ArticleExtreme physiology & medicine2013
The age of peak performance in Ironman triathlon: a cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysis.
Article in Extreme physiology & medicine, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Swimming-induced pulmonary oedema in triathletes: A narrative review of epidemiology, risk factors and prevention.Sports medicine and health science · 2026Review
- Running Performance Decline in IRONMAN-Distance Triathlon: A Scoping Review of Existing Evidence and Research Gaps.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Training load and intensity in triathlon: objective differences between sex, age, race distance preference and training phase across a cohort of 95 age-group triathletes over six months.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Cycling and Running are More Predictive of Overall Race Finish Time than Swimming in IRONMANSports medicine - open · 2025Article
- The fastest nonprofessional age group IRONMAN triathletes in the world originate from Europe.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Women in the triathlon-the differences between female and male triathletes: a narrative review.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Review
- Europe has the fastest Ironman race courses and the fastest Ironman age group triathletes.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The influence of origin and race location on performance in IRONMAN® age group triathletes.PloS one · 2024Article
- Changes in pacing variation with increasing race duration in ultra-triathlon races.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- The age of peak performance in women and men duathletes - The paradigm of short and long versions in "Powerman Zofingen".Open access journal of sports medicine · 2018Article
- Nation related participation and performance trends in 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon' from 2006 to 2014.SpringerPlus · 2015Article
- Variables that influence Ironman triathlon performance - what changed in the last 35 years?Open access journal of sports medicine · 2015Review
- What predicts performance in ultra-triathlon races? - a comparison between Ironman distance triathlon and ultra-triathlon.Open access journal of sports medicine · 2015Review
- What is the age for the fastest ultra-marathon performance in time-limited races from 6 h to 10 days?Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2014Article
- The best triathletes are older in longer race distances - a comparison between Olympic, Half-Ironman and Ironman distance triathlon.SpringerPlus · 2014Article
- Sex difference in top performers from Ironman to double deca iron ultra-triathlon.Open access journal of sports medicine · 2014Article
- Age, sex and (the) race: gender and geriatrics in the ultra-endurance age.Extreme physiology & medicine · 2014Article
- Nation related participation and performance trends in 'Ironman Hawaii' from 1985 to 2012.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2014Article
- Change of the age and performance of swimmers across World Championships and Olympic Games finals from 1992 to 2013 - a cross-sectional data analysis.SpringerPlus · 2014Article
- Will the age of peak ultra-marathon performance increase with increasing race duration?BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe aims of the present study were, firstly, to investigate in a cross-sectional analysis the age of peak Ironman performance within one calendar year in all qualifiers for Ironman Hawaii and Ironman Hawaii; secondly, to determine in a longitudinal analysis on a qualifier for Ironman Hawaii whether the age of peak Ironman performance and Ironman performance itself change across years; and thirdly, to determine the gender difference in performance.
methodsIn a cross-sectional analysis, the age of the top ten finishers for all qualifier races for Ironman Hawaii and Ironman Hawaii was determined in 2010. For a longitudinal analysis, the age and the performance of the annual top ten female and male finishers in a qualifier for Ironman Hawaii was determined in Ironman Switzerland between 1995 and 2010.
resultsIn 19 of the 20 analyzed triathlons held in 2010, there was no difference in the age of peak Ironman performance between women and men (p > 0.05). The only difference in the age of peak Ironman performance between genders was in 'Ironman Canada' where men were older than women (p = 0.023). For all 20 races, the age of peak Ironman performance was 32.2 ± 1.5 years for men and 33.0 ± 1.6 years for women (p > 0.05). In Ironman Switzerland, there was no difference in the age of peak Ironman performance between genders for top ten women and men from 1995 to 2010 (F = 0.06, p = 0.8). The mean age of top ten women and men was 31.4 ± 1.7 and 31.5 ± 1.7 years (Cohen's d = 0.06), respectively. The gender difference in performance in the three disciplines and for overall race time decreased significantly across years. Men and women improved overall race times by approximately 1.2 and 4.2 min/year, respectively.
conclusionsWomen and men peak at a similar age of 32-33 years in an Ironman triathlon with no gender difference. In a qualifier for Ironman Hawaii, the age of peak Ironman performance remained unchanged across years. In contrast, gender differences in performance in Ironman Switzerland decreased during the studied period, suggesting that elite female Ironman triathletes might still narrow the gender gap in the future.
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Registered trials
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