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Comment by fergie | Hacker News Reader

There has been a theory going around for a while, supported by a growing body of evidence, that women might actually be better at some endurance events than men.

https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=wom...

EDIT: POTENTIALLY better obviously, not ACTUALLY better, since currently these events are generally won by men.

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What can a "growing body of evidence" be, when performance at these events is precisely timed? Either women win or men win.

Race performance measures talent + training. Inasmuch as optimal training for women is less understood than for men, they may have room to improve that doesn't show up in race times. Talent at race time is also socially dependent, because it depends on recruiting, and female athletes may be less likely to be discovered.

These factors came together in the 1970s to produce a rapid improvement in women's marathon times, while no corresponding drop happened for men's times. While they never caught up to men's, the women's record in 1985 was better than the men's record in 1950.

I see, so it's less about a growing body of evidence and more about women training better and improving their times. I'm very interested to see whether they will get as good as/better than men in some sports.

Marathon/Ultra swimming is one where women do much better. Multiple theories as to why; higher body fat and low bone density makes it easier to float, bigger hips means more buoyancy towards the back of the body when swimming, and/or higher pain tolerance. Men can't get anywhere close to the records that women ultra swimmers set.

> higher pain tolerance

myth

Confirming: there was an ultra marathon swimmer on Rogan a few months ago who does various swims between the Hawaiian islands - he said the exact same thing.

That's where I got this information! Great episode.

> higher pain tolerance

Are there any scientific studies confirming this?

I am not sure, which is why I listed this as a theory.

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