Abstract
The purpose of this study was (i) to determine the age of peak triathlon performance for world class athletes competing in Olympic, Half-Ironman and Ironman distance races and (ii) to investigate a potential change in the age of the annual fastest athletes across years. Data of ages and race times of all finishers in the international top races over the three distances between 2003 and 2013 were collected and the annual top ten women and men were analysed using linear, non-linear and hierarchical multivariate regression analyses. The age of peak male performance was 27.1 ± 4.9 years in the Olympic, 28.0 ± 3.8 years in the Half-Ironman and 35.1 ± 3.6 years in the Ironman distance and the age of peak male performance was higher in the Ironman compared to the Olympic (p < 0.05) and the Half-Ironman distance (p < 0.05) triathlon. The age of peak female performance was 26.6 ± 4.4 years in the Olympic, 31.6 ± 3.4 years in the Half-Ironman and 34.4 ± 4.4 years in the Ironman distance and the age of peak female performance was lower in the Olympic compared to the Half-Ironman (p < 0.05) and Ironman distance (p < 0.05) triathlon. The age of the annual top ten women and men remained unchanged over the last decade in the Half-Ironman and the Ironman distance. In the Olympic distance, however, the age of the annual top ten men decreased slightly. To summarize, the age of peak triathlon performance was higher in the longer triathlon race distances (i.e. Ironman) and the age of the annual top triathletes remained mainly stable over the last decade. With these findings top athletes competing at world class level can plan their career more precisely as they are able to determine the right time in life to switch from the shorter (i.e. Olympic distance) to the longer triathlon race distances (i.e. Half-Ironman and Ironman) in order to continuously compete in triathlon races at world class level.
Highlights
Triathlon is a unique endurance sport including the three disciplines swimming, cycling and running in this order
Between the Half-Ironman and the Ironman distance, there was no significant difference in the age of peak triathlon performance
In summary, the age of peak triathlon performance was higher in the Ironman distance than in the Olympic distance triathlon for both women and men
Summary
Triathlon is a unique endurance sport including the three disciplines swimming, cycling and running in this order. Several studies showed an agerelated decline in endurance performance After the age of ~70 years, the greatest declines in endurance performance occur (Lepers et al 2013a). Triathlon represents an interesting model to analyse the age-related decline of endurance performances in both recreational and elite athletes, as the decline in performance can be analysed in the same individual for the three disciplines separately (Bernard et al 2010; Lepers and Maffiuletti 2011)
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