The Role of Nationality on the Pacing of Ironman Triathletes

The aim of the present study was to examine the role of nationality on the pacing of Ironman triathlon (3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling, and 42.195 km running). Data from 302,535 athletes (women, n = 61,087; men, n = 241,448) competing between 2002 and 2015 in 253 different Ironman triathlon races were analyzed. We examined split times (i.e. swimming, cycling, and running) and transition time, expressed as percentage of the overall race time. Participants were classified into performance groups according to their overall race time: 9 - 10 hours, 10 - 11 hours, 11 - 12 hours, 12 - 13 hours, 13 - 14 hours, 14 - 15 hours, 15 - 16 hours, > 16 hours. Compared to men, women spent relatively less time in swimming (P