Elite triathlete performance related to age
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4100/jhse.2011.62.16Keywords:
Performance, Age, Olympic triathlon distance, World Championships SeriesAbstract
Triathlon is considered an endurance sport composed by the individual disciplines of swimming, cycling and running. The level of elite triathlon improves every year and the studies of several factors that help to improve the performance of triathletes who compete at Olympic, World Series, European, Pan-American, Commonwealth and others important events are increasing. It has been suggested that triathlon performance decline with age. However, it has also been suggested that experience is an important variable related to performance in sports and especially in crucial events. It is the aim of this research to measure and analyze the correlation between performance and age in international male elite triathletes that have participated in World Cups, Championships Series and World Championships Series from years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. We found that in several cases there is a positive correlation between age and performance. Additionally, we found that the mean age of the top ten finishers in Olympic Games triathlon was higher than in the other triathlons. All these results suggest that experience is important in most relevant international elite triathlon events.
Downloads
References
Baker, A.B., Tang, Y.Q., Turner, M.J. Percentage decline in masters superathlete track and field performance with aging. Exp Aging Res. 2003; 29:47-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/03610730303706
Bentley, D.J., Cox, G.R., Green, D., Laursen, P.B. Maximizing performance in triathlon: Applied physiological and nutritional aspects of elite and non-elite competitions. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2008; 11(4):407-416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2007.07.010
Bentley, D.J., Millet, G.P., Vleck, V.E., Mcnaughton, L.R. Specific aspects of contemporary triathlon: Implications for physiological analysis and performance. Sports Med. 2002; 32:345-359. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200232060-00001
Bernard, T., Sultana, F., Lepers, R., Hausswirth, C., Brisswalter, J. Age-Related Decline in Olympic Triathlon Performance: Effect of Locomotion Mode. Exp Aging Res. 2010; 36: 1, 64-78. https://doi.org/10.1080/03610730903418620
Bernard, T., Vercruyssen, F., Mazure, C., Gorce, P., Hausswirth, C., Brisswalter, J. Constant versus variable-intensity during cycling: Effects on subsequent running performance. Eur J App Physiol. 2007; 99:103-111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-006-0321-7
Cejuela, R., Pérez, J.A., Villa, J.G., Cortell, J.M., Rodríguez, J.A. Análisis de los factores de rendimiento en triatlón distancia sprint. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. 2007; 2(2):1-25. https://doi.org/10.4100/jhse.2007.22.01
Díaz, V., García, A., Peinado, A.B., Alvarez, M., Benito, P.J., Calderon, F.J. Physiological profile of elite triathletes: a comparison between young and professional competitors. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. 2009; 4(3):237-245. https://doi.org/10.4100/jhse.2009.43.05
Gonzalez, G., Diaz, M. Optimization of swimming performance in triathlon. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise. 2009; 4:69-71. https://doi.org/10.4100/jhse.2009.41.08
Hausswirth, C., Lehenaff, D. Physiological demands of running during long distance runs and triathlons. Sports Med. 2001; 31:679-89. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200131090-00004
Leyk, D., Erley, O., Ridder, D., Leurs, M., Ruther, T., Wunderlich, M., Sievert, A., Baum, K., Essfeld, D. Aged-related changes in marathon and half-marathon performances. Int J Sports Med. 2007; 28:513-517. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-924658
Moore, D.H. A study of age group track and field records to relate age and running speed. Nature. 1975; 253:264-265. https://doi.org/10.1038/253264a0
Rouboa, A., Silva, A., Leal, L., Rocha, J., Alves, F. The effect of swimmer's hand/forearm acceleration on propulsive forces generation using computational fluid dynamics. J Biomech. 2006; 39(7):1239-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2005.03.012
Tanaka, H., Seals, D.R. Invited Review: Dynamic exercise performance in masters athletes: Insight into effects of primary human aging on physiological functional capacity. J Appl Physiol. 2003; 95:2152–2162. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00320.2003
Tanaka, H., Seals, D.R. Endurance exercise performance in Masters athletes: Age-associated changes and underlying physiological mechanisms. Journal of Physiology. 2008; 586:55-63. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2007.141879
Vleck, V.E., Bentley, D.J., Millet, G.P., Bürgi, A. Pacing during an elite Olympic distance triathlon: Comparison between male and female competitors. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. 2008; 11(4):424¬. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2007.01.006
Downloads
Statistics
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2011 Journal of Human Sport and Exercise
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Each author warrants that his or her submission to the Work is original and that he or she has full power to enter into this agreement. Neither this Work nor a similar work has been published elsewhere in any language nor shall be submitted for publication elsewhere while under consideration by JHSE. Each author also accepts that the JHSE will not be held legally responsible for any claims of compensation.
Authors wishing to include figures or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright holder(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.
Please include at the end of the acknowledgements a declaration that the experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed. The editors reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the abovementioned requirements. The author(s) will be held responsible for false statements or failure to fulfill the above-mentioned requirements.
This title is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
You are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
Transfer of Copyright
In consideration of JHSE’s publication of the Work, the authors hereby transfer, assign, and otherwise convey all copyright ownership worldwide, in all languages, and in all forms of media now or hereafter known, including electronic media such as CD-ROM, Internet, and Intranet, to JHSE. If JHSE should decide for any reason not to publish an author’s submission to the Work, JHSE shall give prompt notice of its decision to the corresponding author, this agreement shall terminate, and neither the author nor JHSE shall be under any further liability or obligation.
Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article, except as disclosed on a separate attachment. All funding sources supporting the Work and all institutional or corporate affiliations of the authors are acknowledged in a footnote in the Work.
Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the protocol for any investigation involving humans or animals and that all experimentation was conducted in conformity with ethical and humane principles of research.
Competing Interests
Biomedical journals typically require authors and reviewers to declare if they have any competing interests with regard to their research.
JHSE require authors to agree to Copyright Notice as part of the submission process.
