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.
Parents
Former Member
Thanks for the comments. I'm not totally convinced on the "lean triathlete" explanation, though. For women, anything less than 10-13% body fat is considered dangerous. Men can go down as far as 2-5% and still be considered healthy. That's an extra 8 pounds of body fat on a 100-lb person.
I volunteer at a lot of triathlons, including Ironman. I agree that the frontrunners are extremely lean. But the rest of the pack comes in all shapes and sizes--I'm always surprised at how average the 12-17-hour finishers look.
Here's the next installment. This time, I'm comparing performance by age group. www.watergirl.co/.../aging-and-swim-performance
Thanks for the comments. I'm not totally convinced on the "lean triathlete" explanation, though. For women, anything less than 10-13% body fat is considered dangerous. Men can go down as far as 2-5% and still be considered healthy. That's an extra 8 pounds of body fat on a 100-lb person.
I volunteer at a lot of triathlons, including Ironman. I agree that the frontrunners are extremely lean. But the rest of the pack comes in all shapes and sizes--I'm always surprised at how average the 12-17-hour finishers look.
Here's the next installment. This time, I'm comparing performance by age group. www.watergirl.co/.../aging-and-swim-performance
