Longitudinal analyses of Olympic athletics and swimming events find no gender gap in performance improvement
-
Stephanie Ann Kovalchik
and
Ray Stefani
Abstract
Gender gaps in absolute performance at the Olympics are well-established, while gender differences in relative performance have not been considered. We analyzed time trends in male and female performance improvement for medal results in all individual athletics and swimming events in Olympic years with male and female competition. Performance improvement was defined as the percentage change in performance over the gold-medal result of the previous Olympic year. In mixed effects models that accounted for the effects of the order of finish, event, and year, we found a non-significant average difference in performance improvement of <0.5% for events in running, jumping, throwing, and swimming. Since the mid-twentieth century, the record at the Summer Games shows that gains in the performance of female Olympic medalists have kept pace with men.
References
Bates, D., M. Maechler, and B. Bolker. 2011. lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes, available at: http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lme4, R package Version 0.999375-42.Search in Google Scholar
Boileau, R. A. and C. A. Horswill. 2000. “Exercise and Sport Science.” in Body composition in sports: Measurement and applications for weight loss and gain, 319–338. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Search in Google Scholar
Callaway, E. 2012. “Why great olympic feats raise suspicions.” Nature, August 1 (http://www.nature.com/news/why-great-olympic-feats-raise-suspicions-1.11109).10.1038/nature.2012.11109Search in Google Scholar
Chatterjee, S. and M. Laudato. 1997. “Gender and Performance of World-Class Athletes.” Journal of Applied Statistics 24: 3–10.10.1080/02664769723846Search in Google Scholar
Coast, J. R., J. S. Blevins, and B. A. Wilson. 2004. “Do gender Differences in Running Performance Disappear with Distance?” Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology 29: 139–45.10.1139/h04-010Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Ferez, S. 2012. “From Women’s Exclusion to Gender Institution: A Brief History of the Sexual Categorisation Process within Sport.” International Journal of the History of Sport 29: 272–85.10.1080/09523367.2012.641221Search in Google Scholar
Heazlewood, I. and G. Lackey. 1996. The Use of Mathematical Models to Predict Elite Athletic Performance at the Olympic Games. 3rd Conference on Mathematics and Computers in Sport, 30 September-2 October 1996. Bond University, Queensland, Conference Proceedings, pp. 185–206.Search in Google Scholar
International Olympic Committee. 2012. Factsheet: Women in Olympic Movement. Lausanne, Switzerland: Olympic Studies Centre.Search in Google Scholar
Iwaoka, K., H. Hatta, Y. Atomi, and M. Miyashita. 1988. “Lactate, Respiratory Compensation Thresholds, and Distance Running Performance in Runners of Both Sexes.” International Journal of Sports Medicine 9: 306–309.10.1055/s-2007-1025028Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Kovalchik, S. 2012. “Men’s Records and Women’s: Are The Women Better Already?: Moving Towards a Gender-Neutral Olympics.” Significance 9: 18–23.10.1111/j.1740-9713.2012.00554.xSearch in Google Scholar
Maud, P. and B. Shultz. 1986. “Gender Comparisons in Anaerobic Power and Anaerobic Capacity Tests.” British Journal of Sports Medicine 20: 51–54.10.1136/bjsm.20.2.51Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Murphy, M., J. Patton, and F. Frederick. 1986. “Comparative Anaerobic Power of Men and Women.” Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine 57: 636.Search in Google Scholar
Norton, K. and T. Olds. 2001. “Morphological Evolution of Athletes Over the 20th Century: Causes and Consequences.” Sports Medicine 31: 763–83.10.2165/00007256-200131110-00001Search in Google Scholar PubMed
R Core Team. 2012. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, http://www.R-project.org/, ISBN 3-900051-07-0.Search in Google Scholar
Radicchi, F. 2012. “Universality, Limits and Predictability of Gold-Medal Performances at the Olympic Games.” Plos One 7.Search in Google Scholar
Schumacher, Y. O., P. Mueller, and J. Keul. 2001. “Development of Peak Performance in Track Cycling.” Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 41: 139–46.Search in Google Scholar
Sigelman, L. and P. Wahlbeck. 1999. “Gender Proportionality in Intercollegiate Athletics: The Mathematics of Title IX Compliance.” Social Science Quarterly 80: 518–538.Search in Google Scholar
Stefani, R. 2006. “The Relative Power Output and Relative Lean Body Mass of World and Olympic Male and Female Champions with Implications for Gender Equity.” Journal of Sports Sciences 24: 1329–1339.10.1080/02640410500520559Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Storey, A. and H. Smith. 2012. “Unique Aspects of Competitive Weightlifting: Performance, Training and Physiology.” Sports Medicine 42: 769–790.10.1007/BF03262294Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Sutherland, M. 1999. Gender Issues in International Education: Beyond Policy and Practice. Routledge, chapter Evaluating national policies on gender issues, 3–23.Search in Google Scholar
Tatem, A., C. Guerra, P. Atkinson, and S. Hay. 2004. “Momentous Sprint at the 2156 Olympics?: Women Sprinters are Closing the Gap on Men and may One Day Overtake Them.” Nature 431: 525.10.1038/431525aSearch in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Thibault, V., M. Guillaume, G. Berthelot, N. El Helou, K. Schaal, L. Quinquis, H. Nassif, M. Tafflet, S. Escolano, O. Hermine, and J.-F. Toussaint. 2010. “Women and Men in Sport Performance: The Gender Gap has not Evolved Since 1983.” Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 9: 214–223.Search in Google Scholar
Wainer, H., C. Njue, and S. Palmer. 2000. “Assessing Time Trends in Sex Differences in Swimming & Running.” Chance 13: 10–15.10.1080/09332480.2000.10542184Search in Google Scholar
Washburn, R. A. and D. R. Seals. 1984. “Peak Oxygen Uptake During Arm Cranking for Men and Women.” Journal of Applied Physiology 56: 954–957.10.1152/jappl.1984.56.4.954Search in Google Scholar PubMed
Weber, C. L., M. Chia, and O. Inbar. 2006. “Gender Differences in Anaerobic Power of the Arms and Legs–A Scaling Issue.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 38: 129–137.10.1249/01.mss.0000179902.31527.2cSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
Wilson, W. 1996. “The IOC and the Status of Women in the Olympic movement: 1972 – 1996.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport 67: 183.10.1080/02701367.1996.10607942Search in Google Scholar PubMed
©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Is high-altitude mountaineering Russian roulette?
- Longitudinal analyses of Olympic athletics and swimming events find no gender gap in performance improvement
- Game importance as a dimension of uncertainty of outcome
- Determining the level of ability of football teams by dynamic ratings based on the relative discrepancies in scores between adversaries
- Spain retains its title and sets a new record – generalized linear mixed models on European football championships
- Determining the Best Track Performances of All Time Using a Conceptual Population Model for Athletics Records
- The anatomy of the bank shot in men’s basketball
- Importance of attack speed in volleyball
- Estimating player contribution in hockey with regularized logistic regression
- The anatomy of the bank shot in men’s basketball
Articles in the same Issue
- Is high-altitude mountaineering Russian roulette?
- Longitudinal analyses of Olympic athletics and swimming events find no gender gap in performance improvement
- Game importance as a dimension of uncertainty of outcome
- Determining the level of ability of football teams by dynamic ratings based on the relative discrepancies in scores between adversaries
- Spain retains its title and sets a new record – generalized linear mixed models on European football championships
- Determining the Best Track Performances of All Time Using a Conceptual Population Model for Athletics Records
- The anatomy of the bank shot in men’s basketball
- Importance of attack speed in volleyball
- Estimating player contribution in hockey with regularized logistic regression
- The anatomy of the bank shot in men’s basketball
