Italians Are the Fastest 3000 m Open-Water Master Swimmers in the World

Abstract

Background: It is well known that athletes originating from a specific region or country can master specific sports disciplines (e.g., East-African runners in long-distance running). In addition, physical and athletic performance are the result of an interaction between genetic, environmental and epigenetic factors. However, little is known about on what determines sports success and performance for long-distance master swimmers such as origin. The aim of the study was to investigate the participation and performance trends of elite master open-water swimmers competing in the World Championships (WC) in 3000 m open-water swimming between 1986 and 2019. Methods: A total of 9247 valid participants were analyzed using generalized linear models (GLMs) with a gamma probability distribution and log link function. Resultsː Most of the starters were from Italy (1646 participations), followed by the United States of America (USA) (1128 participations) and Germany (959 participations). Swimmers from Italy were significantly faster than swimmers from Canada, Germany, USA, Great Britain and also from all other countries grouped (p < 0.005). The age group from 35–39 years old was significantly faster than athletes from age groups of 25–29 years old, 30–34 years old, 40–44 years old, 45–49 years old and 50–54 years old (p < 0.005). The percentage of local athletes in WC was 36% and varied from 36% (Italy, 2004) to 43 % (Germany), 53% (Italy, 2012) and up to 68 % (USA, 1992). Conclusions: Swimmers from Italy were the faster and the most numerous starters during this period of 27 years and 15 editions all over the world in 3000 m master open-water swimming.

Origin and age group of the fastest amateur triathletes competing in ‘Ironman Hawaii’ between 2003 and 2019

“…Contrary to our prediction, European athletes did not perform similarly when observing overall race time. This can be explained by the IRONMAN® race distribution worldwide, 9 with the highest number of races occurring in North America. There are 11 IRONMAN® races in the United States of America, whereas there are only 20 in Europe.…”

“…The observed performance decline with age in males and females followed the expected physiological and functional capacity of aged participants and the peak performance in endurance sports of older male and female athletes. 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 …”

“…It is known that the physiological functional capacity declines with advancing age and affects sports performance. 9 , 10 Athletes have been observed to reach peak performance in endurance sports just before reaching 30 years. 11 , 12 However, in the IRONMAN® triathlon, performance seems to plateau after 30 until approximately 40 years.…”

Origin of the Fastest 5 km, 10 km and 25 km Open-Water Swimmers—An Analysis from 20 Years and 9819 Swimmers

“…The finding that Italians are among the best in this sport discipline is not accidentally. A very actual study investigating 9247 female and male swimmers competing between 1986 and 2019 in the 3000 m openwater swimming Master World Championships found that female and male swimmers from Italy were the fastest during this period of 27 years and 15 editions all over the world [22]. A potential explanation that swimmers from Italy and Germany are the best in the world in this sports discipline could be their national efforts.…”