biostudies-literatureUnknown19(10)Knechtle B<h4>Background</h4>The sex difference in athletic performance has been thoroughly investigated in single sport disciplines such as swimming, cycling, and running. In contrast, only small samples of long-distance triathlons, such as the IRONMAN® triathlon, have been investigated so far.<h4>Aim</h4>The aim of the study was to examine potential sex differences in the three split disciplines by age groups in 5-year intervals in a very large data set of IRONMAN® age group triathletes.<h4>Methods</h4>Data from 687,696 (553,608 men and 134,088 women) IRONMAN® age group triathletes (in 5-year intervals from 18-24 to 75+ years) finishing successfully between 2002 and 2022 an official IRONMAN® race worldwide were analyzed. The differences in performance between women and men were determined for eachPloS onee0311202https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11458036biostudies-literatureSex difference in IRONMAN age group triathletes.PMC11458036Knechtle BAndrade MSWeiss KValero DThuany MCuk IVilliger ENikolaidis PTRosemann TfalseSex difference in IRONMAN age group triathletes.<h4>Background</h4>The sex difference in athletic performance has been thoroughly investigated in single sport disciplines such as swimming, cycling, and running. In contrast, only small samples of long-distance triathlons, such as the IRONMAN® triathlon, have been investigated so far.<h4>Aim</h4>The aim of the study was to examine potential sex differences in the three split disciplines by age groups in 5-year intervals in a very large data set of IRONMAN® age group triathletes.<h4>Methods</h4>Data from 687,696 (553,608 men and 134,088 women) IRONMAN® age group triathletes (in 5-year intervals from 18-24 to 75+ years) finishing successfully between 2002 and 2022 an official IRONMAN® race worldwide were analyzed. The differences in performance between women and men were determined for each2024-01-01T00:00:00Z20242025-04-18T19:45:27.512Z2025-04-07T07:40:04.758ZS-EPMC114580363937425710.1371/journal.pone.0311202