International Road Race of São Silvestre: why don't brazilians win anymore and what do we need to do?

Abstract

Aim: To compare the Brazilian and foreign runners in the International Road Race of São Silvestre. Methods: Retrospective study that evaluated the results of 220 athletes of both genders that reached the top 10. The time of each race was converted in seconds to compare the performance. Results: After 11 editions of the International Road Race of São Silvestre only one Brazilian athlete won without any female victory. In the male 10 foreign athletes won (Kenya 5 x 5 Ethiopia) and all the females proved were won by foreign athletes (Kenya 9 x 2 Ethiopia). There was a difference when comparing the performance of foreign elite runners in the male (p<0.004) and female (p<0.001). Conclusion: Despite the large number of existing runners, the Brazilian elite does not develop the same level of performance to beat African athletes. To change this condition, it is necessary to change the strategy for preparing Brazilian athletes from the base of training athletes.