Relative Performance Index in Triathlon

The aim of this study is to establish a relative performance measure that can be used to compare the performance of athletes, contemporaries and/or over time, as well as rank current athletes. Twenty-four (n=24) athletes were selected for analysis. The selection criterion was to have figured at least five times in the top 10 in the IRONMAN© World Championship in Hawaii. The proposed model proposal was able to measure the relative performance of athletes, based on the comparison of their performance with the average performance of their competitors, adjusted by the standard deviation of the average performance of the competitors. The overall performance ranking of the 24 selected athletes was calculated, as well as the ranking by modality (swimming, cycling, and running) for each of the competitors. A relative performance measure, based on effect size, and considering the performance of each athlete in relation to the average performance of the other competitors, can be an additional instrument to evaluate the relative performance of the athletes, as well as to assist coaches and athletes in search of better performance. List of Abbreviations: ARPI: Adjusted Relative Performance Index; ADRPIF: Adjusted Relative Performance Index Family; ARPIg: Adjusted Relative Performance Index–Global; ARPIs: Adjusted Relative Performance Index–Swimming; ARPIn: Adjusted Relative Performance Index n; ARPIcic: Adjusted Relative Performance Index–Cycling; ARPIrun: Adjusted Relative Performance Index–Running; ARPIcor: Adjusted Relative Performance Index–Run Stage; Rcor: Run Correlation; CBScic: Correlations Between Swimming and Cycling; CBCrun: Correlations Between Cycling and Running Annals of Biostatistics & Biometric Applications Volume 4-Issue 1 Citation: Domingos R Pandeló, Kelly Rose Thomas, Emilson Colantonio, Christopher Myers. Relative Performance Index in Triathlon. Annal Biostat & Biomed Appli. 4(1): 2020. ABBA.MS.ID.000582. DOI: 10.33552/ABBA.2020. 04.000582. Page 2 of 14 are no records of studies in the literature with proposals for similar models of relative performance analysis in sport. Thus, some important issues can be considered in the search for measures or models that allow the comparison of athletes’ performance over time and can make the necessary adjustments so that such comparisons may be possible. To elucidate these problems, this paper proposes a model to assess relative performance, able to make the basic settings required for the comparison of athletes at different times in different trials, using this methodology. For this purpose, the IRONMAN© triathlon world championship will be used,although this model can be applied to other sports that have their results measured by time,such as running (cycling, swimming, etc.). A first effort to find a measure of relative performance in triathlon was made by Pandeló Jr & Azevedo in which the authors established a relative performance model in triathlon events, but only based on the time difference between athletes. This study incorporates a measure of performance analysis in terms of effect size, presenting an alternative methodology, and further advancing the concept of relative performance.