The Age-Related Performance Decline in Ironman 70.3

Origin and age group of the fastest amateur triathletes competing in 'Ironman Hawaii' between 2003 and 2019

Little is known about the prevalent nationalities among the best-placed athletes participating in "Ironman Hawaii." Moreover, the age at which athletes achieve their best performances remains unclear. The present study aimed to compare the prevalent nationalities among the athletes, their respective placement among the top five, and the performance difference between the different age groups in 'Ironman Hawaii' from 2003 to 2019. A total of 30 354 amateur triathletes were selected from the Obsessed Triathlete (OBSTRI) website. A "TOP 5" division filter was applied for further analysis, resulting in 1 851 athletes being included in this study. Among the male runners, Americans participated the most in Ironman events (39%), followed by Germans (10%). Among female runners, Americans participated the most (54%), followed by Australian runners (8%). Male Americans also featured most among the top five (30%), followed by Germans (16%). Female Americans were the most prevalent among the top five (47%), followed by Australian Americans (10%). There were no significant performance differences (p ​> ​0.05) between the 25-29 and 40-44 age groups for either sex. The 45-49 age group presented significantly worse performance than the 35-39 age group for both sexes (p ​< ​0.001). North Americans were the most performant and frequent participants in "Ironman Hawaii." The expected performance decline due to aging was observed after 45 years in both sexes.

Cycling is the most important predictive split discipline in professional Ironman® 70.3 triathletes

Introduction

Our study examined 16,611 records of professional triathletes from 163 Ironman® 70.3 races across 97 countries (2004-2020). The aim was to identify the most predictive discipline-swim, bike, or run-for overall race time.

Methods

We used correlation matrices to compare the dependent variable "finish time" with independent variables "swim time," "bike time," and "run time." This analysis was conducted separately for male and female athletes. Additionally, univariate and multiple linear regression models assessed the strength of these associations.

Results

The results indicated that "bike time" had the strongest correlation with finish time (0.85), followed by "run time" (0.75 for females, 0.82 for males) and "swim time" (0.46 for females, 0.63 for males). Regression models confirmed "bike time" as the strongest predictor of overall race time (R² = 0.8), with "run time" and "swim time" being less predictive.

Discussion

The study concludes that in Ironman 70.3 races, "bike time" is the most significant predictor of overall race performance for both sexes, suggesting a focus on cycling in training and competition strategies. It also highlights a smaller performance gap between genders in swimming than in cycling or running.

Predicting overall performance in Ironman 70.3 age group triathletes through split disciplines

Knowing which discipline contributes most to a triathlon performance is important to plan race pacing properly. To date, we know that the running split is the most decisive discipline in the Olympic distance triathlon, and the cycling split is the most important discipline in the full-distance Ironman^® triathlon. However, we have no knowledge of the Ironman^® 70.3. This study intended to determine the most crucial discipline in age group athletes competing from 2004 to 2020 in a total of 787 Ironman^® 70.3 races. A total of 823,459 athletes (198,066 women and 625,393 men) from 240 different countries were analyzed and recorded in 5-year age groups, from 18 to 75 + years. Correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, and two-way ANOVA were applied, considering p < 0.05. No differences in the regression analysis between the contributions of the swimming, cycling, and running splits could be found for all age groups. However, the correlation analysis showed stronger associations of the cycling and running split times than the swimming split times with overall race times and a smaller difference in swimming performance between males and females in age groups 50 years and older. For age group triathletes competing in Ironman^® 70.3, running and cycling were more predictive than swimming for overall race performance. There was a progressive reduction in the performance gap between men and women aged 50 years and older. This information may aid triathletes and coaches in planning their race tactics in an Ironman^® 70.3 race.

Nitric oxide, aging and aerobic exercise: Sedentary individuals to Master's athletes

Aging is associated with a decline in physiological function and exercise performance. These effects are mediated, at least in part, by an age-related decrease in the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO), a ubiquitous gasotransmitter and regulator of myriad physiological processes. The decrease in NO bioavailability with aging is especially apparent in sedentary individuals, whereas older, physically active individuals maintain higher levels of NO with advancing age. Strategies which enhance NO bioavailability (including nutritional supplementation) have been proposed as a potential means of reducing the age-related decrease in physiological function and enhancing exercise performance and may be of interest to a range of older individuals including those taking part in competitive sport. In this brief review we discuss the effects of aging on physiological function and endurance exercise performance, and the potential role of changes in NO bioavailability in these processes. We also provide a summary of current evidence for dietary supplementation with substrates for NO production - including inorganic nitrate and nitrite, l-arginine and l-citrulline - for improving exercise capacity/performance in older adults. Additionally, we discuss the (limited) evidence on the effects of (poly)phenols and other dietary antioxidants on NO bioavailability in older individuals. Finally, we provide suggestions for future research.

Increased Participation and Decreased Performance in Recreational Master Athletes in "Berlin Marathon" 1974-2019

The aspect of participation and performance trends in marathon running has been investigated mainly in marathons held in the United States of America (e.g., “New York City Marathon,” “Boston Marathon”), but not for the fastest course in the world, the “Berlin Marathon” held in Berlin, Germany. This study aimed to examine trends in participation and performance in the “Berlin Marathon” on all its previous 46 editions from 1974 to 2019, the largest dataset ever studied in this event with 696,225 finishers (after data cleaning). Athletes in all age groups increased their participation, except for male athletes aged 20–49 years and athletes of both sexes above 79 years of age. This overall increase in participation was more pronounced in women, but still, there are more men than women participating in “Berlin Marathon” nowadays. All age group athletes decreased their performance across years overall, whereas the top ten recreational athletes improved their performance over the years. Our findings improved the knowledge about the evolution of male and female marathoners across calendar years, especially for the fastest marathon race in the world, the “Berlin Marathon.”

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.