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Gaps in performance based on gender -

Gaps in the average performance between elite female and male athletes generally plateau at around 8–12%. This percentage difference in world-record results is in favor of male athletes.

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Equal performance or outperformance -

However, there are a number of sports where women perform equally or outperform men. These include ultra-distance events and sports shooting.

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Penny Lee Dean's record-breaking swim -

Penny Lee Dean's rigorous training for her 1978 English Channel swim highlighted women's ability to endure extreme cold.

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Penny Lee Dean's record-breaking swim -

Dean believes women have a higher tolerance for discomfort, which is something that gives them an advantage in a sport like marathon swimming.

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Discomfort tolerance -

Mental adaptation and discomfort tolerance are crucial to overall performance in open-water swimming. Are these the only reasons why women seem to do better? 

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Diana Nyad's record swim -

Diana Nyad's record swim from Cuba to Florida in 2013 also highlighted women's capabilities in ultradistance events. In 1975, she had already broken the 45-year-old record for circling Manhattan Island, New York, in under eight hours.

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Diana Nyad's record swim -

She also set a distance record for both men and women for non-stop swimming without a wetsuit. In 1979, she swam 102 miles (164 kilometers) over two days when she swam from Bimini in the Bahamas to Florida.

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Body fat percentage -

Women generally have a slightly higher body fat percentage than men. This could be part of what gives them the edge in cold water swimming and endurance sports, as it provides fuel.

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Lower muscle mass -

Some studies have shown women might recover faster after exercise. One factor which might be responsible for this is having lower muscle mass.

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Faster recovery -

Women also generally have greater bodily flexibility, which might be a factor in reducing stiffness to aid with faster recovery. 

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Proper clothing -

Interestingly, when tested it was found that proper clothing in other cold-weather sports reduces women's edge compared to men in swimming.

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Long distance running -

In long-distance running, the longer the distance, the smaller the gap that exists between male and female athletes. Beyond 195 miles (314 kilometers), women are 0.6% faster.

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Pacing skills -

Women's superior pacing skills can be advantageous in long-distance events like marathons. Extra body fat is also helpful for long-distance running endurance, when the body needs fuel.

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Social conditioning differences -

Social conditioning and psychology also influence competitiveness, not just physiology. Before hitting puberty, the differences in athletic performance between boys and girls are minimal.

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A hard comparison to make -

According to Øyvind Sandbakk, a professor of sports science at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the director of the Norwegian School of Elite Sports (NTG), unequal access to sports opportunities cannot be forgotten in any conversation comparing performance between the sexes.

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A hard comparison to make -

"If you want to narrow the gap further between men and women, I think more research on women in general…would be very beneficial," Professor Sandbakk adds.

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A hard comparison to make -

Some sports have also been characterized as "feminine" and therefore don't attract the same number of male competitors, making it difficult to make an accurate comparison.

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The testosterone effect -

Testosterone is often linked to muscle size, strength, and competitiveness, and is often perceived as what gives men an edge. 

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The testosterone effect -

However, some elite male athletes have low testosterone levels, challenging the assumptions that are commonly held about its role in performance. 

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The testosterone effect -

Interestingly, women with hyperandrogenism (an excessive amount of male sex hormones) don't perform at the same level as men despite high testosterone. What's more, research on testosterone's effects on women and estrogen's effects on men is limited. 

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Performance differences -

Hormone ranges vary greatly between athletes of both sexes, and these mask the performance differences linked to testosterone. Until there's more research, it's difficult to pinpoint its impact.

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No clear linear link -

For now, we can say there is no clear linear link between gender testosterone levels and performance. This is even though men's testosterone is linked to increased hemoglobin concentration in the blood, which implies better oxygen uptake.

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Kim Yeji -

Kim Yeji, a top sport shooter from South Korea, emphasizes the importance of mental strength in her sport. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, she competed in both the men's and mixed shooting events.

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More mental than physical? -

"I believe that shooting is more mental than physical. I think it's more about the mind and the spirit," Kim Yeji says. The ability to stay calm under pressure seems to play a key role, as acknowledged by the athlete.

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The most balanced events -

According to Cassio Rippel, the ISSF Athletes Committee Chair, the rifle events are the most sex-balanced of the three types of shooting events in the Olympics.

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Lower body mass -

Women's lower body mass and center of gravity provide better equilibrium control in rifle events. In a study of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, it was found men did better against a moving target, but performance was more or less equal against stationary targets.

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Gender inclusion at the Paris 2024 Olympics -

The Paris 2024 Olympics featured equal numbers of male and female athletes for the first time, highlighting progress in gender inclusion.

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Competition design -

More generally, the design of competitions is another factor to be considered when comparing male/female performance. It affects both sexes, often favoring men. 

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Different equipment needs? -

More research on female athletes is necessary to better understand training, physiology, and equipment needs specific to women.

Sources: (BBC Future)

See also: How do Olympic athletes actually make money

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