PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL ENDURANCE IN HIGHLY QUALIFIED WRESTLERS CONSIDERING AGE-RELATED CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

The UWW regulations of the 2024–2026 edition establish a new competitive profile of freestyle wrestling and require revision of age-differentiated coaching. The pedagogical specificity of decisions at the stages of elite sporting mastery remains insufficiently developed, whereas two-thirds of the Paris 2024 champions are athletes aged 26–32, extending beyond the traditionally understood "biological peak." The aim of the study is to substantiate the pedagogical conditions for accounting for age-related characteristics in developing the special endurance of highly qualified wrestlers. The study draws on data from the national team of the Republic of Kazakhstan (n = 6, 2020–2025), the Olympic champions of Paris 2024 (n = 6), and a sample of champions from 2000–2024. The methods applied include analysis of scientific and methodological literature, documentary and comparative-age analysis, pedagogical observation, methods of mathematical statistics, and regression analysis with calculation of R². An age-based periodisation of three stages is substantiated: adaptation (20–22 years), mobilisation of functional reserves (23–25 years), and functional economisation (26–32 years); for each, the coaching tasks, load orientation, and the nature of the "coach–athlete" interaction are defined. The mean age of champions shows a U-shaped dynamic with a maximum in Paris (26.33 years; median 27.0). The scientific value lies in interpreting the stage of functional economisation as an independent zone of highest performance rather than a period of "maintaining what has been achieved." The results are applicable in developing individual training plans for national teams and in training coaching personnel at universities of a physical-education and pedagogical profile in the Republic of Kazakhstan.