The objective of this study was to analyze the age of sports initiation, the initiation process in judo and practice time of Brazilian judo Olympic players. For this, we used a sample of 6 judokas belonging to the Brazilian team at the Olympic Games of Athens 2004. The research used an interview tool that consists in 2 open questions. The speeches indicated that early training is one of the most relevant factors for the acquisition of a high level of performance subsequent to the time that the average age of initiation into the sport occurred at around 6.2 ± 1.3 years. Family support combined with a microsystem development of athletes, form an environment capable of generating international level judo athletes.
Judo; Aptitude; Sports Initiation; Talent Development