Solli Guro Strøm, Sandbakk Øyvind, McGawley Kerry
Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, Nord University, Bodø, Norway.
School of Sport Science, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Sports Med Open. 2024 Nov 20;10(1):126. doi: 10.1186/s40798-024-00792-8.
Most sex comparisons in endurance sports have been derived from performance-matched groups of female and male athletes competing over similar distances within summer sports. Corresponding analyses of sex differences in winter endurance sports have not previously been conducted. In the Olympic Winter Games (OWG), the endurance sports include cross-country skiing (XCS), biathlon (BIA), Nordic combined (NC), ski mountaineering (SkiMo) and long-track speed skating (SpSk). The aim of this narrative review is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors in the OWG endurance sports.
Sex differences in competition speeds are ~ 7-16% in XCS, 12-16% in BIA and 7-11% in SpSk, with race distances often shorter for women compared to men. No comparable data have been published for NC or SkiMo. Slower skiing speeds among women are associated with greater use of the diagonal and gear 2 sub-techniques in classic and skate skiing, respectively. In SpSk, slower skating speeds among women may be related to a less effective push-off being maintained throughout races. Laboratory data have revealed absolute and relative peak aerobic capacity to be 30-63% and 10-27% greater, respectively, in male versus female XCS, BIA, NC, SkiMo and SpSk athletes. There is limited evidence of sex differences in training characteristics, although women currently tend to complete more strength training than men in XCS and BIA. Of note, most data have been derived from studies performed in XCS, with almost no studies investigating sex differences in NC or SkiMo.
This review provides a comprehensive overview of sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors within and between OWG endurance sports, which provides a scientific basis for designing training programs and future studies. Due to the lack of research investigating sex differences in NC and SkiMo, these sports, in particular, would be worthy of further attention.
This narrative review provides a novel and comprehensive analysis of sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors in the Olympic winter endurance sports. Sex differences in competition speeds are ~ 7-16% in cross-country skiing, biathlon and speed skating, while no comparable data were available for Nordic combined or ski mountaineering. Since men have historically skied and skated over greater distances than women in cross-country skiing, biathlon and speed skating competitions, the "true" sex differences in performance are likely larger than the differences reported in the literature, therefore exceeding the differences typically reported for summer endurance sports. Most information about sex differences in Olympic winter endurance sports is based on studies performed in cross-country skiing. The conspicuous lack of information on Nordic combined and ski mountaineering warrants further research in these sports.
耐力运动中的大多数性别比较都来自夏季运动中在相似距离上进行比赛的成绩匹配的男女运动员群体。此前尚未对冬季耐力运动中的性别差异进行相应分析。在奥运会冬季运动会（OWG）中，耐力运动包括越野滑雪（XCS）、冬季两项（BIA）、北欧两项（NC）、滑雪登山（SkiMo）和速度滑冰（SpSk）。本叙述性综述的目的是对OWG耐力运动中成绩及成绩决定因素的性别差异进行全面分析。
XCS比赛速度的性别差异约为7%-16%，BIA为12%-16%，SpSk为7%-11%，女性的比赛距离通常比男性短。NC和SkiMo尚未公布可比数据。女性较慢的滑雪速度分别与在传统滑雪和自由式滑雪中更多地使用斜向和2档子技术有关。在SpSk中，女性较慢的滑冰速度可能与在整个比赛中保持的蹬地效率较低有关。实验室数据显示，在男性与女性的XCS、BIA、NC、SkiMo和SpSk运动员中，绝对和相对峰值有氧能力分别高出30%-63%和10%-27%。训练特征方面的性别差异证据有限，不过在XCS和BIA项目中，目前女性完成的力量训练比男性多。值得注意的是，大多数数据来自XCS的研究，几乎没有研究调查NC或SkiMo中的性别差异。
本综述全面概述了OWG耐力运动内部及之间成绩和成绩决定因素的性别差异，为设计训练计划和未来研究提供了科学依据。由于缺乏对NC和SkiMo性别差异的研究，这些运动尤其值得进一步关注。
本叙述性综述对奥运会冬季耐力运动中成绩及成绩决定因素的性别差异进行了新颖而全面的分析。越野滑雪、冬季两项和速度滑冰比赛速度的性别差异约为7%-16%，而北欧两项或滑雪登山则没有可比数据。由于在越野滑雪、冬季两项和速度滑冰比赛中，男性历史上的滑行距离比女性长，因此成绩的“真实”性别差异可能比文献报道的差异更大，从而超过了夏季耐力运动通常报道的差异。关于奥运会冬季耐力运动性别差异的大多数信息基于越野滑雪的研究。北欧两项和滑雪登山明显缺乏相关信息，需要对这些运动进行进一步研究。
