IMPROVED BIOMECHANICS & TRAINING: IS THE GENDER GAP CLOSING?

Abstract

For many years it has been recognized that women were physiologically as capable of running all events from 100 meters to 42 km as their male counterparts. The number of women participating in all sports has steadily increased, as has their rate of improvement. Whip and Ward (1992) projected that eventually women’s times would converge with those of men. Gender differences in physiological variables of runners have been explored in a number of studies. Bam, Noakes, Juritz, & Dennis (1997) suggested that comparable performances could be expected from athletes who possess similar relevant physiological characteristics. Joyner (1993) concluded that improved competitive opportunities and more difficult training programs appear to be the reasons for the high rate of improvement in women runners. The purpose of this study was to examine whether, indeed, race times of men and women are converging as predicted by Whipp and Ward (1992).