Mid Sweden University

INTRODUCTION: Data primarily derived from summer sports show that sex differences in endurance performance are around 10–15% and these differences are explained primarily by differences in body size and composition and higher haemoglobin concentrations in men (Sandbakk et al., 2018). The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive literature review of the documented sex differences in performance and performance-determining factors in the winter Olympic endurance skiing sports of cross-country skiing (XCS), biathlon (BIA) and Nordic combined (NC).

METHODS: Article databases of the US National Library of Medicine (PubMed), ScienceDirect and SPORTDiscus were searched using the search terms (gender OR sex differences AND [cross country skiing OR biathlon OR nordic combined]). Additional relevant literature was obtained from the reference lists of the published papers. An expert panel of seven researchers with published studies involving at least one of the included sports were also invited to suggest additional articles that could be considered for inclusion. Inclusion criteria were: 1) direct sex comparisons in one or more of the included sports and 2) competitive athletes > 15 years old. A total of 45 articles were identified for inclusion.

RESULTS: Elite men ski 9–16% faster than performance-matched women during XCS and BIA competitions. These sex differences are typically larger in uphill terrain and smaller in downhill terrain. No studies have investigated performance differences between women and men in NC, although an analysis of the 2021 World Championships showed that the top 3 women skied ~ 14% slower over 5 km than the men skied over 10 km. These sex differences in skiing performance coincide with differences in body composition (i.e., more muscle mass in men, especially in the upper body) and aerobic capacity (i.e., higher lactate thresholds and VO2max in men), which impact upon sub-technique use and cycle length. Despite the higher relative mass of the rifle for women compared with men in BIA, no sex differences were associated with skiing with versus without the rifle.

DISCUSSION: Sex differences in endurance skiing performance are comparable to those reported for summer endurance sports. However, the varying terrain, use of multiple sub-techniques and significant contributions from the upper and lower body impose unique demands on endurance skiers and influence sex differences. Further, women have historically competed over shorter distances than men in skiing, so true sex differences are likely to be underestimated.

REFERENCES:

Sandbakk et al., 2018. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 13: 2–8