Student or educator? Sign up with your school email and get 6 months of Pro free.
CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 51

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 5 of the 5 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Expanding the Gap: An Updated Look Into Sex Differences in Running Performance

Hallam, Lydia C., Amorim, Fabiano T.·2022·Frontiers in Physiology
DOI 10.3389/fphys.2021.804149
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Males consistently outperform females in athletic endeavors, including running events of standard Olympic distances (100 m to Marathon). The magnitude of this percentage sex difference, i.e., the sex gap, has evolved over time. Two clear trends in sex gap evolution are evident; a narrowing of the gap during the 20th century, followed by a period of stability thereafter. However, an updated perspective on the average sex gap from top 20 athlete performances over the past two decades reveals nuanced trends over time, indicating the sex gap is not fixed. Additionally, the sex gap varies with performance level; the difference in absolute running performance between males and females is lowest for world record/world lead performances and increases in lower-ranked elite athletes. This observation of an increased sex gap with world rank is evident in events 400 m and longer and indicates a lower depth in female competitive standards. Explanations for the sex difference in absolute performance and competition depth include physical (physiological, anatomical, neuromuscular, biomechanical), sociocultural, psychological, and sport-specific factors. It is apparent that females are the disadvantaged sex in sport; therefore, measures should be taken to reduce this discrepancy and enable both sexes to reach their biological performance potential. There is scope to narrow the sex performance gap by addressing inequalities between the sexes in opportunities, provisions, incentives, attitudes/perceptions, research, and media representation.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.3389/fphys.2021.804149

Cites

5 of 5 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

Show all 5 references

Research works printed but not linked: 60

  1. Abbiss, 2008, Describing and understanding pacing strategies during athletic competition., Sports Med., 38, 239, 10.2165/00007256-200838030-00004 · DOI · Paper page
  2. Bassett, 2000, Limiting factors for maximum oxygen uptake and determinants of endurance performance., Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 32, 70, 10.1097/00005768-200001000-00012 · DOI · Paper page
  3. Berthelot, 2015, Has athletic performance reached its peak?, Sports Med., 45, 1263, 10.1007/s40279-015-0347-2 · DOI · Paper page
  4. Blackburn, 2006, Comparison of triceps surae structural stiffness and material modulus across sex., Clin. Biomech., 21, 159, 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2005.08.012 · DOI
  5. Bundle, 2012, Sprint exercise performance: does metabolic power matter?, Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev., 40, 174, 10.1097/JES.0b013e318258e1c1 · DOI
  6. Capranica, 2013, The gender gap in sport performance: equity influences equality., Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform., 8, 99, 10.1123/ijspp.8.1.99 · DOI
  7. Carter, 2001, Substrate utilization during endurance exercise in men and women after endurance training., Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab., 280, E898, 10.1152/ajpendo.2001.280.6.E898 · DOI · Paper page
  8. Cheuvront, 2005, Running performance differences between men and women: an update., Sports Med., 35, 1017, 10.2165/00007256-200535120-00002 · DOI
  9. Coast, 2004, do gender differences in running performance disappear with distance?, Can. J. Appl. Physiol., 29, 139, 10.1139/h04-010 · DOI
  10. Costill, 1976, Skeletal muscle enzymes and fiber composition in male and female track athletes., J. Appl. Physiol., 40, 149, 10.1152/jappl.1976.40.2.149 · DOI · Paper page
  11. Cureton, 1986, Sex difference in maximal oxygen uptake: effect of equating haemoglobin concentration., Eur. J. Appl. Physiol., 54, 656, 10.1007/BF00943356 · DOI
  12. Deaner, 2006, More males run fast., Evol. Hum. Behav., 27, 63, 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2005.04.005 · DOI
  13. Deaner, 2012, Distance running as an ideal domain for showing a sex difference in competitiveness., Arch. Sex Behav., 42, 413, 10.1007/s10508-012-9965-z · DOI
  14. Deaner, 2016, Fast men slow more than fast women in a 10 kilometer road race., PeerJ, 4, e2235, 10.7717/peerj.2235 · DOI
  15. Deaner, 2015, Men are more likely than women to slow in the marathon., Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 47, 607, 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000432 · DOI
  16. Donnelly, 2013, The London 2012 Olympics: A Gender Equality Audit. Toronto: Centre for Sport Policy Studies, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education., 76
  17. Duffield, 2003, Energy system contribution in track running., New Stud. Athlet., 18, 47
  18. Duffield, 2005, Energy system contribution to 400-metre and 800-metre track running., J. Sports Sci., 23, 299, 10.1080/02640410410001730043 · DOI · Paper page
  19. Edwards, 2018, Proposal to disregard athletics world records prior to 2005: a radical and misjudged initiative., Br. J. Sports Med., 52, 1071, 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098307 · DOI
  20. Filipas, 2018, Elite male and female 800-m runners’ display of different pacing strategies during season-best performances., Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform., 13, 1344, 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0137 · DOI
  21. Handelsman, 2017, Sex differences in athletic performance emerge coinciding with the onset of male puberty., Clin. Endocrinol., 87, 68, 10.1111/cen.13350 · DOI · Paper page
  22. Hanley, 2016, Pacing, packing and sex-based differences in Olympic and IAAF World Championship marathons., J. Sports Sci., 34, 1675, 10.1080/02640414.2015.1132841 · DOI
  23. Hanley, 2018, Champions are racers, not pacers: an analysis of qualification patterns of Olympic and IAAF World Championship middle distance runners., J. Sports Sci., 36, 2614, 10.1080/02640414.2018.1472200 · DOI
  24. Hanley, 2019, Successful pacing profiles of olympic and IAAF world championship middle-distance runners across qualifying rounds and finals., Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform., 14, 894, 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0742 · DOI
  25. Harms, 1998, Exercise-induced arterial hypoxaemia in healthy young women., J. Physiol., 507, 619, 10.1111/j.1469-7793.1998.619bt.x · DOI
  26. Hettinga, 2019, The science behind competition and winning in athletics: using world-level competition data to explore pacing and tactics., Front. Sports Act. Living, 1, 11, 10.3389/fspor.2019.00011 · DOI
  27. Holden, 2004, An everlasting gender gap?, Science, 305, 639, 10.1126/science.305.5684.639 · DOI
  28. Hunter, 2015, The two-hour marathon: what’s the equivalent for women?, J. Appl. Physiol., 118, 1321, 10.1152/japplphysiol.00852.2014 · DOI
  29. Hunter, 2013, Sex differences in marathon running with advanced age: physiology or participation?, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 45, 148, 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31826900f6 · DOI
  30. Hunter, 2011, Is there a sex difference in the age of elite marathon runners?, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 43, 656, 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181fb4e00 · DOI
  31. Huxley, 2007, Sex and the cardiovascular system: the intriguing tale of how women and men regulate cardiovascular function differently., Adv. Physiol. Educ., 31, 17, 10.1152/advan.00099.2006 · DOI
  32. Joyner, 1993, Physiological limiting factors and distance running: influence of gender and age on record performances., Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev., 21, 103, 10.1249/00003677-199301000-00004 · DOI
  33. Joyner, 2017, Physiological limits to endurance exercise performance: influence of sex: sex, exercise and elite endurance performance., J. Physiol., 595, 2949, 10.1113/JP272268 · DOI
  34. Keenan, 2018, Girls in the boat: sex differences in rowing performance and participation., PLoS One, 13, e0191504, 10.1371/journal.pone.0191504 · DOI
  35. Knechtle, 2016, Do women reduce the gap to men in ultra-marathon running?, Springerplus, 5, 672, 10.1186/s40064-016-2326-y · DOI
  36. LoMauro, 2018, Sex differences in respiratory function., Breathe, 14, 131, 10.1183/20734735.000318 · DOI · Paper page
  37. March, 2011, Age, sex, and finish time as determinants of pacing in the marathon., J. Strength Cond. Res., 25, 386, 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181bffd0f · DOI
  38. Millard-Stafford, 2018, Nature versus nurture: have performance gaps between men and women reached an asymptote?, Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform., 13, 530, 10.1123/ijspp.2017-0866 · DOI · Paper page
  39. Miller, 1993, Gender differences in strength and muscle fiber characteristics., Eur. J. Appl. Physiol., 66, 254, 10.1007/BF00235103 · DOI · Paper page
  40. Mpholwane, 2007, The Determinants of Running Performance in Middle Distance Female Athletes.
  41. Murphy, 2014, The sex difference in haemoglobin levels in adults–mechanisms, causes, and consequences., Blood Rev., 28, 41, 10.1016/j.blre.2013.12.003 · DOI · Paper page
  42. Nuell, 2019, Sex differences in thigh muscle volumes, sprint performance and mechanical properties in national-level sprinters., PLoS One, 14, e0224862, 10.1371/journal.pone.0224862 · DOI
  43. Pate, 2007, American women in the marathon., Sports Med., 37, 294, 10.2165/00007256-200737040-00006 · DOI
  44. Purkiss, 1997, Cardiovascular physiology: similarities and differences between healthy women and men., J. SOGC, 19, 853, 10.1016/S0849-5831(97)80008-0 · DOI
  45. Sandford, 2018, Anaerobic speed reserve: a key component of elite male 800-m running., Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform., 14, 501, 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0163 · DOI
  46. Sandford, 2019, Maximal sprint speed and the anaerobic speed reserve domain: the untapped tools that differentiate the world’s best male 800 m runners., Sports Med., 49, 843, 10.1007/s40279-018-1010-5 · DOI
  47. Sandford, 2019, “Question Your Categories”: the misunderstood complexity of middle-distance running profiles with implications for research methods and application., Front. Sports Act. Living, 1, 28, 10.3389/fspor.2019.00028 · DOI
  48. Schiaffino, 2012, Skeletal muscle fiber types, Muscle, 855, 10.1016/B978-0-12-381510-1.00060-0 · DOI
  49. Seiler, 2007, The fall and rise of the gender difference in Elite anaerobic performance 1952-2006., Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 39, 534, 10.1249/01.mss.0000247005.17342.2b · DOI
  50. Senefeld, 2015, Sex differences in elite swimming with advanced age are less than marathon running: sex differences in swimming and running., Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports, 26, 17, 10.1111/sms.12412 · DOI
  51. Senne, 2016, Examination of gender equity and female participation in sport., Sport J., 22, 8
  52. Slawinski, 2015, How 100-m event analyses improve our understanding of world-class men’s and women’s sprint performance., Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports, 27, 45, 10.1111/sms.12627 · DOI
  53. Sparling, 1998, The gender difference in distance running performance has plateaued: an analysis of world rankings from 1980 to 1996., Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 30, 1725, 10.1097/00005768-199812000-00011 · DOI
  54. Tanaka, 2002, The battle of the sexes in sports., Lancet, 360, 92, 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)09355-8 · DOI
  55. Thibault, 2010, Women and men in sport performance: the gender gap has not evolved since 1983., J. Sports Sci. Med., 9, 214
  56. Trubee, 2014, Effects of heat stress and sex on pacing in marathon runners., J. Strength Cond. Res., 28, 1673, 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000295 · DOI
  57. Vickers, 2016, An empirical study of race times in recreational endurance runners., BMC Sports Sci. Med. Rehabil., 8, 26, 10.1186/s13102-016-0052-y · DOI
  58. Waldvogel, 2019, Women reduce the performance difference to men with increasing age in ultra-marathon running., Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 16, 2377, 10.3390/ijerph16132377 · DOI
  59. Wheatley, 2014, Sex differences in cardiovascular function during submaximal exercise in humans., Springerplus, 3, 445, 10.1186/2193-1801-3-445 · DOI
  60. Whipp, 1992, Ward Susana. Will women soon outrun men?, Nature, 355, 25, 10.1038/355025a0 · DOI

Cited by

Metadata

Authors
Hallam, L. C., & Amorim, F. T.
Venue
Frontiers in Physiology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2022-01-04
Volume
12
ISSN
1664-042X
DOI
10.3389/fphys.2021.804149
Cited by
51
References
5
Licence
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor)

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Data sources

Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.