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Cited by 14Sports Performance and TrainingWinter Sports Injuries and PerformanceSex and Gender in Healthcare

Sex Differences in Performance and Performance-Determining Factors in the Olympic Winter Endurance Sports

Open access
Solli, Guro Strøm, Sandbakk, Øyvind, McGawley, Kerry·2024·Sports Medicine - Open
DOI 10.1186/s40798-024-00792-8PMC PMC11579258
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Abstract

Background: Most sex comparisons in endurance sports have been derived from performance-matched groups of female and male athletes competing over similar distances within summer sports. Corresponding analyses of sex differences in winter endurance sports have not previously been conducted. In the Olympic Winter Games (OWG), the endurance sports include cross-country skiing (XCS), biathlon (BIA), Nordic combined (NC), ski mountaineering (SkiMo) and long-track speed skating (SpSk). The aim of this narrative review is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors in the OWG endurance sports. Main Body: Sex differences in competition speeds are ~ 7–16% in XCS, 12–16% in BIA and 7–11% in SpSk, with race distances often shorter for women compared to men. No comparable data have been published for NC or SkiMo. Slower skiing speeds among women are associated with greater use of the diagonal and gear 2 sub-techniques in classic and skate skiing, respectively. In SpSk, slower skating speeds among women may be related to a less effective push-off being maintained throughout races. Laboratory data have revealed absolute and relative peak aerobic capacity to be 30–63% and 10–27% greater, respectively, in male versus female XCS, BIA, NC, SkiMo and SpSk athletes. There is limited evidence of sex differences in training characteristics, although women currently tend to complete more strength training than men in XCS and BIA. Of note, most data have been derived from studies performed in XCS, with almost no studies investigating sex differences in NC or SkiMo. Conclusions: This review provides a comprehensive overview of sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors within and between OWG endurance sports, which provides a scientific basis for designing training programs and future studies. Due to the lack of research investigating sex differences in NC and SkiMo, these sports, in particular, would be worthy of further attention. Key Points: This narrative review provides a novel and comprehensive analysis of sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors in the Olympic winter endurance sports. Sex differences in competition speeds are ~ 7–16% in cross-country skiing, biathlon and speed skating, while no comparable data were available for Nordic combined or ski mountaineering. Since men have historically skied and skated over greater distances than women in cross-country skiing, biathlon and speed skating competitions, the “true” sex differences in performance are likely larger than the differences reported in the literature, therefore exceeding the differences typically reported for summer endurance sports. Most information about sex differences in Olympic winter endurance sports is based on studies performed in cross-country skiing. The conspicuous lack of information on Nordic combined and ski mountaineering warrants further research in these sports.

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  • Uphill sections pose the highest physiological load and constitute the performance-discriminating segments in cross-country ski races.

    “Notably, the latter poses the highest physiological load and constitutes the performance‐discriminating segments [21, 22].”

    From Carbohydrate Storage and Supplementation Strategies for Peak Performance in Cross-Country Skiing (2026) · cites this paper as [21]

    The Pacing Strategies section (page unavailable) reports larger uphill than flat-terrain speed differences in some cross-country ski races, but also reports races where intermediate inclines showed larger differences and one where a flat section best distinguished the fastest and slowest women. The Fractional Utilization of Peak Oxygen Uptake section says gradient affects physiological responses; it does not establish that uphill sections impose the highest physiological load. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • At matched relative intensities, women utilize diagonal stride more frequently than men, who rely more on double poling.

    “At matched relative intensities, women utilize diagonal stride more frequently than men, who rely more on double poling [21, 28].”

    From Carbohydrate Storage and Supplementation Strategies for Peak Performance in Cross-Country Skiing (2026) · cites this paper as [21]

    The “Sub-technique Selection in Nordic Skiing” section reports that women use diagonal stride more and double poling less than men. The “Training Characteristics” section reports the same pattern during low- and high-intensity training, but also notes higher relative heart rates among women during low-intensity training. Neither passage establishes the comparison at matched relative intensities (page numbers unavailable). (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Longer Olympic-distance cross-country ski events range from ~20-50 min for the 10 individual and 20 km Skiathlon races to ~2-21⁄2 h for the 50-km mass start.

    “Longer Olympic‐distance events range from ~20–50 min for the 10 individual and 20 km Skiathlon (10 + 10 km) races to ~2–2½ h for the 50‐km mass start [20, 21].”

    From Carbohydrate Storage and Supplementation Strategies for Peak Performance in Cross-Country Skiing (2026) · cites this paper as [21]

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [56]Björklund G. Shooting efficiency for winners of World Cup and World Championship races in men’s and women’s biathlon: where is the cut-off? Int J Perf Anal Spor. 2018;18(4):545–53.
  2. [63]Smith DJ, Roberts D. Aerobic, anaerobic and isokinetic measures of elite Canadian male and female speed skaters. J Strength Cond Res. 1991;5(3):110–115.

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Authors
Solli, G. S., Sandbakk, Ø., & McGawley, K.
Affiliations
  • Nord University (NO)
  • UiT The Arctic University of Norway (NO)
  • Mid Sweden University (SE)
Corresponding author
Solli, Guro Strøm
ORCID
Venue
Sports Medicine - Open
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-11-20
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
126-126
ISSN
2198-9761 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s40798-024-00792-8
PMC
PMC11579258
OpenAlex
W4404536291
Cited by
14
References
96
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 7
FWCI
1.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
correction (2024-12-16)
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Sports Medicine - Open (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Nord University
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Winter Sports Injuries and Performance
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
Keywords
sex differences, Winter Olympics, cross-country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined, ski mountaineering, cardiorespiratory fitness, skiing technique, skating technique, resistance training, training characteristics, performance factors, female athletes, training program design

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