Table 2. Physiological and performance characteristics of athletes.

Variables	Male athletes (n = 20)	Female athletes (n = 19)	ES
$\dot{\mathrm{V}}{\mathrm{O}}_{2\mathrm{p}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{k}}$ (ml/kg/min)	57.0 ± 6.6** (53.9–60.0)	47.5 ± 5.9 (44.7–50.4)	1.51
$\dot{\mathrm{V}}{\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{p}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{k}}$ (l/min)	143 ± 29** (129–156)	101 ± 26 (88–113)	1.53
RERpeak	1.12 ± 0.03 (1.11–1.14)	1.10 ± 0.05 (1.08–1.12)	0.47
Maximal heart rate (beats/min)	183 ± 10 (178–188)	178 ± 13 (171–184)	0.44
Peak O2 pulse (ml/beat/kg)	31.8 ± 3.6** (30.1–33.5)	26.7 ± 3.3 (25.0–28.4)	1.48
MPO (W/kg)	4.7 ± 0.5** (4.4–4.9)	4.0 ± 0.5 (3.8–4.3)	1.32
Time to exhaustion (seconds)	727 ± 108 (676–777)	721 ± 167 (641–802)	0.04
Leg extension power (W/kg)	25.7 ± 4.9** (23.3–28.1)	15.7 ± 5.4 (13.1–18.3)	1.94
Knee extension torque (Nm/kg)	3.8 ± 0.7** (3.5–4.2)	3.0 ± 0.6 (2.7–3.3)	1.17
Knee flexion torque (Nm/kg)	1.6 ± 0.3* (1.4–1.7)	1.3 ± 0.2 (1.2–1.4)	1.03

HR data from one male and two female athletes were excluded due to a mechanical error. One male athlete did not perform knee strength and leg extension power tests due to a light hip injury.

** Significantly different from female athletes (p < 0.001).

* Significantly different from female athletes (p = 0.003). Numbers in the parentheses indicate 95% confidence interval of each variable. ES = effect size, $\dot{\mathrm{V}}{\mathrm{O}}_{2\mathrm{p}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{k}}$ = peak oxygen uptake, $\dot{\mathrm{V}}{\mathrm{E}}_{\mathrm{p}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{k}}$ = peak ventilation, RER_peak = peak respiratory exchange ratio, MPO = maximal power output