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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Sports Act. Living

Sec. Sports Coaching: Performance and Development

Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1673489

This article is part of the Research TopicProfessionalization in Adaptive and Paralympic Sports: Current Trends and Future DirectionsView all articles

The Science of Adapted Throws: A Systematic Search and Narrative Evidence Synthesis

Provisionally accepted
Exal Garcia-CarrilloExal Garcia-Carrillo1,2*Cristian Alexis Lasso-QuilindoCristian Alexis Lasso-Quilindo3Luz Marina Chalapud-NarváezLuz Marina Chalapud-Narváez3,4Antonio Castillo-ParedesAntonio Castillo-Paredes5Claudio Farías-ValenzuelaClaudio Farías-Valenzuela6Miguel Alarcón-RiveraMiguel Alarcón-Rivera7,8Rodrigo Yáñez-SepúlvedaRodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda10,9Lawrence W. JudgeLawrence W. Judge11
  • 1Department of Physical Activity Sciences, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile
  • 2School of Education, Faculty of Human Sciences, Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins, Santiago, Chile
  • 3Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, Corporación Universitaria Autónoma del Cauca, Popayán, Colombia
  • 4Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y de la Educación, Departamento de Educación Física, Recreación y Deporte, Universidad del Cauca, Popayán, Colombia
  • 5Grupo AFySE, Investigación en Actividad Física y Salud Escolar, Escuela de Pedagogía en Educación Física, Facultad de Educación, Universidad de las Américas, Santiago, Chile
  • 6Escuela de Ciencias de la Actividad Física, el Deporte y la Salud, Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH), Santiago, Chile
  • 7Escuela de Ciencias del Deporte y Actividad Física, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Santo Tomás, Talca, Chile
  • 8Universidad Catolica del Maule Facultad de Medicina, Talca, Chile
  • 9Universidad Ecotec, Samborondón, Ecuador
  • 10Faculty of Education and Social Sciences. Universidad Andres Bello, Viña del Mar, Chile
  • 11Marieb College of Health and Human Services, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, United States

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Introduction: Paralympic throwing events have grown rapidly, yet the scientific evidence guiding technique, training and classification remains fragmented across biomechanics, physiology and psychosocial domains. Objective: To provide an evidence-based overview of adapted throws by comprehensively examining the peer-reviewed literature. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (inception – Feb 2025) using the terms Paralympic OR adapted OR disability AND throw AND (shot OR discus OR javelin OR club). Inclusion criteria comprised: (i) Athletes with physical impairments who participate in Para Athletics throwing events, (ii) Non-disabled individuals studied in research explicitly designed to inform or understand Para Athletics throwing techniques. Data were synthesized narratively and clustered by study theme. Results: Nineteen studies (n = 345 para athletes; 14 sport classes) met the criteria. Biomechanical analyses identified release velocity (8.3-10.0 m·s⁻¹ in F52-F55 shot put) and optimal angles (27.5°-37°) as key performance determinants. Assistive devices improved results by 8% in F32 athletes. Significant research gaps exist for visual impairment (F11-F13), intellectual impairment (F20), and prosthesis-user classes (F61-F64). Conclusion: While class-specific technical models are emerging, particularly for seated throwers, 38% of throwing classifications lack published research. Future studies should prioritize underrepresented classes and develop standardized assessment protocols.

Keywords: Para-athletes, Paralympic athletes, Sports for Persons with Disabilities, Adaptive sports, Track and Field, Biomechanical Phenomena, Sport, Para sport

Received: 25 Jul 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Garcia-Carrillo, Lasso-Quilindo, Chalapud-Narváez, Castillo-Paredes, Farías-Valenzuela, Alarcón-Rivera, Yáñez-Sepúlveda and Judge. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Exal Garcia-Carrillo, exal.garcia@gmail.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material