Air pollution and individual productivity: Evidence from the Ironman Triathlon results

The study considers how air quality affects the productivity of physically intensive labor. Namely, we analyze the athletes of the Ironman Triathlon, one of the toughest long-distance triathlon races in the world. Moreover, in this competition, both men and women, professional and amateur athletes, can participate. We consider the results of Ironman Triathlon from 2005 to 2019. Using athlete's finishing time as a dependent variable, we estimate the impact of concentrations of two main air pollutants, O3 and PM2.5. We found triathletes performance decrements in swimming due to high ozone concentration and in bicycle riding and running due to high level of PM2.5. We have also found that professional athletes are less sensitive to air pollution, whereas there is almost no gender difference in the impact of air pollution on athletes’ productivity. •We estimate the impact of concentrations of O3 and PM2.5 on Ironman Triathlon athlete's finishing time.•Triathletes’ performance in swimming decreases due to high ozone concentration.•Triathletes’ performance in bicycle riding and running decreases due to high level of PM2.5.•Professional athletes are less sensitive to air pollution.•There is no gender difference in the impact of air pollution on athletes’ productivity.