Performance analysis of individual disciplines in relation to overall race time in elite olympic-distance triathlon

Background and purpose Triathlon is an endurance sport in which achieving optimal performance is the primary objective. In elite Olympic-distance triathlon, small performance differences may substantially influence overall race time. This study examined the relationships between performance in individual triathlon disciplines and overall performance in Olympic-distance triathlon, with the aim of identifying the discipline showing the strongest association with overall race time. Material and methods Olympic-distance triathlons organised by the International Triathlon Union between 2018 and 2022 were retrospectively analysed. Performances of the top 30 competitors from each competition were initially collected from 16 events; however, three competitions were excluded due to incomplete split-time measurements. The final analysis therefore included 13 events. Correlation analysis was used to assess associations between total race time and performance in individual disciplines. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM® SPSS® Statistics 20. Three competitions were excluded due to incomplete performance records caused by measurement errors. Results The running segment showed the strongest association with competition rankings (r = 0.87, p < 0.01). Swimming (r = 0.19, p < 0.01) and cycling (r = 0.25, p < 0.01) demonstrated weak associations with overall performance. Conclusions Running performance shows the strongest association with overall race time in elite Olympic-distance triathlon, while swimming and cycling demonstrated weaker direct statistical associations with overall race time.