Sex difference in top performers from Ironman to double deca iron ultra-triathlon

Figures & data

Table 1 Number of female and male finishers in all races

Races and distances	Female finishers	Male finishers	Overall finishers	Female finishers (%)	Male finishers (%)
Ironman Hawaii (1978–2013)	9,502	33,459	42,961	22.1	77.9
Double iron ultra-triathlon (1985–2013)	179	1,731	1,910	10.3	89.7
Triple iron ultra-triathlon (1988–2013)	98	918	1,016	10.7	89.3
Quadruple iron ultra-triathlon (1989–2013)	3	39	42	7.1	92.9
Quintuple iron ultra-triathlon (1991–2013)	13	59	72	18.0	82.0
Deca iron ultra-triathlon (1992–2013)	8	123	128	6.5	93.5
Double deca iron ultra-triathlon (1998–2013)	1	10	11	9.1	90.1

Figure 1 Split and overall race times of the fastest women and men ever.

Note: From left to right from Ironman Hawaii (1× Ironman) to double deca iron ultra-triathlon (20× Ironman).

Figure 2 Sex difference in split and overall race times of the fastest women and men ever.

Note: From left to right from Ironman Hawaii (1× Ironman) to double deca iron ultra-triathlon (20× Ironman).

Figure 3 Sex difference in relation to split and overall race times for the fastest competitors ever across all distances.

Note: From left to right from Ironman Hawaii (1× Ironman) to double deca iron ultra-triathlon (20× Ironman).
Abbreviation: min, minutes.

Table 2 Multilevel regression analyses for changes across years in swimming, cycling, running, and overall race times with correction for multiple finishes

	Sex	β	SE (β)	Stand β	T	P-value
Swimming
Ironman	Female	−0.26	0.08	−0.46	−3.01	0.005
Double iron	Female	−0.56	0.64	−0.17	−0.87	0.38
Triple iron	Female	−0.99	0.83	−0.24	−1.18	0.24
Quadruple iron	Female	−30.50	12.41	−0.92	−2.45	0.24
Quintuple iron	Female	−4.94	3.74	−0.60	−1.32	0.27
Deca iron	Female	−17.37	8.54	−0.67	−2.03	0.09
Ironman	Male	−0.25	0.09	−0.42	−2.73	0.01
Double iron	Male	0.04	0.42	0.02	0.11	0.90
Triple iron	Male	0.54	0.69	0.15	0.78	0.43
Quadruple iron	Male	−9.74	11.17	−0.45	−0.87	0.44
Quintuple iron	Male	5.45	2.27	0.73	2.40	0.06
Deca iron	Male	8.89	6.58	0.39	1.35	0.206
Cycling
Ironman	Female	−2.10	0.36	−0.71	−5.79	<0.001
Double iron	Female	−0.84	1.70	−0.09	−0.49	0.62
Triple iron	Female	6.02	5.15	0.24	1.16	0.25
Quadruple iron	Female	−234.50	358.82	−0.54	−0.65	0.63
Quintuple iron	Female	10.88	26.27	0.23	0.41	0.70
Deca iron	Female	133.97	120.79	0.44	1.10	0.31
Ironman	Male	−1.86	0.36	−0.65	−5.08	<0.001
Double iron	Male	−1.54	0.81	−0.34	−1.88	0.07
Triple iron	Male	−4.59	1.72	−0.47	−2.66	0.01
Quadruple iron	Male	−36.63	12.51	−0.86	−2.92	0.06
Quintuple iron	Male	18.41	8.80	0.68	2.09	0.09
Deca iron	Male	62.44	40.72	0.43	1.53	0.15
Running
Ironman	Female	−1.75	0.32	−0.68	−5.38	<0.001
Double iron	Female	−2.61	2.80	−0.18	−0.93	0.36
Triple iron	Female	−15.09	5.51	0.50	2.73	0.01
Quadruple iron	Female	−135.00	311.76	−0.39	−0.43	0.74
Quintuple iron	Female	46.35	8.50	0.95	5.45	0.01
Deca iron	Female	85.37	35.78	0.73	2.38	0.06
Ironman	Male	−0.93	0.20	−0.61	−4.59	<0.001
Double iron	Male	−3.25	1.04	−0.51	−3.12	0.004
Triple iron	Male	−0.83	2.31	−0.07	−0.35	0.72
Quadruple iron	Male	8.68	37.83	0.13	0.23	0.83
Quintuple iron	Male	43.76	21.54	0.67	2.03	0.09
Deca iron	Male	3.47	48.80	0.02	0.07	0.94
Overall
Ironman	Female	−3.90	0.68	−0.70	−5.66	<0.001
Double iron	Female	−3.66	4.03	−0.17	−0.90	0.37
Triple iron	Female	20.23	9.29	0.42	2.17	0.04
Quadruple iron	Female	−401.00	682.42	−0.50	−0.58	0.66
Quintuple iron	Female	55.49	39.25	0.63	1.41	0.25
Deca iron	Female	201.96	117.33	0.61	1.72	0.14
Ironman	Male	−2.90	0.60	−0.63	−4.83	<0.001
Double iron	Male	−4.54	1.65	−0.46	−2.75	0.01
Triple iron	Male	−4.93	3.12	−0.30	−1.58	0.12
Quadruple iron	Male	−37.74	26.53	−0.63	−1.42	0.25
Quintuple iron	Male	69.53	25.85	0.76	2.69	0.04
Deca iron	Male	78.95	67.18	0.34	1.17	0.26

Abbreviations: b, regression coefficient; SE (b), standard error of regression coefficient; Stand b, standardized regression coefficient.

Figure 4 Sex difference in swimming for the annual fastest women and men from Ironman to double deca iron ultra-triathlon.

Note: Results are presented for the annual fastest for Ironman Hawaii (1× Ironman), double iron ultra-triathlon (2× Ironman), triple iron ultra-triathlon (3× Ironman), quadruple iron ultra-triathlon (4× Ironman), quintuple iron ultra-triathlon (5× Ironman), deca iron ultra-triathlon (10× Ironman), and double deca iron ultra-triathlon (20× Ironman).

Figure 5 Sex difference in cycling for the annual fastest women and men from Ironman to double deca iron ultra-triathlon.

Note: Results are presented for the annual fastest for Ironman Hawaii (1× Ironman), double iron ultra-triathlon (2× Ironman), triple iron ultra-triathlon (3× Ironman), quadruple iron ultra-triathlon (4× Ironman), quintuple iron ultra-triathlon (5× Ironman), deca iron ultra-triathlon (10× Ironman), and double deca iron ultra-triathlon (20× Ironman).

Figure 6 Sex difference in running for the annual fastest women and men from Ironman to double deca iron ultra-triathlon.

Note: Results are presented for the annual fastest for Ironman Hawaii (1× Ironman), double iron ultra-triathlon (2× Ironman), triple iron ultra-triathlon (3× Ironman), quadruple iron ultra-triathlon (4× Ironman), quintuple iron ultra-triathlon (5× Ironman), deca iron ultra-triathlon (10× Ironman), and double deca iron ultra-triathlon (20× Ironman).

Figure 7 Sex difference in overall race time for the annual fastest women and men from Ironman to double deca iron ultra-triathlon.

Note: Results are presented for the annual fastest for Ironman Hawaii (1× Ironman), double iron ultra-triathlon (2× Ironman), triple iron ultra-triathlon (3× Ironman), quadruple iron ultra-triathlon (4× Ironman), quintuple iron ultra-triathlon (5× Ironman), deca iron ultra-triathlon (10× Ironman), and double deca iron ultra-triathlon (20× Ironman).

Table 3 Multilevel regression analyses for changes across years in sex difference in swimming, cycling, running, and overall race times with correction for multiple finishes

	β	SE (β)	Stand β	T	P-value
Swimming
Ironman	−0.36	0.15	−0.37	−2.31	0.02
Double iron	−0.40	0.28	−0.26	−1.42	0.16
Triple iron	−0.67	0.49	−0.28	−1.38	0.17
Quadruple iron	−0.80	3.48	−0.22	−0.22	0.85
Quintuple iron	−0.73	0.95	−0.40	−0.77	0.49
Deca iron	−2.43	1.43	−0.60	−1.69	0.15
Cycling
Ironman	−0.19	0.10	−0.31	−1.90	0.06
Double iron	0.03	0.28	0.02	0.11	0.90
Triple iron	0.94	0.32	0.52	2.88	0.00
Quadruple iron	−10.39	23.03	−0.41	−0.45	0.73
Quintuple iron	−0.11	1.72	−0.03	−0.06	0.95
Deca iron	0.06	1.17	0.02	0.05	0.95
Running
Ironman	−0.43	0.09	−0.63	−4.68	<0.001
Double iron	0.22	0.50	0.08	0.45	0.65
Triple iron	1.67	0.51	0.57	3.27	0.003
Quadruple iron	−6.10	13.81	−0.40	−0.44	0.73
Quintuple iron	0.47	1.59	0.17	0.30	0.78
Deca iron	4.09	2.53	0.58	1.61	0.16
Overall
Ironman	−0.26	0.05	−0.63	−4.68	<0.001
Double iron	0.01	0.30	0.009	0.04	0.96
Triple iron	1.11	0.31	0.6	3.58	0.002
Quadruple iron	−7.68	16.91	−0.41	−0.45	0.72
Quadruple iron	−0.20	1.58	−0.07	−0.13	0.9
Deca iron	1.63	0.81	0.66	2.0	0.1

Abbreviations: b, regression coefficient; SE (b), standard error of regression coefficient; Stand b, standardized regression coefficient.