Sex difference in age and performance in elite Swiss freestyle swimmers competing from 50 m to 1,500 m

Abstract

Recent studies reported different ages for peak freestyle swimming performances for 50 m and 1,500 m. The aims of the present study were (i) to determine the age of peak freestyle swimming speed for distances including 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, and 1,500 m and to (ii) analyze the sex difference in peak freestyle swimming speed for all distances between 50 m and 1,500 m for elite female and male swimmers competing at national level. Data from the ‘Swiss Swimming Federation’ between 2006 and 2010 from 10,405 men and 9,552 women were analyzed using regression analyses and analyses of variance (ANOVA). Women achieved peak freestyle swimming speed at ~20–21 years from 50 m to 400 m, at ~24–25 years in 1,500 m and at ~25–27 years in 800 m. In men, the age of peak freestyle swimming speed varied between ~22–23 years and ~25–27 years for 50 m to 1,500 m. Between the age of 10 and 29 years, the sex difference in freestyle swimming speed increased from 2.2 ± 0.4% to 19.0 ± 6.7% in 50 m (r2 = 0.87, P < 0.001), from 2.4 ± 0.7% to 10.8 ± 2.8% in 100 m (r2 = 0.67, P = 0.004) and from 3.6 ± 1.9% to 10.2 ± 3.4% in 200 m (r2 = 0.60, P = 0.008). In 400 m (r2 = 0.24), 800 m (r2 = 0.39) and 1,500 m (r2 = 0.34), the sex difference showed no changes (P > 0.05) with 6.9 ± 3.0%, 5.8 ± 3.5%, and 9.7 ± 8.6%, respectively. The sex difference in freestyle swimming speed showed no change with increasing race distance (r2 = 0.12, P > 0.05). To summarize, the age of peak freestyle swimming speed increased for women with the length of the race distance from 50 m to 200 m, but not from 400 m to 1,500 m. For men, the age of peak freestyle swimming speed varied between ~22–23 years and ~25–27 years from 50 m to 1,500 m. The sex difference in freestyle swimming speed of 9.1 ± 2.5% showed no change with increasing race distance. Future studies need to confirm these findings in elite swimmers competing at international level such as the World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Ice swimming – ‘Ice Mile’ and ‘1 km Ice event’

“…In the annual fastest swimmers competing in FINA World Cup races from 2000 to 2012 in 5 km, 10 km and 25 km, the sex differences in swimming speed remained at ~7 %, ~6 % and ~9 %, respectively [ 3 ]. The sex difference for the three fastest ice swimmers (~10 %) was comparable to the findings for freestyle pool swimmers up to 1,500 m [ 29 ], but increased to ~21 % for the ten fastest ever. Differences in body composition [ 24 ] and body core temperature [ 26 ] between women and men might explain these differences.…”

“…The sex differences in these ice swimmers were higher compared to sex differences reported for pool [ 6 , 29 ] and open-water [ 1 , 3 ] swimmers competing at moderate water temperatures (~20 °C). For pool swimmers competing at world-class level ( i.e., finalists in Olympic Games and World Championships) in different strokes and distances up to 1500 m, the sex difference was at ~9–10 % [ 6 ].…”

“…When swimming performances in different disciplines and strokes were investigated, men were generally ~8.9 % faster than women [ 31 ]. Although two very recent studies showed that women were able to beat men in open-water swimming [ 13 , 14 ], men were generally faster than women in pool [ 6 , 29 ] and open-water [ 1 , 11 , 12 , 33 , 34 ] swimming. However, in some studies, women were able to achieve similar performances to men in open-water swimming [ 28 , 32 ].…”

“…For pool swimmers competing at world-class level ( i.e., finalists in Olympic Games and World Championships) in different strokes and distances up to 1500 m, the sex difference was at ~9–10 % [ 6 ]. For freestyle swimming from 50 m to 1500 m, the sex difference was unchanged at ~9 % [ 29 ]. In elite 10-km open-water swimmers competing at world-class level, the sex difference was at ~7 % [ 1 ].…”

Sex Differences in Swimming Disciplines—Can Women Outperform Men in Swimming?

“…Swimming competitions are held in pool-swimming in short-course (i.e., 25 m or 25 yards) and long-course (i.e., 50 m) pools from 50 m to 200 m in the four different strokes such as butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle [28,29], where freestyle races were also held for 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m [29]. Apart from distance-limited swimming races, also time-limited swimming events (i.e., 12 h) are performed in pool-swimming [13].…”