TY - JOUR
T1 - Where are the best european road runners and what are the country variables related to it?
AU - Thuany, Mabliny
AU - Pereira, Sara
AU - Hill, Lee
AU - Santos, Jean Carlos
AU - Rosemann, Thomas
AU - Knechtle, Beat
AU - Gomes, Thayse Natacha
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Li-censee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/7/2
Y1 - 2021/7/2
N2 - Background: The environment can play a relevant role in performance in runners. This study aimed to verify the distribution of the best European road runners across the continent, and to investigate variables related to country representatives in the European Senior outdoor top list 2019. Methods: The sample comprised 563 European runners, aged 18–48 years, ranked in the European Senior outdoor top list 2019 for distances of 10–42 km. Country‐related variables were gross domestic product (GDP), competition place, population size, and sports investment. The countries were categorized as “top ten countries” or “other countries”. Binary logistic regression was used for analysis. Results: The United Kingdom showed the highest prevalence of runners in the ranking (men—17.6%; women—23.0%), followed by Spain (male ranking—12.1%) and Germany (female ranking—8.6%). For men, sports investment (OR = 1.13; CI95% = 1.03–1.28) and country GDP (OR = 0.96; CI95% = 0.93–0.98) showed an association with the chances of the athlete to reach the Top 10 ranking, while among women, the only variable significantly related was the competition venue (OR = 3.97; CI95% = 1.40–11.23). Conclusion: As in other sports considered “non‐expensive”, the economic and demographic characteristics of the place where athletes train can provide advantages in performance.
AB - Background: The environment can play a relevant role in performance in runners. This study aimed to verify the distribution of the best European road runners across the continent, and to investigate variables related to country representatives in the European Senior outdoor top list 2019. Methods: The sample comprised 563 European runners, aged 18–48 years, ranked in the European Senior outdoor top list 2019 for distances of 10–42 km. Country‐related variables were gross domestic product (GDP), competition place, population size, and sports investment. The countries were categorized as “top ten countries” or “other countries”. Binary logistic regression was used for analysis. Results: The United Kingdom showed the highest prevalence of runners in the ranking (men—17.6%; women—23.0%), followed by Spain (male ranking—12.1%) and Germany (female ranking—8.6%). For men, sports investment (OR = 1.13; CI95% = 1.03–1.28) and country GDP (OR = 0.96; CI95% = 0.93–0.98) showed an association with the chances of the athlete to reach the Top 10 ranking, while among women, the only variable significantly related was the competition venue (OR = 3.97; CI95% = 1.40–11.23). Conclusion: As in other sports considered “non‐expensive”, the economic and demographic characteristics of the place where athletes train can provide advantages in performance.
KW - Predictors
KW - Running
KW - Socioeconomic
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85110591284&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/su13147781
DO - 10.3390/su13147781
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85110591284
VL - 13
JO - Sustainability (Switzerland)
JF - Sustainability (Switzerland)
IS - 14
M1 - 7781
ER -