Strava, the leading social platform for athletes with more than 100 million members, has released the 2022 edition of its Year In Sport report.
‘The annual report concludes the year by revealing global trends in sports and active transportation, celebrating athletes’ achievements and memorialising stories from the global Strava community.’
The 2022 findings show which ‘new normal’ routines have stuck post-pandemic – from the lasting popularity of trail sports to changing commuting patterns and the ways athletes share aspects of their lives with friends through technology and group activities.
“Global trends in this year’s data show tremendous energy for activities we can do together,” said Michael Horvath, CEO of Strava.
“The feelings of joy and connection we get by being active together can be amplified and inspire others when we share all the aspects of our active lives with our community. Anyone seeking an active life will find a motivation machine in Strava: tools to explore confidently, goals and insights to keep you on track, and a community to cheer you on.”
In 2022, the share of runners completing a marathon nearly doubled compared to 2021, evidencing that pandemic-era runners continue to lace up their shoes and want to toe the start line together after years of social distancing.
The fastest-growing sports were those done in communal spaces that saw closures during the first year of the pandemic, and international travel is booming, with 101% more activities uploaded outside athletes’ home countries over the past year.
Key takeaways from the Strava community’s Year In Sport include:
- Trail sports are having a moment: hiking’s popularity has tripled on Strava over the last three years, and 52% of athletes uploaded trail activities to Strava in 2022.
- E-bikes are here to stay: the share of cyclists on Strava with an e-bike ride increased 26% this year and e-bike rides are 30% more likely to be commutes than non-ebikes. In 2022, bike commutes nearly rebounded to 2019 levels, and they’re far more likely to happen on Tuesday/Wednesday than Monday.
- Community inspires longer and farther activities: athletes in pairs went longer in both time and distance than when they were solo, and often longer still in a group of three or more.
- Racing is back, and marathons are the hottest tickets: the share of runners on Strava who ran a marathon nearly doubled compared to 2021.
- International travel is nearly back to pre pandemic levels: the share of athletes uploading activities outside their home country was up 101% over last year – only 3% shy of pre-pandemic numbers from 2019.
2021 Strava community totals at a glance:
- Over 100 million athletes in 195 countries
- More than 7 billion activities shared on Strava
- 40 million activities uploaded per week
- Over 30 million Strava Segments
- Over 3,000 professional athletes on Strava
- 400+ employees around the world, with offices in San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Bristol, UK; and Dublin, Ireland
- 9.9 billion Kudos given between athletes last year
- Over 10 million photos and videos shared per week
- Over 2,000 partner organisations making their communities better with Strava Metro
