Institute of General Practice and Health Services Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Percept Mot Skills. 2013 Apr;116(2):690-706. doi: 10.2466/30.06.PMS.116.2.690-706.
It has been argued that women should be able to outrun men in ultra-endurance distances. The present study investigated the sex difference in overall race times and split times between elite female and male Ironman triathletes competing in Ironman Hawaii (3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling, and 42.195 km running) and Double Iron ultra-triathletes (7.6 km swimming, 360 km cycling, and 84.4 km running). Data from 20,638 athletes, including 5,163 women and 15,475 men competing in Ironman Hawaii and from 143 women and 1,252 men competing in Double Iron ultra-triathlon races held worldwide between 1999 and 2011 were analyzed. In Ironman Hawaii, the sex difference in performance of the top three athletes remained unchanged during the period studied for overall race time. For Double Iron ultra-triathletes, the sex difference for the top three athletes remained unchanged for overall race time. Sex differences increased as endurance race distances increased and showed no changes over time. It appears that women are unlikely to close the gap in ultra-endurance performance with men in ultra-triathlons in the near future. Physiological (e.g., maximum oxygen uptake) and anthropometric characteristics (e.g., skeletal muscle mass) may set biological limits for women.
有人认为，女性应该能够在超长耐力距离的比赛中超过男性。本研究调查了参加夏威夷铁人三项赛（3.8 公里游泳、180 公里自行车和 42.195 公里跑步）和双铁超级铁人三项赛（7.6 公里游泳、360 公里自行车和 84.4 公里跑步）的精英男女铁人三项运动员的总比赛时间和分段时间的性别差异。分析了 1999 年至 2011 年间在夏威夷铁人三项赛中参赛的 20638 名运动员（包括 5163 名女性和 15475 名男性）和 143 名女性和 1252 名男性参加的双铁超级铁人三项赛的数据。在夏威夷铁人三项赛中，在研究期间，前三名运动员的整体比赛时间的性别差异保持不变。对于双铁超级铁人三项赛，前三名运动员的整体比赛时间的性别差异保持不变。随着耐力赛距离的增加，性别差异增加，并且随着时间的推移没有变化。在不久的将来，女性似乎不太可能在超级铁人三项赛的超长耐力表现中缩小与男性的差距。生理（例如，最大摄氧量）和人体测量特征（例如，骨骼肌质量）可能为女性设定了生物学极限。
