Concordance Analysis between the Segments and the Overall Performance in Olympic Triathlon in Elite Triathletes

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Due to the complexity of the triathlon, it is difficult to analyse overall performance. To date, the analysis of performance in triathlon has been widely studied through time or position in the three segments and in the overall result, which is what defines the medals and the goal of the competition, but it can have some limitations. As an alternative, the purpose of this study is to analyse the concordance between each of the triathlon segments (swimming, cycling, and running) and the overall performance in the Olympic triathlon in elite triathletes. The main results of the present study show that performance in the cycling segment presents the best concordance with overall performance. In conclusion, the cycling performance indicator could be an alternative to anticipate the overall performance in the competition. For this reason, the cycling segment would not be a smooth transition toward running in the Olympic distance event. ABSTRACT: To date, the performance in triathlon has been measured through time or position. Although this is what defines the medals and the goal of the competition, it can have some limitations. As an alternative, the purpose of this study is to assess the degree of concordance of performance between each of the triathlon disciplines with overall performance through the triathlon performance indicator for the Olympic distance event. The official results from the World Triathlon Series for Olympic distance events from 2000 to 2019 were examined. A total of 11,263 entries were analysed, 6273 corresponding to elite men and 4990 to elite women. Moderate agreement was found between the running performance and overall performance in both elite men ICCa = 0.538 and elite women ICCa = 0.581. Moreover, moderate agreement was found between swimming performance and overall performance in both elite men ICCa = 0.640 and elite women ICCa = 0.613. Finally, good agreement was found between cycling performance and overall performance also in both elite men ICCa = 0.777 and elite women ICCa = 0.816. The main results of the present study show that the cycling performance indicator could be an alternative to anticipate the overall performance in the competition for the Olympic distance event.