Life on the West Island - Catching up

While it has long been believed that men will always beat women in sports involving strength and stamina, two recent West Island reports indicate that especially in extreme endurance sports, women are rapidly closing the gap.

In her 40s, Liz Wardley decided that there were challenges that she wanted to tackle. She left her marriage and job and decided to enter a solo rowing saga. ABC Wide Bay’s Nikki Sorbello takes up the story:

Ms Wardley, from Elliott Heads about 370km north of Brisbane, traded her beloved ocean racer for a seven-metre rowboat, fondly named Tic Tac because it looked like a half-eaten sweet. Then she set off to tackle one of the world's hardest rowing events, aptly named the World's Toughest Row, a 4,800-kilometre race from Spain across the Atlantic Ocean to Antigua. Ms Wardley had always loved sailing, but the chance of a new adventure attracted her to solo rowing.

"There's a fair few transferable skills, but definitely bobbing around in a small rowboat is very new to me," Ms Wardley said. "I wanted a little project where I could do everything myself, all the planning and management, and not have to answer to anybody.”

But the long months of training did not prepare her for the first crazy week. "We had five-metre waves and 25 to 30 knots of wind," she said. "And I was in this seven-metre rowboat, wondering how I was going to get through the day." A low-pressure system hit on Christmas day, less than a fortnight after she had left Spain. "Probably one of the worst Christmases I've had," she said. "Because we had upwind conditions, meaning the wind was coming from the completely wrong direction and it was against us."

But as conditions improved, so did her experience. "Hour by hour, day by day I got more confidence and started going faster and faster," she said. "Sometimes you would sit out there at night rowing, just in awe of where you were. Big starry nights, and big seas, and you're just a tiny boat." Ms Wardley finished the race on Australia Day 2024, placing third overall, breaking the female solo race record by more than 15 days.

Since then, Ms Wardley has rowed across the Pacific Ocean; from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea; and then home to Elliott Heads, setting records along the way and beating the best men’s times.

Then this week, two academic sports scientists from Edith Cowan University (Caitlin Fox-Harding and Krissy Kendall) claimed that men are dominant at most athletic events but ultra-endurance sports (exercising for six hours or more) represent a unique domain where the performance gap between men and women is narrowing significantly. In traditional endurance events like marathons, men consistently outperform women by about 10%. However, in ultra-distance competitions this disparity can be as small as 4%.

The researchers went on to examine why women are more competitive in ultra-distance events and published their findings. These included:

Fatigue resistance: an advantage for women

Women’s muscle composition is optimised for endurance. They have a higher proportion of slow-twitch muscle fibres, which are more efficient and resistant to fatigue during prolonged activity compared to fast-twitch fibres. This gives women an edge in maintaining muscle function during prolonged activities, reducing the risk of muscle failure as events progress.

Women can also experience less neuromuscular fatigue and accumulate fewer anaerobic by-products (lactate and hydrogen ions) during sustained effort. Even women’s respiratory muscles like the diaphragm experience less fatigue than men. Men still have an edge in shorter, more intense events due to their greater muscle mass and higher aerobic capacity – factors that contribute to better performances in marathons and shorter distances. Nevertheless, the metabolic advantages women display in ultra-endurance sports are narrowing this gap as events lengthen.

A metabolic edge

Ultra-endurance events rely heavily on oxidative metabolism, which uses both carbohydrates and fats as fuel. Women are more efficient in this regard, exhibiting up to 56% higher fat oxidation rates than men.

Estrogen, a predominant hormone in women, enhances fat metabolism and promotes glycogen conservation, which refers to the body’s ability to save or preserve glycogen (a stored form of sugar in muscles and the liver) for use during physical activity. This is important because glycogen is the body’s preferred fuel source for exercise. While men generally benefit from higher levels of testosterone, which enhances muscle mass and strength, these attributes are less crucial in ultra-endurance events compared to anaerobic or power-based sports.

Body composition and performance

Women’s higher fat mass, often viewed as a disadvantage in traditional endurance sports, may offer benefits in certain ultra-endurance events like swimming. This is because more body fat can enhance thermoregulation by conserving heat in cold water, enabling women to maintain performance during prolonged exposure to challenging conditions.

Psychological resilience

Ultra-endurance events test not only physical stamina but also mental toughness. In this area, women often shine. Research in sports psychology highlights women’s superior ability to modulate pain sensitivity, maintain focus, and stay motivated during lengthy and gruelling competitions. Although men still hold records in many ultra-endurance events, women’s psychological strength may be helping to close the gap.

Smarter pacing and decision-making

Pacing is crucial in ultra-endurance sports. Studies show women adopt more conservative and consistent pacing strategies compared to men, who are more likely to start strong but risk burnout as the race progresses. This difference may be partly physiological but also psychological.

Testosterone, linked to risk-taking behaviour, may influence men to adopt overly aggressive strategies. In contrast, women’s more cautious and consistent pacing minimises energy wastage and optimises long-term performance. In ultra-endurance events, where pacing strategy often influences outcomes, women continue to close the gap as they refine their approaches and gain more competitive opportunities.

The road ahead

While men remain the top performers in ultra-endurance events, the gap between genders is much smaller compared to marathons and shorter racing distances. Ultra-endurance sports are unique in their ability to challenge traditional notions of gendered athletic performance. While men still hold the edge, women’s rapid progress suggests a future where they may outperform men in extreme endurance events. For now, they are proving that the longer the race, the closer the competition.