AUTHOR=Knechtle Beat , Cuk Ivan , Andrade Marilia Santos , Nikolaidis Pantelis T. , Weiss Katja , Forte Pedro , Thuany Mabliny 

TITLE=Case Report: Differences in self-selected pacing in 20, 40, and 60 ironman-distance triathlons: a case study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2024.1155844

DOI=10.3389/fspor.2024.1155844

ISSN=2624-9367

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Triathletes are pushing their limits in multi-stage Ironman-distance triathlons. In the present case study, we investigated the pacing during 20, 40, and 60 Ironman-distance triathlons in 20, 40, and 60 days, respectively, of one professional IRONMAN® triathlete.</p></sec><sec><title>Case study</title><p>Event 1 (20 Ironman-distance triathlons in 20 days), Event 2 (40 Ironman-distance triathlons in 40 days), and Event 3 (60 Ironman-distance triathlons in 60 days) were analyzed by discipline (swimming, cycling, running, and overall event time), by Deca intervals (10 days of consecutive Ironman-distance triathlons) and additional data (sleep duration, body mass, heart rate in cycling and running). To test differences between Events and Deca intervals within the same discipline, <italic>T</italic>-tests (2 groups) or one-way ANOVAs (3 or more groups) were used.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Swimming splits were fastest in Event 1, (<italic>ii</italic>) cycling and running splits were fastest in both Event 2 and 3, (<italic>iii</italic>) overall speed was fastest in Event 3, (<italic>iv</italic>) sleep duration increased during Event 2 but decreased in Event 3, (<italic>v</italic>) body mass decreased in Event 2, but increased in Event 3 and (<italic>vi</italic>) heart rate during cycling was similar in both Event 2 and 3. In contrast, heart rate during running was greater in Event 3.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>In a professional IRONMAN® triathlete finishing 20, 40, and 60 Ironman-distance triathlons in 20, 40, and 60 days, respectively, split performances and both anthropometrical and physiological changes such as body mass and heart rate differed depending upon the duration of the events.</p></sec>