Fitness level inversely correlates with post-exercise lactic acid concentration

Steps:

• Fitness reduces lactic acid buildup and speeds its removal, so lower blood concentration indicates higher fitness.
• Rank athletes by increasing lactic acid levels from the table data.
• Athlete 2 has the lowest concentration, making them fittest.
• Athletes 1 and 4 have equal intermediate levels, followed by athlete 3 with the highest.

Why A is correct:

• Option A orders from lowest to highest lactic acid (2 < 1=4 < 3), matching the definition of fitness as faster anaerobic recovery.

Why the others are wrong:

• B starts with 1 (not lowest), inverting the fitness order.
• C places 2 first but then misorders 3 before 4 and 1, ignoring equal levels.
• D begins with 3 (highest lactic acid), incorrectly ranking least fit as fittest.

Final answer: A