This study assessed the relative age effect (RAE) in judo athletes who participated in the Olympic Games from 1964 to 2012. The names and birth-dates of the Olympic judo athletes were collected from open-access websites. Data from male (n = 1,762) and female (n = 665) competitors were analyzed separately. Chi-squared tests were performed to investigate REA in medalists, and by weight categories and sexes. When the analyses used semesters to divide the period when the athletes were born, a RAE was found in male heavyweight athletes and male medallists. Thus, in a selected group of judo athletes who had participated at the highest competitive level, RAEs were present in both athletes who won Olympic medals and heavyweight athletes in the male group.
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