Which Olympic Sport Burns the Most Calories?

Olympic-level sports require immense energy, but which event burns the most calories? During the 2024 Summer Olympics, athletes from over 200 countries will compete in more than 300 events. As you watch athletes sprint, leap, swim, and flip for gold, you might wonder: which Olympic event burns the most calories?
There are two ways to answer this: considering the total energy spent across an entire event or evaluating the biggest burst of energy required in a specific challenge. Researchers often measure the energy cost of an activity as calories per kilogram of body weight per hour (kcal/kg/hour). For example, an exercise that uses 2 kcal/kg/hour would burn 168 calories in an hour for a person weighing about 185 pounds (84 kg).

 Running Demands the Most

Among all the sports at the Olympics, running events burn the most calories per kilogram of body weight per hour. Accelerating demands significantly more energy than running at a constant speed. For instance, in the 100 meters, runners accelerate from 0 to 5 meters per second (16 feet per second) in under a second, burning a large number of calories quickly. According to Pietro di Prampero, a professor of physiology at the University of Udine in Italy, Usain Bolt burned 91.2 kcal/kg/hour during the first 0.85 seconds of his world-record 100-meter sprint.
“In terms of metabolic power, the 100-meter sprints are the most demanding,” di Prampero told Live Science. “But in terms of overall energy, running a marathon requires much more.” Typically, for every kilometer run at a steady speed, an athlete burns 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight. So, running a marathon burns 42 kcal/kg. Eliud Kipchoge, the 2020 Tokyo men’s marathon gold medalist, burned 2,339 kcal during his race, equating to about 21 kcal/kg/hour.

 Caloric Cost of Other Olympic Sports

According to the Compendium of Physical Activities, cycling events above 20 mph (32 km/h) burn 16.8 kcal/kg/hour, rowing at racing speeds burns 15.5 kcal/kg/hour, martial arts use 10.5 kcal/kg/hour, and competitive trampolining burns 10.3 kcal/kg/hour.

 Swimming Events

The energy demand for swimming varies by stroke, skill level, and whether the event is in a pool or open water. “In elite swimmers, the most demanding stroke is breaststroke,” said Tiago Barbosa, a professor of sport science at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança in Portugal. “After that comes butterfly, then backstroke. The most economical is freestyle.” Barbosa’s research calculated that swimming breaststroke at 1.6 meters per second burns around 30.4 kcal/kg/hour.
Open-water events may require more energy due to waves, wind, and cooler temperatures, though swimmers can save energy by drafting behind others to reduce drag, similar to cyclists in the Tour de France.

Individual Variability

Both di Prampero and Barbosa emphasized that caloric figures can vary greatly among individuals. “We must be honest — these are all estimates,” di Prampero said. Factors like running efficiency, footwear, and terrain conditions can all impact energy expenditure, making even a slight difference crucial at the Olympic level.

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