and polymorphisms are associated with endurance exercise ability. This case-control study explored the association of and gene polymorphisms with elite pure endurance in Korean athletes, hypothesizing that individuals with both and genotypes would exhibit superior endurance. We recruited 934 elite athletes (713 males, 221 females) and selected 45 pure endurance athletes (36 males, 9 females) requiring "≥90% aerobic energy metabolism during sports events", in addition to 679 healthy non-athlete Koreans (361 males, 318 females) as controls. Genomic DNA was extracted and genotyped for and polymorphisms. ( = 0.090) and + ( = 0.029) genotype distributions were significantly different between the two groups. Complex genotypes also exhibited significant differences ( = 0.014), with dominant complex genotypes positively affecting endurance ( = 0.039). The presence of + or + was associated with a 1.763-fold higher likelihood of possessing a superior endurance capacity than that seen in healthy controls (90% CI = 1.037-3.089). Our findings propose an association of combined + and genotypes with enhanced endurance performance in elite Korean athletes. While causality remains to be confirmed, our study highlights the potential of polymorphisms in predicting elite endurance.