Piecewise models showed that annual change in pace switched from negative to positive around midlife. For males in the freestyle event, annual pace change was -0.27% during ages 20-29 and -0.49% during ages 30-39, indicating improvement with increasing age, followed by slowing of 0.23% during 40-49, 0.93% during 50-59, 1.47% during 60-69, and 2.20% during 70-75.
Females in the skate event showed corresponding estimates of -0.36%, -0.59%, 0.20%, 0.67%, 1.52%, and 4.17% per year, which were nearly indistinguishable from those of males at least up to the 60-69 age segment. There were relatively few females in the 70-75 age segment, and the estimate of annual change had a large confidence interval.