Ultra-triathlon-Pacing, performance trends, the role of nationality, and sex differences in finishers and non-finishers Ultra-triathlons are defined as triathlons that are longer than the traditional Ironman distance and became increasingly popular in the last two decades.However, there are only a few scientific evidence for these events. Therefore, the trends in terms of performance, tempo, nationality, gender differences and rate of non-finishers were examined in ultra-triathlons. Data from 1985 to 2018 were collected, including Double Iron, Triple Iron, Quintuple Iron and Deca Iron Ultra Triathlons.A different pacing after route and gender were observed. The athletes spent less time with swimming and cycling and more time running with increasing length of distance. Women spent more time with cycling and less time running in Double Iron and Triple Iron. The performance analysis since 1985 showed a negative trend for men and women over time. Switzerland, France and Germany were the fastest nations in these ultra-triathlons.The frequency of participation of North Americans in Europe was very low (<5%), while Europeans often approached North America (\ ~ 25%). The rate of non-finishers between the sexes was similar in all races, with the exception of the Deca Iron Ultra Triathlon, which was much higher in women (\ ~ 20%).Non-finishers had slower times when swimming and cycling as a finisher. In summary, ultra-triathlets should distribute their energy depending on the gender and length of the race on swimming, cycling and running.
The performance of ultra-triathlons has decreased in men and women over the years, but the sexual performance differences remained. Europeans were the fastest ultra-triathlets and arrive in Europe and North America. Besides, non-finishers were slower swimmers and cyclists as finisher. The whole article can be found under https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31715049/