Boys Run Faster Than Girls In Preliminary And Championship Track Races

The differences between males and females in competitive running are well documented following the onset of puberty. However, sex-based differences in competitive running before puberty are less well known. Previous evaluations of competitive running performance in prepubertal children have focused on highly ranked or fastest finishers without evaluating all athletes. PURPOSE. The purpose of this project was to evaluate all competitors in the 8-and-under and 9-10-year-old age groups in USA Track & Field Regional Junior Olympic Championships to determine if sex-based differences in running performance are present when all competitors are evaluated rather than just the finalists. METHODS. The finishing times for the USA Track & Field Regional Junior Olympic Championships for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024 (45 total track meets) were analyzed for sex-based differences in the 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, and 1500 m races in the 8-and-under and 9-10-year-old age groups for all times, only preliminary times, and only the 8 fastest (e.g. finalist) times. RESULTS. In the 8-and-under age group the males were, on average, faster (P = 0.000, Hedges’ g = 0.477-0.592) than females by 4.9% in the 100 m, 5.8% in the 200 m, 5.1% in the 400 m, 6.1% in the 800 m, and 4.9% in the 1500 m. In the 9-10-year-old age group the males were, on average faster (P = 0.000, Hedges’ g = 0.329-0.826) than females by 5.1% in the 100 m, 4.3% in the 200 m, 4.3% in the 400 m, 4.1% in the 800 m, and 6.8% in the 1500 m. In each distance and age group the individual fastest male was faster than the individual fastest female by 0.3%-17.6%. The sex-based differences in running performance were present when the data were evaluated for all runners, and when the data for preliminary heats and finalists were separately analyzed. CONCLUSION. The present data indicate that, in regional competition, males in the 8-and-under and 9-10-year-old age groups typically run faster than females of the same age by 4.1%-6.8% for running distances of 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, and 1500 m when the data were evaluated for all runners, preliminary heats, and for finalists. The current findings agree with previous research that the fastest age 10-and-under males run faster than the fastest females. Furthermore, even when the slower race times are compared the age 10-and-under males run faster than the females.