The Neglected Category of Sub-elite Athletes in Ironman Triathlon: Participation, Performance, and Implications for Fitness Assessment

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to identify sub-elite athletes using a performance-based mathematical model and analyze their performance trends by age and sex using 20 years of Ironman® triathlon (IM) performance data. It includes data from athletes who competed in IM from 2002 to 2022. A sub-elite category of athletes was identified within the age group category as one standard deviation from the elite group of each race. Information about the event, event year, age, sex, swimming time, cycling time, running time, and overall time were analyzed. Regression models and the less significant difference were estimated. Sub-elite athletes represent an average of 6.8% of all athletes in each event, whereas elite athletes represent an average of 2%. Sub-elite athletes are mainly represented by athletes between 30 and 39 years of age, whereas general age groups are mainly represented by athletes between 35 and 44 years old. Performance trends throughout the years showed that sub-elite and elite have been improving their overall performance throughout the years regardless of sex. However, age groups show an overall stable average performance throughout the years. Additionally, the performance across all groups exhibited statistically significant differences (p < 0.005), consistent with the anticipated trend of elite, sub-elite, and age groups. In summary, sub-elite triathletes were younger than the overall age of IM triathletes, and during the last two decades improved their performance. These findings highlighted the distinct profile of sub-elite triathletes that should be considered by coaches for training and testing purposes.