Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the results of the top 10 men and women finishers in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship from 1985 through 1989. Multivariate procedures were used to determine the differences between the men and the women in the various age groups over the five-year period of the study. The three-way interaction between sex, ageclass and year for swimming and running indicated that the men were faster than the women in all ageclasses during the swim and run segments; that for both the men and women, swim performance decreased from 30 through 49 years in each year of observation; that the 25-29 year old male and female competitors were consistently faster in the running portion than the 18-24-year age group and than in 1985 and 1986, the 30-34-year old women were running faster than their younger counterparts. The regression analysis revealed that each portion of the Ironman separately or in combination contributed differently to total time depending on sex, ageclass, and year of measurement. The decline in performance with age and the differences between men and women were in agreement with the literature. However, contrary to what was done in previous studies, determinants of total time should be looked at from a differential view, depending on sex, ageclass and even year of observation. Verf.-Referat