What Motivates Older Athletes To Train And Compete In Triathlon?
Much has been written about performance declines that accompany age. However, little has been published about the importance of older athletes to the sport of triathlon. Similarily, no one has studied the motivation for older athletes, particularly those age 65 and over, to continue in triathlon. Until senior triathlete Sarah Gordon sought the answer.
Older Athletes are Important to Triathlon
I have seen first hand the importance of older athletes to triathlon. In 2016, I competed in the USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships in Omaha, Nebraska. After the two-day competition involving the Sprint and Olympic distance races, I analyzed the ages of participants.
It intrigued me to see that 42 percent of the male and female participants in the Sprint distance were 50 years and older. (I analyzed this age range because it is the target audience for SeniorTriathletes.com.)
For the Olympic-distance triathlon, over one third of the participants were 50 years and over. With competitors’ ages spanning 15 to 84, the percentage over age 50 demonstrated how important older athletes are to triathlon.
What is the Motivation for Older Athletes To Train and Compete in Triathlon?
Then, about nine months ago, I published Sarah Gordon’s story. Sarah was beginning the research project that was part of her doctoral studies in Leadership: Health and Human Performance at Concordia University – Chicago. Since then, Sarah completed her research and successfully defended her dissertation titled “Exploring the Exercise Motivations and Perspectives of Successful Aging with Older Triathletes.”
After completing her Ph.D., Sarah and I sat down to discuss her research, why she chose this subject, and how she collected the research data. During this conversation, Sarah also shared some of the key findings, including at least one surprise from her research.
Listen to our conversation through the link below. Click on the three dots on the right side if you wish to Download the recording for offline listening.
Check back here later for a link to Sarah’s doctoral dissertation on Proquest.
Want to Contact Sarah Gordon?
During our conversation, Sarah provided contact information for anyone wanting to discuss her research and its implications.
- Tel: +1 (703) 283-1818
- Email: slgordon48.sg@gmail.com
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