Hi All,
I did some analysis of the Ironman Arizona swim, the 2011 1-Hour Postal Swim results, and the 1-Hour Postal Swim world records.
This link includes a chart comparing performance between men and women in those events. www.watergirl.co/.../how-big-gender-gap-swimming.
I'd be interested to hear what you guys have to say on the subject.
For the 1-Hour Postal Swim participants, women slow down dramatically between age 50 and 65. Is this related to Title IX? Or do women lose fitness more rapidly than men at that age? If it's the latter, it seems like training could mitigate that. The gap is much narrower among the World Record Holders
Yes, I think it's related to Title IX and/or older women generally not being seen as serious athletes before the '60s or so. I think child rearing is another factor that complicates things.
We've seen women like Laura Val and Charlotte Davis age up and demolish the old records. To me that is a strong indication that women do not lose fitness more rapidly then men, but instead we're just seeing that generation of "more athletic" women now entering these age groups.
I think the wetsuit thing is a little more tricky, but maybe since participants in Ironman tris are typically very fit the difference in body fat percentage between men and women isn't enough to make much difference. Or maybe relatively 'unfit' men are more likely to enter an Ironman than unfit women, thus when looking at the averages the body fat percentages of male and female competitors is similar.
For the 1-Hour Postal Swim participants, women slow down dramatically between age 50 and 65. Is this related to Title IX? Or do women lose fitness more rapidly than men at that age? If it's the latter, it seems like training could mitigate that. The gap is much narrower among the World Record Holders
Yes, I think it's related to Title IX and/or older women generally not being seen as serious athletes before the '60s or so. I think child rearing is another factor that complicates things.
We've seen women like Laura Val and Charlotte Davis age up and demolish the old records. To me that is a strong indication that women do not lose fitness more rapidly then men, but instead we're just seeing that generation of "more athletic" women now entering these age groups.
I think the wetsuit thing is a little more tricky, but maybe since participants in Ironman tris are typically very fit the difference in body fat percentage between men and women isn't enough to make much difference. Or maybe relatively 'unfit' men are more likely to enter an Ironman than unfit women, thus when looking at the averages the body fat percentages of male and female competitors is similar.
