Seiler, K. S., Spirduso, W. W., & Martin, J. S. (1998). Gender differences in rowing performance and power with aging. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 30, 121-127.

Competitive indoor rowing performances of males (N = 2487) and females (N = 1615) across a wide extent of ages were analyzed for impact of age upon performance.

Age was only modestly correlated with performance (Males r = .58; Females r = .46). When the 5% of performers was analyzed, age was a very good predictor for both sexes. In top men, the performance decline was curvilinear but in top women, it was linear. A different analysis suggested that performance decline was due more to technique (physics) than physiology.

Implication. For rowing, technique is of greater importance than physical training for determining performance for both sexes across all age groups.

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