Seems to have held very steady through out the decades. Women seem to always be about .90 time wise of the men's performance. Some interesting science why that always may be the case.
www.theatlantic.com/.../
I agree to an extent on the 1650 but the trend holds through the 75-79 age group. After that, you run into sample size issues. There just aren't a lot of Octogenarians lining up to take on the 1650. And my guess is that there are a lot more women giving it a shot than men.
Here's the last 5 years of swimmers age 80+ who completed a 1650. Does not account for DNF's, DQ's, or individuals who raced the 1650 multiple times in a season.
Season Men Women
2012 9 8
2011 10 11
2010 11 8
2009 8 6
2008 10 6
===================
Total 48 39
Source: www.usms.org/.../toptimes.php
I agree to an extent on the 1650 but the trend holds through the 75-79 age group. After that, you run into sample size issues. There just aren't a lot of Octogenarians lining up to take on the 1650. And my guess is that there are a lot more women giving it a shot than men.
Here's the last 5 years of swimmers age 80+ who completed a 1650. Does not account for DNF's, DQ's, or individuals who raced the 1650 multiple times in a season.
Season Men Women
2012 9 8
2011 10 11
2010 11 8
2009 8 6
2008 10 6
===================
Total 48 39
Source: www.usms.org/.../toptimes.php
