Motives for competitive sports participation in masters track and field athletes: Impact of sociodemographic factors and competitive background

Masters athletes due to their lifelong engagement in sport represent a unique group to study motivation for regular physical activity, but there is less scientific data on the sport motives in masters athletes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association of age, sex, education, nationality, competitive background and training amount with sport motives of masters track and field athletes. 811 (254 women) athletes aged 35-89 years participated in European Veterans Athletics Championships in the year of 2000. Sport motives were assessed with a questionnaire and categorized into1) well-being, 2) competitive and performance 3) health and fitness motives. Men considered health and fitness motives more important than women (p = 0.022). Over 65-year-old athletes considered health and fitness motives more important than the youngest, 35-49-year age group (p