Hydration Status After an Ironman Triathlon: A Meta-Analysis

Performance and pacing of professional IRONMAN triathletes: the fastest IRONMAN World Championship ever-IRONMAN Hawaii 2022

Pacing during cycling and running in an IRONMAN triathlon has been investigated in only one study with elite IRONMAN triathletes. We have, however, no knowledge of how professional triathletes pace during an IRONMAN World Championship. To investigate the split-by-split speed, pacing strategies and pacing variability in professional female and male IRONMAN World Championship participants in the fastest IRONMAN World Championship ever in IRONMAN Hawaii 2022. For both cycling and running, 25 specific split times were recorded in each discipline. The best 30 men and 30 women overall were chosen from the official IRONMAN website database for further analysis. They were divided into three performance groups: Top 10, 11-20th place, and 21st-30th place. Mean speed, individual linear regressions with the corresponding correlation coefficients, and coefficient of variation were calculated to assess split-by-split speed, pacing strategies, and pacing variability, respectively. In both men's and women's cycling and running segments, the top ten participants exhibited faster split times compared to the slower performance groups. Notably, no discernible differences existed between the 11-20th and 21st-30th place in men's cycling and women's running times. Conversely, in men's running and women's cycling segments, those in the 11-20th place displayed quicker times than those in the 21st-30th place. In the cycling segment across all groups, men demonstrated a more negative pacing pattern (indicating an increase in speed), whereas women exhibited more consistent pacing. In the running segment, the top 10 men and all women's groups showcased relatively similar slightly positive pacing profiles. However, men ranking 11-20th and 21st-30th displayed more pronounced positive pacing strategies, implying a more significant decline in speed over time. In terms of cycling, the variability in pacing remained relatively consistent across the three performance groups. Conversely, during the running segment, the top ten male triathletes and those in the 11-20th place displayed lower pacing variability than their counterparts in the 21st-30th position place and all women's groups. In summary, performance and pacing were examined in professional male and female IRONMAN World Championship participants during IRONMAN Hawaii 2022. Top performers showed faster cycling and running split times, with differences in pacing strategies between sexes. The pacing was more consistent in cycling, while running pacing varied more, particularly among male triathletes in different performance groups.

Pacing and Body Weight Changes During a Mountain Ultramarathon: Sex Differences and Performance

The study was aimed at comparing pacing adopted by males and females in a 107-km mountain ultramarathon and assessing whether pacing-related variables were associated with intracompetition body weight changes and performance. Forty-seven athletes (29 males; 18 females) were submitted to a cardiopulmonary exercise test before the race. Athletes were also weighted before the start of the race, at three midpoints (33 km, 66 km and 84 km) and after the race. Pacing was analyzed using absolute and relative speeds and accelerometry-derived sedentary time spent during the race. Results showed that females spent less sedentary time (4.72 ± 2.91 vs. 2.62 ± 2.14%; p = 0.035; d = 0.83) and displayed a smaller body weight loss (3.01 ± 1.96 vs. 4.37 ± 1.77%; p = 0.048; d = 0.77) than males. No significant sex differences were revealed for speed variability, absolute and relative speed. In addition, finishing time was correlated with: speed variability (r = 0.45; p = 0.010), index of pacing (r = -0.63; p < 0.001) and sedentary time (r = 0.64; p < 0.001). Meanwhile, intracompetition body weight changes were related with both the absolute and relative speed in the first and the last race section. These results suggest that females, as compared with males, take advantage of shorter time breaks at aid stations. Moreover, performing a more even pacing pattern may be positively associated with performance in mountain ultramarathons. Finally, intracompetition body weight changes in those races should be considered in conjunction with running speed fluctuations.

Behaviour of salivary testosterone and cortisol in men during an Ironman Triathlon

Endurance exercise induces notable acute hormonal responses on the gonadal and adrenal hormones. The purpose of this study was to assess the changes in salivary testosterone (Ts), salivary cortisol (Cs) and T/C ratio during long-distance triathlon. Ten well-trained male triathletes participated in the study and were assessed for hormonal changes at four time-points (pre-competition, post-swimming, post-cycling, and post-running phases). Ts decreased from pre-competition to post-swimming (from 93.37 pg/mL to 57.63 pg/mL; p < .01) and increased during two other parts of the competition to almost pre-competition values (cycling: 79.20 pg/mL, p = .02; running: 89,66 pg/mL, p = .04, respectively). Cs showed a similar behaviour; decreasing in the post-swimming phase (1.74 pg/mL) and increasing in the other transitions (post-cycling: 7.30 pg/mL; post-running: 13.31 pg/mL), with significant differences between pre-competition and post- competition values (p = .01). Conversely, T/C increased significantly from pre-competition to post-swimming phase (p = .04) to later decrease until the end of the competition. Overall, T/C significantly decreased (p < .05). In conclusion, during an Ironman triathlon, hormone values fluctuate in response to the demands of the competition. Ts and Cs decrease after-swimming, increase after-cycling and reach the maximum values after-running. T/C reflects overall catabolic status.

What Is the Best Discipline to Predict Overall Triathlon Performance? An Analysis of Sprint, Olympic, Ironman® 70.3, and Ironman® 140.6

Objective: To analyze the proportion of dedication in each triathlon discipline (swimming, cycling, and running) and the importance of each separate discipline to predict overall performance of elite triathletes across different triathlon distances.

Methods: Data from 2015 to 2020 (n = 16,667) from official races and athletes in Sprint, Olympic distance, IM 70.3 (Half-Ironman distance), and IM 140.6 (Full-Ironman distance) competitions were included. The proportion of each discipline was calculated individually and compared using general linear models by event distance, sex, and performance level. Automatic linear regression models were applied for each distance considering overall performance as the dependent variable.

Results: A within-distance analysis showed that the best predictor for Sprint is cycling, for Olympic is swimming, for IM 70.3 is cycling, and for IM 140.6 is running. A between-distance analysis revealed that swimming is a better predictor in Olympic distance than in other triathlon distances. Cycling is a poor predictor for overall performance in IM 140.6, and the importance of running to predict overall performance is the highest in IM 140.6 and diminishes with decreasing race distance.

Conclusion: Each discipline represents a different relative portion and importance to predict overall performance depending on the triathlon distance. Swimming is the most important predictor discipline in Sprint- and Olympic-distance triathlon, cycling in IM 70.3, and running in IM 140.6.

Self-Selected Pacing During a World Record Attempt in 40 Ironman-Distance Triathlons in 40 Days

The present case study analyzed performance, pacing, and potential predictors in a self-paced world record attempt of a professional triathlete to finish 40 Ironman-distance triathlons within 40 days. Split times (i.e., swimming, cycling, running) and overall times, body weight, daily highest temperature, wind speed, energy expenditure, mean heart rate, and sleeping time were recorded. Non-linear regressions were applied to investigate changes in split and overall times across days. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to test which variables showed the greatest influence on the dependent variables cycling, running and overall time. The athlete completed the 40×Ironman distances in a total time of 444:22 h:min. He spent 50:26 h:min in swimming, 245:37 h:min in cycling, 137:17 h:min in running and 11:02 h:min in transition times. Swimming and cycling times became slower across days, whereas running times got faster until the 20th day and, thereafter, became slower until the 40th day. Overall times got slower until the 15th day, became faster to 31st, and started then to get slower until the end. Wind speed, previous day’s race time and average heart race during cycling were significant independent variables influencing cycling time. Body weight and average heart rate during running were significant independent variables influencing running performance. Cycling performance, running performance, and body weight were significant independent variables influencing overall time. In summary, running time was influenced by body weight, cycling by wind speed, and overall time by both running and cycling performances.

Ultra-triathlon-Pacing, performance trends, the role of nationality, and sex differences in finishers and non-finishers

Ultra-triathlons are defined as triathlons longer than the traditional Ironman distance and became more popular in the last two decades; however, scarce scientific evidence of these events are available. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the trends of performance, pacing, nationality, sex differences, and rate of non-finishers in ultra-triathlons. Data from 1985 to 2018 were collected including Double Iron, Triple Iron, Quintuple Iron, and Deca Iron ultra-triathlons. Different pacing patterns by event and sex were observed (P < .05); athletes spent less %time in swimming and cycling, and more %time in running as the distance of event was longer; women spent more %time in cycling and less% time in running in Double and Triple. Performance analysis showed a negative trend over time for men and women since 1985. Switzerland, France, and Germany were the fastest nations in ultra-triathlons. The frequency of North Americans competing in Europe was very low (<5%), whereas Europeans often competed in North America (~25%). The rate of non-finishers between sexes was similar in all races with the exception of Deca Iron ultra-triathlon, which was much greater (~20%) for women. Non-finishers had slower race times in swimming and cycling splits than finishers. In conclusion, ultra-triathletes should redistribute their energy among swimming, cycling, and running depending on their sex and distance of race. Performance in ultra-triathlons has been decreasing in men and women over the years, but sex difference in performance remained. Europeans were the fastest ultra-triathletes and compete in Europe and North America. Additionally, non-finishers were slower swimmers and cyclists than finishers.

Celebrating 40 Years of Ironman: How the Champions Perform

We aimed to determine which discipline had the greater performance improvements in the history of Ironman triathlon in Hawaii and also which discipline had the greater influence in overall race time. Data from 1983 to 2018 of the top three women and men of each year who competed in the Ironman World Championship were included. In addition to exploratory data analyses, linear regressions between split times and years of achievement were performed. Further, a stepwise multiple linear regression was applied using total race time as the dependent variable and split times as the independent variables. Both women and men significantly improved their performances from 1983 to 2018 in the Ironman World Championship. Swimming had the largest difference in improvements between men and women (3.0% versus 12.1%, respectively). A negative and significant decrease in each discipline was identified for both women and men, with cycling being the discipline with the greatest reduction. The results from the stepwise multiple regression indicated that cycling was the discipline with the highest influence on overall race time for both sexes. Based on the findings of this study, cycling seems to be the Ironman triathlon discipline that most improved overall race times and is also the discipline with the greatest influence on the overall race time of elite men and women in the Ironman World Championship.

Cycling as the Best Sub-8-Hour Performance Predictor in Full Distance Triathlon

For any triathlon distance (short, Olympic, half-distance and full-distance), competitors spend more time cycling than swimming or running, but running has emerged as the discipline with the greatest influence on overall performance at the Olympic distance. However, there is a lack of evidence on which discipline has the greatest influence on performance in the overall full-distance triathlon (3.8 km swimming/180 km cycling/42.195 km running), especially for the fastest performing athletes of all time. The total race times of 51 fastest triathletes (sub-8-hour) were studied, while for the split times, a sample of 44 participants was considered. The discipline that seemed to better predict total race time was cycling (coefficient = 0.828; p < 0.001), followed by running (coefficient = 0.726; p < 0.001) and swimming (coefficient = 0.476; p < 0.001). Furthermore, cycling was the discipline with the highest performance improvement over the years, whereas running had a slightly decrease. In conclusion, cycling seems to be the discipline with greater influence in final result for the full-distance triathlon.