Percorrer por autor "Rosemann, Thomas"
A mostrar 1 - 10 de 14
Resultados por página
Opções de ordenação
- Athletes’ origin trends in participation and performance of master runners in the New York City marathon (1999–2024): a sex- and age-group analysisPublication . Duric, Sasa; Villiger, Elias; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Leite, Luciano Bernardes; Forte, Pedro; Chlíbková, Daniela; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Weiss, Katja; Rosemann, Thomas; Knechtle, BeatIt is well known that the fastest elite marathon runners come from East African countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya. However, to date, there is no information available on the origin of the fastest age group (master) marathoners. This study aimed to determine the countries of origin of the fastest age group marathoners who have participated in the 'New York City Marathon' over the past several decades. Race data from 1,009,839 runners (626,183 male and 383,656 female finishers) who completed the 'New York City Marathon' between 1999 and 2024 were analyzed. Participants were categorized into five-year age groups: <20, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, and 75 + years. The data were stratified by sex (male and female) and country of origin. The dataset was organized into five performance-based subgroups: (i) the entire dataset, including all finishers by age group and nationality; (ii) the top 100 finishers per age group; (iii) the top 30 finishers per age group; (iv) the top 10 finishers per age group; and (v) the top individual from each country within each age group. Regression analyses were conducted to explore demographic predictors of marathon performance. Participation generally increased over the study period, with temporary declines during the COVID-19 pandemic; male participation consistently outnumbered female participation, the 40-44 years age group was the most represented for both sexes, and participation was lowest in the youngest (< 20 years) and oldest (75 + years) age groups. Crucially, analyses focusing on the fastest age-group marathoners revealed clear nationality-based performance patterns. In younger adult age groups (20-39 years), the fastest average race times were predominantly achieved by female and male runners from Kenya and Ethiopia. The < 20 years age category showed comparatively stronger performances from European runners, including those from Poland, Switzerland and Italy. In the 50 years and older age groups, the best average times were increasingly recorded by runners from the United States of America, Japan, Germany and Switzerland. This shift highlights a regional transition in peak marathon performance with increasing age, from East African to European, North American, and East Asian dominance.
- Case Report: Case study of 100 consecutive IRONMAN®-distance triathlons—impact of race splits and sleep on the performance of an elite athletePublication . Knechtle, Beat; Leite , Luciano Bernardes; Forte, Pedro; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Cuk, Ivan; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Scheer, Volker; Weiss, Katja; Rosemann, ThomasLong-distance triathletes such as IRONMAN (R) and ultra-triathletes competing in longer race distances continue to extend ultra-endurance limits. While the performance of 60 IRONMAN (R)-distance triathlons in 60 days was the longest described to date, we analysed in the present case study the impact of split disciplines and recovery in one athlete completing 100 IRONMAN (R)-distance triathlons in 100 days. To date, this is the longest self-paced world record attempt for most daily IRONMAN (R)-distance triathlons.To assess the influence of each activity's duration on the total time, the cross-correlation function was calculated for swimming, cycling, running, and sleeping times. The autocorrelation function, which measures the correlation of a time series with itself at different lags, was also employed using NumPy.The moving average for swimming slightly increased in the middle of the period, stabilizing at similar to 1.43 h. Cycling displayed notable fluctuations between similar to 5.5 and 7h, with a downward trend toward the end. The moving average for running remains high, between 5.8 and 7.2 h, showing consistency over the 100 days. The moving average for total time hovered at similar to 15 h, with peaks at the beginning, and slightly declined in the final days. The cross-correlation between swimming time and total time showed relatively low values. Cycling demonstrated a stronger correlation with total time. Running also exhibited a high correlation with total time. The cross-correlation between sleep time and swimming time presented low values. In cycling, the correlation was stronger. For running, a moderate correlation was observed. The correlation with total time was also high. The autocorrelation for swimming showed high values at short lags with a gradual decrease over time. For cycling, the autocorrelation also began strong, decreasing moderately as lags increased. Running displayed high autocorrelation at short lags, indicating a daily dependency in performance, with a gradual decay over time. The total time autocorrelation was high and remained relatively elevated with increasing lags, showing consistent dependency on cumulative efforts across all activities. In a triathlete completing 100 IRONMAN (R)-distance triathlons in 100 days, cycling and running split times have a higher influence on overall times than swimming. Swimming performance is not influenced by sleep quality, whereas cycling performance is. Swimming times slowed faster over days than cycling and running times. Any athlete intending to break this record should focus on cycling and running training in the pre-event preparation.
- Cycling and Running are More Predictive of Overall Race Finish Time than Swimming in IRONMAN® Age Group TriathletesPublication . Knechtle, Beat; Valero, David; Villiger, Elias; Thuany, Mabliny; Cuk, Ivan; Forte, Pedro; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Rosemann, Thomas; Weiss, KatjaSeveral studies have evaluated the most predictive discipline (swimming, cycling, and running) of performance in elite IRONMAN® triathletes. However, no study has ever determined the most decisive discipline for IRONMAN® age group triathletes. The present study analyzed the importance of the three disciplines on the overall race times in IRONMAN® age group triathletes, in order to try and determine the most predictive discipline in IRONMAN® for age group triathletes, and whether the importance of the split disciplines changes with increasing age. This cross-sectional study used 687,696 IRONMAN® age group triathletes race records (553,608 from males and 134,088 from females). Age group athletes were divided in 5-year age groups (i.e., 18–24, 25–29, 30–34,…,70–74, and last 75 + years). The relationships between split disciplines (i.e., swimming, cycling, and running) and overall race times were evaluated using Spearman and Pearson correlations. A multi-linear regression model was used to calculate their prediction strength. The overall finish time correlated more with cycling and running times than with swimming times for both male and female IRONMAN® age group triathletes (r = 0.88 and r = 0.89 for females; r = 0.89 and r = 0.90 for males, respectively). All correlation coefficients decreased with increasing age, which was more noticeable for the swimming discipline. Both cycling and running are more predictive than swimming in IRONMAN® age group triathletes, where the correlation between the overall race times and the split times decreased with increasing age more in swimming than in cycling and running. These insights are useful for IRONMAN® age group triathletes and their coaches in planning their IRONMAN® race preparation and concentrating training on the more predictive disciplines.
- Freestyle master’s swimming: Nationality, sex, and performance trends in World Aquatics competitions (1986–2024)Publication . Ahmad, Wais; Wilhelm, Matthias; Moreitz, Sascha; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Forte, Pedro; Stanula, Arkadiusz; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Cuk, Ivan; Thuany, Mabliny; Weiss, Katja; Rosemann, Thomas; Hill, Lee; Seffrin, Aldo; Knechtle, BeatIn sports science, freestyle swimming has been thoroughly studied for particular performance-related factors. Nonetheless, it is unknown what countries the top freestyle swimmers are from, especially not for age group swimmers. In addition, the existing research on the performance of master freestyle swimmers has yet to confirm that male swimmers achieve faster times than their female counterparts across all age groups and distances. The current study looked into the nationalities and sexes of the top freestyle swimmers in each age group in World Aquatics competitions for the 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m events from 1986 to 2024. Methods The data (derived from (www.worldaquatics.com/masters/archives/masters-archives) were presented using mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values, and/or confidence intervals. The year of competition, age, age group, stroke, distance, and first and last names of each swimmer were noted. The nations were then divided into six groups: one group comprising all other countries and the top five nations with the greatest number of appearances in the top 10 fastest freestyle swimming times by distance each year. Results In freestyle swimming, most swimmers (30.6%) competed in the 50m event (n = 25,094, 10,909 female and 14,185 male), followed by the 100m event (25.6%, n = 20,961, 8,796 female and 12,165 male), the 200m event (17.4%, n = 14,309, 6,729 female and 7,580 male), the 400m event (13.4%, n = 10,956, 5,363 female and 5,593 male), and the 800m event (12.6%, n = 10,317, 5,179 female and 5,138 male). The results from the generalized linear models indicate that sex, age group, and the interaction between sex and age group all had significant effects on the 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m races. Specifically, for the 50m races, the effect of sex was significant (x(2) (1) = 3451.941, p < 0.001), as was the effect of age group (chi(2) (13) = 19,295.169, p < 0.001), and the interaction between sex and age group (chi (2) (13) = 654.671, p < 0.001). Conclusion The USA demonstrates quantitative dominance by contributing the greatest number of top 10 performers. Additionally, the study highlights significant sex-based performance differences, with males generally outperforming females in all age categories. This study comprehensively analyzes the performance trends observed in freestyle master swimming for nearly four decades.
- Modeling Performance in IRONMAN® 70.3 Age Group TriathletesPublication . Thuany, Mabliny; Valero, David; Villiger, Elias; Forte, Pedro; Weiss, Katja; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Cuk, Ivan; Rosemann, Thomas; Knechtle, BeatIndividual factors related to performance in age group triathletes competing in different race distances have been explored in scientific literature. However, only a few studies have been conducted using machine learning (ML) predictive models to explore the importance of those individual factors. This study intended to build and analyze machine learning regression models that predict the performance of IRONMAN (R) 70.3 age group triathletes, considering sex, age, country of origin, and event location as predictive factors. A total of 823,464 finishers records (625,398 men and 198,066 women) of IRONMAN (R) 70.3 age group triathletes participating in 197 different events in 183 different locations between 2004 and 2020 were analyzed. The triathletes' sex, age, country of origin, event location and year, and race finish times were thus obtained and considered for the study. Four different ML regression models were built to predict the triathletes' race times from their age, sex, country of origin, and race location. The model with the best performance was then selected and further analyzed using model-agnostic interpretability tools to understand which factors would contribute most to the model predictions.ResultsThe Random Forest Regressor model obtained the best predictive score. This model's partial dependence plots indicated that men under 30 years, from Switzerland or Denmark, competing in IRONMAN (R) 70.3 Austria/St. Polten, IRONMAN (R) 70.3 Switzerland, IRONMAN (R) 70.3 Sunshine Coast, and IRONMAN (R) 70.3 Busselton presented the best performance.ConclusionsOur results prove that ML models can be used to examine the complex, non-linear interactions between the factors that influence performance and gain insights that can help IRONMAN (R) 70.3 age group triathletes better plan their races.
- The Norseman Xtreme Triathlon: A narrative review of current scientific evidence on performance, physiology, and health risksPublication . Knechtle, Beat; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Leite, Luciano Bernardes; Forte, Pedro; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Chlibkova, Daniela; Weiss, Katja; Rosemann, Thomas; Duric, SasaThe 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon', held annually in Norway, is considered one of the world's most challenging triathlons, surpassing the traditional IRONMAN (R)-distance in terms of difficulty. This narrative review aims to summarize the current scientific evidence to support athletes and coaches in preparation for this event.MethodsWe conducted a narrative review to summarize the current scientific literature on the 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon'. A structured search was conducted in two major databases-PubMed and Scopus-using free-text terms related to 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon'. The search included articles published up to the end of November 2025, without language restrictions. After removing duplicates and unrelated articles based on title and abstract screening, 16 relevant publications were included for analysis.ResultsOver the years, the number of female and male finishers increased, the men-to-women ratio decreased, and both split and overall race times decreased. Most athletes competing in the 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon' came from Norway, and Norwegian athletes achieved the most podiums. The race affects different organ systems and biomarkers, with increased values of WBC, CK, NT-proBNP, CRP and AST returning to pre-race levels within hours or days. Due to the cold environment, athletes appeared to be at risk of developing hypothermia and swimming-induced pulmonary edema (SIPE) during swimming and both exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) and exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia (EIAH) after the race.ConclusionsParticular care is needed in preparing for the cold water and general cold environment during cycling and running. The specific nutritional demands, the aspects of pre-race preparation (e.g. training, experience), post-race recovery trajectories, hormonal profiles, or psychological responses of the 'Norseman Xtreme Triathlon' remain underexplored and represent an important area for future research.
- Pacing of the first and only female finisher in the world's longest triathlon: The 2024 Triple Deca ultra triathlonPublication . Duric, Sasa; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Leite, Luciano Bernardes; Forte, Pedro; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Cuk, Ivan; Weiss, Katja; Rosemann, Thomas; Knechtle, BeatPacing in triathlon has been analyzed for distances up to 60 long-distance triathlons in 60 days in men. However, no study has examined pacing in a female ultra-endurance triathlete in a multi-day triathlon exceeding 10 days. Thus, this case study analyzes the pacing of the first and only woman to complete 30 long-distance triathlons in 30 days. Methods: Lap times for swimming, cycling, and running, including transitions, were collected from race results. The athlete tracked each discipline daily using a Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar, recording average and maximum heart rates and energy expenditure. The coefficient of variation and second-order polynomial regression were calculated for average pace, split, and total times. Repeated measures ANOVA tested interactions in pace performance across 10-day phases and intra-discipline daily pacing variations. Multivariate regression examined physiological parameters' impact on pacing. Results: The female triathlete maintained a relatively even pacing strategy throughout the race, with a decrease in cycling speed and an increase in running speed. Cycling showed the strongest and significant correlation with total race time (r = 0.810; p < 0.001), while running (r = 0.347; p = 0.119) and swimming (r = -0.312; p = 0.165) displayed non-significant associations. The pace varied within the disciplines, with cycling becoming slower and running faster in the last quarter of the race. Energy expenditure, maximum and average heart rate were significant predictors for cycling (R-2 = 0.538; p < 0.001), while only average heart rate was the best predictor for running performance (R-2 = 0.450; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tactical considerations most likely influenced pacing, particularly in cycling and running. Future research should further explore pacing strategies in ultra-endurance events.
- Sex differences in performance and pacing in the greatest Quintuple Iron ultra-triathlon race in history: The IUTA World Championship 2024 in FrancePublication . Knechtle, Beat; Leite , Luciano Bernardes; Duric, Sasa; Cuk, Ivan; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Scheer, Volker; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Weiss, Katja; Rosemann, Thomas; Forte, PedroPacing in ultra-triathlon has been investigated by analyzing lap times from Double to Deca Iron ultra-triathlon for World Cup races but not for a World Championship. The present study aimed to investigate pacing in ultra-triathletes competing in the fastest and largest World Championship in Quintuple Iron ultra-triathlon ever held in history. A total of 11 female and 24 male finishers who completed the 2024 Quintuple Ultra Triathlon World Championship in Colmar, France, were analyzed. Independent t-tests assessed sex-based performance variations with effect sizes (Cohen's d). A two-way ANOVA evaluated the effects of sex and performance quartiles on cycling and running, with eta squared (eta(2)) used to measure effect sizes. Overall, men were slower in swimming and cycling and faster in running and overall race time. The variability in lap times was similar in cycling for both women and men but higher in running for women. There was a significant interaction between sex and performance quartiles in cycling but not running. For cycling, the variability in performance was higher in men compared to women; for running, it was similar for both women and men. The finding that women outperformed men in swimming and cycling, likely due to the elite nature of the World Championship, which featured a highly selected and committed female cohort with a high completion rate. While both sexes showed consistent pacing in cycling, women exhibited greater variability in running, possibly due to more frequent breaks.
- Sex differences in swimming disciplines—can women outperform men in swimming?Publication . Knechtle, Beat; Dalamitros, Athanasios A.; Barbosa, Tiago M.; Sousa, Caio Victor; Rosemann, Thomas; Nikolaidis, Pantelis TheoIn recent years, the interest of female dominance in long-distance swimming has grown where several newspaper articles have been published speculating about female performance and dominance—especially in open-water ultra-distance swimming. The aim of this narrative review is to review the scientific literature regarding the difference between the sexes for all swimming strokes (i.e., butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley), di erent distances (i.e., from sprint to ultra-distances), extreme conditions (i.e., cold water), different ages and swimming integrated in multi-sports disciplines, such as triathlon, in various age groups and over calendar years. The influence of various physiological, psychological, anthropometrical and biomechanical aspects to potentially explain the female dominance was also discussed. The data bases Scopus and PUBMED were searched by April 2020 for the terms ’sex–difference–swimming’. Long-distance open-water swimmers and pool swimmers of different ages and performance levels were mainly investigated. In open-water long-distance swimming events of the ’Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming’ with the ’Catalina Channel Swim’, the ’English Channel Swim’ and the ’Manhattan Island Marathon Swim’, women were about 0.06 km/h faster than men. In master swimmers (i.e., age groups 25–29 to 90–94 years) competing in the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Championships in pool swimming in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and in 3000-m open-water swimming, women master swimmers appeared able to achieve similar performances as men in the oldest age groups (i.e., older than 75–80 years). In boys and girls aged 5–18 years—and listed in the all-time top 100 U.S. freestyle swimming performances from 50 m to 1500 m—the five fastest girls were faster than the five fastest boys until the age of ~10 years. After the age of 10 years, and until the age of 17 years, however, boys were increasingly faster than girls. Therefore, women tended to decrease the existing sex differences in specific age groups (i.e., younger than 10 years and older than 75–80 years) and swimming strokes in pool-swimming or even to overperform men in long-distance open-water swimming (distance of ~30 km), especially under extreme weather conditions (water colder than ~20º C). Two main variables may explain why women can swim faster than men in open-water swimming events: (i) the long distance of around 30 km, (ii) and water colder than ~20 C. Future studies may investigate more detailed (e.g., anthropometry) the very young (<10 years) and very old (>75–80 years) age groups in swimming.
- Sex-based performance analysis in Olympic triathlon: swimming, cycling, and running at Paris 2024Publication . Leite, Luciano Bernardes; Coelho, Bruno de Cássio; Forte, Pedro; Nikolaidis, Pantelis Theo; Duric, Sasa; Andrade, Marilia Santos; Cuk, Ivan; Weiss, Katja; Rosemann, Thomas; Knechtle, BeatThis study aimed to analyze sex differences in performance across the disciplines of the Olympic triathlon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Performance times in swimming, cycling, running and transitions (T1 and T2) were compared between male (n = 50) and female (n = 51) athletes. Data were extracted from the official Olympic website and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test with effect size (Cohen's d). Quantile regression was applied to examine the relationship between total race time and performance in each discipline of the Olympic triathlon. Male athletes outperformed females across all segments, including swimming, cycling, running, and transitions (p < 0.001). Cycling accounted for the largest proportion of total race time in both sexes (49.4% for females, 48.2% for males), while the contribution of running was slightly higher in males (29.8%) than in females (29.5%). Quantile regression revealed that cycling was the most influential predictor of total time among males, whereas running had greater impact among females, particularly in slower athletes (q = 0.75). Swimming was a consistent but less prominent predictor in both sexes, especially among faster athletes (q = 0.25). Transitions had limited influence in males but showed significant associations with performance among females at specific quantiles, notably in T2. These findings underscore the need for sex-specific training strategies, emphasizing running development in female triathletes and cycling optimization in males, while also considering the role of transitions, especially in draft-legal events.