The identification of talented children in athletics is a long-lasting and complex process, but nowadays they are being detected on a planned basis, by the means of selection. The aim of this research was to determine the level of motor abilities of the younger school age children as well as to determine whether there are differences due to pupils' gender in the measured motor abilities. The secondary aim of this research, however, is the making of normative values for the tests stated and the calculation of the share of pupils potentially talented in athletics. The research was conducted on the sample of 67 pupils (40 boys and 27 girls) from the second to the fourth grade of one of the elementary schools in Zadar. The variable pattern consists of 6 motor tests used to evaluate the explosive strength of the upper and lower extremities and the running speed. The research showed that the pupils have a satisfactory level of the motor abilities measured, that the results are getting better with increasing age, and that there are differences in motor abilities due to gender. In addition, of the whole sample (67 examines) eight of them (11,94%) achieves above-average results and are recognized as pupils talented in athletics.