Does the sex difference in competitiveness decrease in selective sub-populations? A test with intercollegiate distance runners

Abstract

Sex differences in some preferences and motivations are well established, but it is unclear whether they persist in selective sub-populations, such as expert financial decision makers, top scientists, or elite athletes. We addressed this issue by studying competitiveness in 1,147 varsity intercollegiate distance runners. As expected, across all runners, men reported greater competitiveness with two previously validated instruments, greater competitiveness on a new elite competitiveness scale, and greater training volume, a known correlate of competitiveness. Among faster runners, the sex difference decreased for one measure of competitiveness but did not decrease for the two other competitiveness measures or either measure of training volume. Across NCAA athletic divisions (DI, DII, DIII), the sex difference did not decrease for any competitiveness or training measure. Further analyses showed that these sex differences could not be attributed to women suffering more injuries or facing greater childcare responsibilities. However, women did report greater commitment than men to their academic studies, suggesting a sex difference in priorities. Therefore, policies aiming to provide men and women with equal opportunities to flourish should acknowledge that sex differences in some kinds of preferences and motivation may persist even in selective sub-populations.

Pacing during a cross‐country mountain bike mass‐participation event according to race performance, experience, age and sex

“…In-keeping with the pacing of faster participants overall, the lower %CV in participants with between four and nine and over nine previous races was explained by a greater relative speed in climbing sections (apart from section 1) and a lower relative speed in the final descent. These results support various empirical and theoretical works identifying prior experience as an important determinant of optimal pacing (Mauger, Jones & Williams, 2010;Deaner et al, 2015). As such, our results are consistent with others suggesting that pacing is a process that can be improved via repeated exposure to the exercise environment (Maugher et al, 2010;Micklewright et al, 2010).…”

Pacing strategy of the finishers of the world marathon majors series

“…Furthermore, despite only analysing elite-level athletes, Hanley (2016) also found strong evidence that women were better at evenly pacing marathons than men: women ran the second half of the race closer to the pace of the first half. There are several hypothesis (Deaner, Lowen, Rogers, & Saksa, 2015;Hanley, 2016;March, et al, 2011) aiming to explain sex differences in marathon pacing. The first states that the sex difference in marathon pacing is caused by the men's greater sensibility to muscle glycogen depletion (March, et al, 2011;Tarnopolsky, 2008), a major contributor to dramatic decline in marathon pace towards the end of the race (Coyle, 2007).…”

“…Thirdly, an alternative hypothesis proposed by Allen and Dechow (2013), is that the sex difference in marathon pacing is due to sex differences in decisionmaking. Men may select more ambitious starting paces, which increases the risk of slowing down due to the fact that they are more oriented to time goals (Allen & Dechow, 2013) and more prone to take risks (Deaner, Lowen, et al, 2015). Men may more likely adopt a risky pace, relative to their ability, which could increase their probability of slowing down during the second part of the race.…”

Comparison of Training Volumes in Different Elite Sportspersons According to Sex, Age, and Sport Practised

“…Similarly, the values of maximum oxygen consumption in children and adolescents diff er between the sexes (Armstrong, Tomkinson & Ekelund, 2011). While in elite endurance sports (e.g., triathlon) there are no diff erences in training volume between men and women (Knechtle et al, 2015), younger and lower-level sportswomen (intercollegiate distance runners) train fewer miles per week and have fewer weekly sessions than their male counterparts do (Deaner, Lowen, Rogers, & Saksa, 2015).…”