PP of each MP event:
		Countries in 7^th WMG		Weak to fair: obstacle run and shooting
		Age: NR		Strong: cross country, obstacle swimming, throwing

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[1] Associate Editor: Angelina Zanesco0000-0002-2515-1871, ¹Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Faculdade de Medicina, Santos, SP, Brazil; ²Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, Departamento de Educação Física, Instituto de Biociências, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil. E-mail: angelina.zanesco@unesp.br.