OOIR: Observatory of International Research

Papers

(The TQCC of Biology of Sport is 9. The table below lists those papers that are above that threshold based on CrossRef citation counts [max. 250 papers]. The publications cover those that have been published in the past four years, i.e., from 2021-08-01 to 2025-08-01.)

Article	Citations
A comparison of running and contact loads in U18 and U20 international rugby union competition	416
A comparison in knee flexor and extensor strength following ACL reconstruction in international, male soccer players receiving patellar tendon or hamstrings grafts	61
Relative age effect across the talent identification process of youth female soccer players in the United States: Influence of birth year, position, biological maturation, and skill level	47
Caffeine supplementation improves physical performance without affecting fatigue level: a double-blind crossover study	44
Does the Paleo diet affect an athlete’s health and sport performance?	43
A comprehensive assessment of caffeine’s effects on components of countermovement jump performance	41
Laboratory-based determinants of simulated time trial performance in cyclists	38
Analysis of mental and physical fatigue over the course of a professional English Premier League season in outfield players	36
Different pitch configurations constrain the external and internal loads of young professional soccer players during transition games	36
Relationships between training dose and record power outputs in professional road cyclists: insights and threats to validity	35
A novel multifactorial hamstring screening protocol: association with hamstring muscle injuries in professional football (soccer) – a prospective cohort study	35
Movement patterns and player load: insights from professional padel	33
Ten-minute warm-up in hot climate best assists thermal comfort, muscular power output, and fatigue, during soccer-specific repeated-sprint ability	30
Application of acute pre-exercise partial-body cryotherapy promotes jump performance, salivary-amylase and athlete readiness	30
Association between polymorphism rs6295 of HTR1A serotonin receptor gene and personality traits among athletes of combat sport	30
Return to performance: machine learning insights into how absence time following muscle injuries affects match running performance in LaLiga soccer players	29
Comparison of the external load of professional goalkeepers in different weekly training sessions	29
Effects of daily use of intermittent pneumatic compression in competitive handball players: A randomized controlled trial	29
Are EFI data valuable? Evidence from the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage	29
Core training and performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis	27
Blood flow restriction as a post-exercise recovery strategy: A systematic review of the current status of the literature	25
Weekly external load distribution in football teams of different competitive levels	24
Small-sided games in amateur players: rule modification with mini-goals to induce lower external load responses	23
Effects of a cardiopulmonary rehabilitation programme on submaximal exercise in Tunisian patients with long-COVID19: A randomized clinical trial	23
The effect of two sessions of combined jump and sprint training per week on fitness parameters in soccer players. A randomized controlled trial	23

International matches elicit stable mechanical workload in high-level female ice hockey	22
Impact of defensive team variables on goals conceded in the first division of the Spanish soccer league: a 10-year study	21
Load distribution across weekly microcycles according to match schedule in a team competing in the Australian national A-League Women’s soccer competition	21
Different time course recovery of muscle oedema within the quadriceps femoris and functional performance after single- vs multi-joint exercises	20
Are fluctuations in physical performance affected by contextual factors in women’s handball matches? An analysis using five-minute fixed phases	20
Comparison of the worst-case scenarios between training and competition weeks for each playing position in an elite football season	19
Association of the IL1A and IL6 polymorphisms with posttraining changes in body mass, composition, and biochemical parameters in Caucasian women	19
Influence of contextual factors on most demanding scenarios in under-19 professional soccer players	19
Intra-unit reliability and movement variability of submission grappling external load as measured by torso mounted accelerometery	19
Effects of melatonin ingestion on physical performance and biochemical responses following exhaustive running exercise in soccer players	18
Optimal velocity loss threshold for inducing post activation potentiation in track and field athletes	18
Kinetics of skin temperature in lower limbs of professional soccer athletes	18
Reference values for collective tactical behaviours based on positional data in professional football matches: a systematic review	18
An ecological investigation of average and peak external load intensities of basketball skills and game-based training drills	18
The associations between physical-test performance and match performance in women’s rugby sevens players	18
Warm-up optimization in amateur male soccer players: A comparison of small-sided games and traditional warm-up routines on physical fitness qualities	18
Reliability, interrelationships, and minimal detectable changes in strength and power metrics among well-trained rugby sevens players	17
Training periodization for a world-class 400 meters individual medley swimmer	17
Validity of a low-cost friction encoder for measuring velocity, force and power in flywheel exercise devices	17
‘Setting the Benchmark’ Part 4: Contextualising the Match Demands of Teams at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023	16
Acute effects of beetroot juice vs. creatine supplementation on maximal strength, autonomic regulation, and muscle oxygenation during incremental resistance exercise	16
More injury stoppage time in women compared to men in elite level football tournaments: Retrospective comparison of match injuries in 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup	16
Late-stage rehabilitation effects do not differ between quadriceps and hamstring tendon autograft after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a multicentre propensity score-matched case-control	16
Guidelines for performing systematic reviews in sports science	16
Hamstring muscle fibre typology is not associated with hamstring strain injury history or performance in amateur male soccer players: a retrospective magnetic resonance spectroscopy study	15
Physical qualities and body composition predictors of running performance in national level women’s official soccer matches	15
Comparison of the effects of different foam rolling durations on knee extensors function	15
Impact of movement tempo on bar velocity and time under tension in resistance exercises with different external loads	15
The effect of α-lactalbumin consumption on sleep quality and quantity in female rugby union athletes: a field-based study	14
An overview and prediction of 100 mm performance over 40 years during the Athletics World Championships	14
Monitoring physical match performance relative to peak locomotor demands: implications for training professional soccer players	14
Disentangling the dynamic interplay between muscle damage and energetics in male boxers during a short training block	14
Multivariate analysis of teams’ physical performances in official football matches in LaLiga 2023–24	14
Applications of near-infrared spectroscopy in “anaerobic” diagnostics – SmO 2 kinetics reflect PCr dephosphorylation and correlate with maximal lactate accumulation and maximal pedalling rate	14
The effect of physical exercise during competitions and in simulated conditions on hormonal-neurophysiological relationships in kickboxers	14
Application of arbitrary and individualized load quantification strategies over the weekly microcycle in professional soccer players	14
Match running performance is influenced by possession and team formation in an English Premier League team	14
Perception and application of flywheel training by professional soccer practitioners	13
Do all matches require the same effort? Influence of contextual factors on physical demands during official female handball competitions	13
Female football players’ key physical qualities: playing-position specific comparison between national-team selected and non-selected players	13
Running demands and activity profile of men’s rugby sevens: a tournament scenario	13
Fatigue score as a promising complementing training monitoring tool: a pilot study in elite rugby sevens players	13
Effects of linear versus curvilinear sprint training on multidirectional speed in young soccer players: a randomized parallel-group trial	13
Do small-sided games prepare players for the worst-case scenarios of match play in elite young soccer players?	13
Internal and external load during 8 v 8, 5 v 5 and 3 v 3 in Chinese elite youth male football players	13
Physiological responses after two different Crossfit workouts	13
The influence of menstrual cycle phase on neuromuscular performance and subjective perception of effort in elite football players	13
Contextualized acceleration and deceleration profiles of elite soccer players during English Premier League match-play. The effect of possession, positional demands and opponent ranking	12
Effectiveness of the Functional Movement Screen for assessment of injury risk occurrence in football players	12
Sodium bicarbonate and beta-alanine supplementation: Is combining both better than either alone? A systematic review and meta-analysis	12

Mind, body, and shuttle: multidimensional benchmarks for talent identification in male youth badminton	12
Effect of alterations in whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) exposure on post-match recovery markers in elite Premier League soccer players	12
Effects of squatting with elastic bands or conventional resistance - training equipment at different effort levels in post-exercise intraocular pressure of healthy men	12
A comparison of morning priming exercise using traditional-set and cluster-set configurations on afternoon explosive performance	12
The effects of training type and area size variations on the physiological and session rating of perceived exertion responses during male judo matches	12
Hamstring muscle architecture and myotonometer measurements in elite professional football players with a prior strained hamstring	12
Effectiveness of short vs. long-distance sprint training on sprinting and agility performance in young soccer players	12
Knee isokinetic strength benchmarks in athletes across sports categories and performance levels	12
Fitness and fatness in children and adolescents: investigating their role in the association between physical activity and cardiometabolic health	12
Contextualised high-intensity running profiles of elite football players with reference to general and specialised tactical roles	12
Effects of 24 weeks of collagen supplementation in active adults: Impact on body composition, neuromuscular and cardiorespiratory fitness	12
Reproducibility and quality of hypertrophy-related training plans generated by GPT-4 and Google Gemini as evaluated by coaching experts	12
Establishing reference values for tensiomyography-derived parameters in soccer players: insights from a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression	12
Genetic profile of sports climbing athletes from three different ethnicities	11
Physical fitness in professional padel: performance differences according to players’ gender and playing side position	11
Physiological, technical, and time-motion responses according to small-sided game formats and pitch size variations in adolescent male soccer players: effects of biological maturity status	11
Physical activity shifts gut microbiota structure in aged subjects with overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome	11
Genetic prediction of lower limb isometric strength changes after 12 weeks of resistance training	11
Recreational soccer and basketball improve anthropometric, body composition and health-related outcomes in overweight and obese young adults: A randomized multi-arm study	11
Relationships between training load and wellbeing measures across a full season: a study of Turkish national youth wrestlers	11
Top-class women’s soccer performance: peak demands and distribution of the match activities relative to maximal intensities during official matches	11
Exercise intensity and reliability during recreational team handball training for 50–77-year-old unexperienced women	11
Utilisation of performance markers to establish the effectiveness of cold-water immersion as a recovery modality in elite football.	11
The mediating effect of force and velocity changes on power output enhancement in bench press throw after submaximal isometric conditioning activity in trained males	10
FIFA World Cup 2022: What can we learn from the inspiring Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games held in COVID-19 times?	10
A novel application of entropy analysis for assessing changes in movement variability during cumulative tackles in young elite rugby league players	10
Exploring sex differences in blood-based biomarkers following exhaustive exercise using bioinformatics analysis	10
The relationship between internal and external loads as a tool to monitor physical fitness status of team sport athletes: a systematic review	10
Practices of strength and conditioning coaches in professional sports: a systematic review	10
Effects of free play or artificial rules on young soccer players’ individual tactical behaviour: a one-by-one analysis	10
Effects of re-warm-up protocols on the physical performance of soccer players: A systematic review with meta-analysis	10
Effects of different ischemic pressures on bar velocity during the bench press exercise: A randomized crossover trial	10
Effects of post-tetanic potentiation induced by whole-body electrostimulation and post-activation potentiation on maximum isometric strength	9
Effects of low-volume court-based sprint interval training on aerobic capacity and sport-specific endurance performance in competitive tennis players	9
Influence of game and quarter results on external peak demands during games in under-18 years, male basketball players	9
Creatine and creatinine quantification in olympic athletes: dried blood spot analysis pilot study	9
Different sizes of position games and official matches in youth professional soccer player	9
Effect of different eccentric tempos on hypertrophy and strength of the lower limbs	9
Association of the GALNTL6 polymorphism with muscle strength in Japanese athletes	9
Biological maturity but not relative age biases exist in female international youth soccer players relative to the general population	9
Relationships between weekly changes in salivary hormonal responses and load measures during the pre-season phase in professional male basketball players	9
Possession or position games: What is the key in soccer?	9
Comparison of running and accelerometry variables based on match outcome, match location and quality of opponent in elite professional soccer players. A five-season study	9
Crucial workload variables in female-male elite Brazilian Beach Handball: An exploratory factor analysis	9
Effects of mental fatigue on the psychophysiological responses, kinematic profiles, and technical performance in different small-sided soccer games	9