Though scientists predicted that women would eventually close the gender gap in sports performance with better training and coaching. The biological factor – testosterone makes this unlikely.
BEIJING — No matter what happens in the men’s marathon here Sunday, one thing is all but certain. The winner will run the 26.2-mile course faster than the winner of the women’s marathon last Sunday.
The woman who won, Constantina Tomescu of Romania, was fast, of course, finishing the race in 2 hours 26 minutes 44 seconds — more than a minute ahead of the second-place finisher. But for a variety of intrinsic biological reasons, the best women can never run as fast as the best men, exercise researchers say. More
The New York Times
By Gina Kolata
By Gina Kolata
Published: August 21, 2008
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