In female athletes, testosterone rises in anticipation of competition more in women than it does in men, researchers say.

The pre-event rise in males averages Nine percent whereas in females it increases by Twenty-four percent. During the competition itself women increase their testosterone production by Forty-nine percent while in males it increases on average Fifteen percent. The rise in testosterone that accompanies athletic competition is believed to make the athlete more willing to take risks, improves psychomotor function, and coordination, and improves cognitive performance qualities that are very important in winning.

"We are not sure why women's testosterone elevation prior to competition is so much greater than it is in men. It is probably due to the fact that every day levels of testosterone are four times higher in men than they are in women. To effectively meet the challenge a higher production rate may be necessary," explains Dr. Alan Booth, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Human Development and Family Studies, and Demography at Pennsylvania State University. "It wasn't because female rugby players have higher everyday testosterone levels than other women. We checked."

However, there are some important sex differences in hormone production at the end of the competition. In female athletes testosterone is unrelated to winning and losing whereas when male athletes win, their testosterone goes up and when they lose it goes down.

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"This supports the idea that the euphoria associated with winning and the depression linked to losing entails different biological mechanisms in women and men," Booth adds.

"Among women, pre-game testosterone increases were significantly correlated with reports of being focused just prior to the game, just as it is associated with arousal in men," Booth says. "Unlike pre-game increases in men, the pre-game increase among women was unrelated to the perceptions of how easy or difficult the opponent was thought to be prior to the game. Men seem to adjust their pre-game rise to the perceived strength of the opponent."