Abstract
Background: The environment can play a relevant role in performance in runners. This study aimed to verify the distribution of the best European road runners across the continent, and to investigate variables related to country representatives in the European Senior outdoor top list 2019. Methods: The sample comprised 563 European runners, aged 18–48 years, ranked in the European Senior outdoor top list 2019 for distances of 10–42 km. Country-related variables were gross domestic product (GDP), competition place, population size, and sports investment. The countries were categorized as “top ten countries” or “other countries”. Binary logistic regression was used for analysis. Results: The United Kingdom showed the highest prevalence of runners in the ranking (men—17.6%; women—23.0%), followed by Spain (male ranking—12.1%) and Germany (female ranking—8.6%). For men, sports investment (OR = 1.13; CI95% = 1.03–1.28) and country GDP (OR = 0.96; CI95% = 0.93–0.98) showed an association with the chances of the athlete to reach the Top 10 ranking, while among women, the only variable significantly related was the competition venue (OR = 3.97; CI95% = 1.40–11.23). Conclusion: As in other sports considered “non-expensive”, the economic and demographic characteristics of the place where athletes train can provide advantages in performance.
Highlights
Sports performance is a multifactorial trait influenced by several variables related to athletes and the environment [1]
Despite the relevance of subject-centred approaches [15,16], previous research has focused largely on aiming to understand the role of contextual variables in sports success [17,18], and results revealed that socioeconomic factors such as population size, Human Development Index, and gross domestic product seemed to be significantly associated with performance [19,20]
This study aimed to investigate the distribution of the best European road runners across the continent; to describe their trajectories to achieve their best results; to identify the representation of each country in the top 10 rankings; and to investigate the relationship between country socioeconomic and social indicators and athletes’ presence in the top 10 rankings
Summary
Sports performance is a multifactorial trait influenced by several variables related to athletes and the environment [1]. Despite the relevance of subject-centred approaches [15,16], previous research has focused largely on aiming to understand the role of contextual variables in sports success [17,18], and results revealed that socioeconomic factors such as population size, Human Development Index, and gross domestic product seemed to be significantly associated with performance [19,20] In this context, De Bosscher et al [21] proposed a model where international success in sport is determined by a set of variables that can be organized into different domains, Sustainability 2021, 13, 7781. This study aimed to verify the distribution of the best European road runners across the continent, and to investigate variables related to country representatives in the European Senior outdoor top list
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