Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 7;19(10):e0311202. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0311202. eCollection 2024.
The sex difference in athletic performance has been thoroughly investigated in single sport disciplines such as swimming, cycling, and running. In contrast, only small samples of long-distance triathlons, such as the IRONMAN® triathlon, have been investigated so far.
The aim of the study was to examine potential sex differences in the three split disciplines by age groups in 5-year intervals in a very large data set of IRONMAN® age group triathletes.
Data from 687,696 (553,608 men and 134,088 women) IRONMAN® age group triathletes (in 5-year intervals from 18-24 to 75+ years) finishing successfully between 2002 and 2022 an official IRONMAN® race worldwide were analyzed. The differences in performance between women and men were determined for each split discipline and for the overall race distance.
Most finishers were in the age group 40-44 years. The fastest women were in the age group 25-29 years, and the fastest men were in the age group 30-34 years. For all split disciplines and overall race time, men were always faster than women in all groups. The performance difference between the sexes was more pronounced in cycling compared to swimming and running. From the age group 35-39 years until 60-64 years, the sex differences were nearly identical in swimming and running. For both women and men, the smallest sex difference was least significant in age group 18-24 years for all split disciplines and increased in a U-shaped manner until age group 70-74 years. For age groups 75 years and older, the sex difference decreased in swimming and cycling but increased in running. Considering the different characteristics of the race courses, the smallest performance gaps between men and women were found in river swimming, flat surface cycling and rolling running courses.
The sex difference in the IRONMAN® triathlon was least significant in age group 18-24 years for all split disciplines and increased in a U-shaped manner until age group 70-74 years. For 75 years and older, the sex difference decreased in swimming and cycling but increased in running.
在游泳、自行车和跑步等单一运动项目中，运动员的性别差异已经得到了充分的研究。相比之下，目前为止只有少量长距离铁人三项赛，如 IRONMAN® 铁人三项赛，进行了研究。
本研究的目的是在一个非常大的 IRONMAN® 年龄组铁人三项赛数据集中，通过 5 岁年龄组，检查三个分项的潜在性别差异。
分析了 2002 年至 2022 年间在全球范围内成功完成官方 IRONMAN® 比赛的 687696 名（553608 名男性和 134088 名女性）IRONMAN®年龄组铁人三项运动员的数据（每 5 年一个区间，年龄为 18-24 岁至 75+岁）。确定了每个分项和整个比赛距离的男女运动员表现差异。
大多数完赛者的年龄在 40-44 岁之间。最快的女性在 25-29 岁年龄组，最快的男性在 30-34 岁年龄组。在所有分项和整体比赛时间中，男性在所有组别中都比女性快。在游泳和跑步方面，与男性相比，女性的性别差异更为明显。从 35-39 岁年龄组到 60-64 岁年龄组，游泳和跑步的性别差异几乎相同。对于女性和男性来说，在所有分项中，18-24 岁年龄组的性别差异最小，呈 U 形增加，直到 70-74 岁年龄组。对于 75 岁及以上年龄组，游泳和自行车的性别差异减小，但跑步的性别差异增加。考虑到比赛路线的不同特点，在河流游泳、平坦表面自行车和起伏跑步路线上，男性和女性之间的最小成绩差距。
在所有分项中，IRONMAN® 铁人三项赛的性别差异最小的年龄组为 18-24 岁，呈 U 形增加，直到 70-74 岁年龄组。对于 75 岁及以上的年龄组，游泳和自行车的性别差异减小，但跑步的性别差异增加。
