The development of the performance sex gap in track-and-field events across the lifespan.

ABSTRACT: Due to sexual dimorphism, men outperform women in athletics, and thus they compete separately. Although the difference, called "the performance sex gap", was thought to be stable across the lifespan, our research suggests that the gap changes with age. In our study, using publicly accessible databases, we collected data about top performances by men and women 5 to 100 years old in 18 track-and-field events sorted into three categories: running, jumping, and throwing. Our results suggest that the magnitude of the performance sex gap changes across the lifespan; it emerges in prepubertal children, widens among adolescents, stabilizes among senior athletes (i.e., 20-34 years old), and further increases among masters athletes (i.e., 35+ years old). Among seniors, the gap has been narrower in r

SUBMITTER: Balcarova B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12589021 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature