tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/sport-science-227/articlesSport science – The Conversation2024-03-22T10:21:16Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2263312024-03-22T10:21:16Z2024-03-22T10:21:16ZWhat happens to F1 drivers’ bodies, and what sort of training do they do?<p>Various forms of motorsport are passionately followed around the world, and the pinnacle of the sport is Formula 1 – a fast-paced battle between drivers and teams with some of the most finely engineered vehicles in the world. </p>
<p>Despite the impressive speeds and engineering of their machines, race car drivers have sometimes <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-013-0040-2">battled the stereotype</a> that they are not truly elite athletes. However, the recent advent of television series such as Drive to Survive has given the public an insight into the demands of driving in Formula 1. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-netflix-show-has-become-a-key-driver-behind-f1s-rising-popularity-221924">How a Netflix show has become a key driver behind F1's rising popularity</a>
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<h2>Formula 1 drivers: elite athletes?</h2>
<p>Drivers use split-second judgements to perform precision steering while travelling at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. All the while, drivers need to concentrate on the track, their opponents, and feedback provided through their radio or steering wheel.</p>
<p>As the vehicles have developed over time, so too have the drivers. Nowadays, drivers are considered athletes who must undergo immense preparation and training to ensure their physical and mental abilities can manage the <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/abstract/9900/a_scoping_review_of_the_physiological_profiles_of.97.aspx">ever-increasing limits</a> of their machines and environmental demands. </p>
<h2>What forces are Formula 1 drivers exposed to?</h2>
<p>During a typical race, Formula 1 drivers are subjected to a <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/12471320">barrage of physical and psychological demands</a> that test their strength, endurance and mental fortitude at high speeds. </p>
<p>Not only is a driver required to have sufficient strength to perform, they must also stabilise themselves to withstand gravitational forces (G-force) in multiple different directions.</p>
<p>During cornering and braking, drivers experience forces upwards of 5Gs. In addition, each application of a brake pedal requires between 600–700 newtons of force which, during a 90-minute race, would equate to a total load of 57,940kg (based on the 14 turns and 58 laps of Melbourne’s Albert Park track).</p>
<p>However, when things go wrong, the forces experienced by drivers are even more extreme. In a crash, drivers can experience deceleration forces of <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2006/02000/an_analysis_of_maximum_vehicle_g_forces_and_brain.8.aspx">up to 100G</a>]</p>
<p>As you can imagine, such forces place incredible strain on <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31246718/">a driver’s head and neck</a>.</p>
<p>The forces experienced by Formula 1 drivers are like those of military pilots. Unsurprisingly, this can result in neck and back pain or a loss of peripheral vision (often called grey-out) when forces are endured for <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13413">an extended period</a>. </p>
<p>Fortunately, F1 drivers aren’t typically subject to extended G-force loading. Rather, they are challenged repeatedly through acceleration, deceleration and cornering. </p>
<p>To combat the effects of these forces, drivers train their trunk and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpFbv0KUK40">neck strength</a> against high loads to be able to counteract the forces pulling their head and neck around their cockpit. Drivers also train their <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2019/12000/v_o2peak,_body_composition,_and_neck_strength_of.18.aspx">aerobic capacity</a> to assist with handling these demands, resulting in high heart rates and physiological stress. </p>
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<h2>Trying to beat the heat</h2>
<p>Beyond the incredible forces experienced by driver-athletes, cabin temperatures can <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/33416270">exceed 50°C</a>, and extensive heat generated from the vehicle (through the close proximity of the transmission and engine to the driver) via convective heat transfer can result in more than 3% <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/fulltext/2018/07000/hydration_status_and_thermoregulatory_responses_in.34.aspx?casa_token=Upgf3HdNoGgAAAAA:Kfn2LsHVPDeHOvqwkFDTg5Xjr8OEM7UglO6twga--0yaeakNpm4-PU6K4NQ9gxveKJnYvlJjKcn3O7YdFbEKVYJzgw">bodyweight loss</a> during a race. </p>
<p>Drivers therefore need to stay hydrated to maintain their health, safety and performance. This process is made harder by the mandated safety equipment – under the <a href="https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulation/file/Driver-Guide-2011.pdf">Federation Internationale de l’Automobile guidelines</a>, drivers must wear fire-retardant boots, under- and over-garments, balaclavas, gloves and helmets that <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/2/2/article-p182.xml">limit their capacity to cool down</a> via evaporation and convection.</p>
<h2>Every kilogram counts</h2>
<p>In preparation for these ever-increasing demands, F1 drivers maintain very low body-fat percentages (around 8%) compared with IndyCar drivers (around 17%) and maintain greater levels of fitness than their counterparts from IndyCar and NASCAR, allowing them to meet the design demands of the vehicle. </p>
<p>Similarly, F1 drivers are <a href="https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/abstract/9900/a_scoping_review_of_the_physiological_profiles_of.97.aspx">typically stronger and more powerful</a> than their counterparts from other racing series. </p>
<p>Because of the demands of the F1 racing calendar, drivers need to get the most bang for their buck through efficient training methods that improve strength, power and fitness. </p>
<p>Nutritionally, they should consume a balanced diet that maintains weight and optimal body composition so they don’t become too heavy or large for their limited cockpit space. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/women-in-formula-one-how-the-sport-is-trying-to-redress-its-longstanding-lack-of-support-for-female-drivers-and-staff-225230">Women in Formula One: how the sport is trying to redress its longstanding lack of support for female drivers and staff</a>
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<h2>What else do drivers do to prepare?</h2>
<p>Of course, racing at speeds of more than 300km per hour with millimetres between rivals requires more than strength, fitness and fearlessness. There is substantial skill required to control a machine that is being pushed to its limits.</p>
<p>Beyond their athleticism, F1 drivers develop skills from a very young age and typically progress from go-karting through to the elite level.</p>
<p>So, it’s not just about a fast car and being fit and strong enough to control it – if you want to make it as an elite driver in the top tier, years of practice and devotion to the art of driving are required too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226331/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Haines has previously worked for Toro Rosso F1 Team, and am now currently consulting with various V8 Supercars Teams & Drivers.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan van den Hoek and Justin Holland do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Formula 1 drivers endure a barrage of physical and psychological demands - but what exactly do their bodies go through during a race?Dan van den Hoek, Senior Lecturer, Clinical Exercise Physiology, University of the Sunshine CoastJustin Holland, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology, Queensland University of TechnologyPaul Haines, Manager, Sport Engagement (Performance), Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2112902023-09-05T17:03:25Z2023-09-05T17:03:25ZRugby World Cup: why hamstring injuries are so prevalent in the sport<p>With the men’s <a href="https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023/">Rugby World Cup</a> in France almost upon us, the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66433689">risk of injury</a> during the summer warm-up games has been a serious concern for coaches and players.</p>
<p>While injuries are a feature of any contact sport, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37495222/">our new research</a> shows that the imbalance in size between the quadriceps and hamstrings muscle groups is greater in rugby players than those of active people who don’t play the sport, which increases the risk of injuries, even in training.</p>
<p>Soft tissue injuries, particularly hamstring injuries, have already ruled several players out of the World Cup, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/may/18/ben-curry-world-cup-campaign-with-england-dashed-by-hamstring-injury-rugby-union-sale-saracens">raising questions</a> about why such incidents are so common. </p>
<p>The lower leg is the most susceptible part of the body to injuries during a rugby match. And hamstring strains are the most common, contributing to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34637371/">15% of all injuries</a> in rugby union. </p>
<p>In the previous Rugby World Cup in 2019, hamstring injuries were the second most common match injury after concussion and accounted for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36818969/">nearly 50%</a> of all missed training or playing days. They have been reported as the <a href="https://www.englandrugby.com/dxdam/96/960006d9-269d-4250-a15f-d9e62f8bfe70/PRISP_1718.pdf">most common injury</a> during rugby training too. </p>
<h2>Anatomy of the hamstring muscles</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/muscles/thigh/hamstrings/">hamstrings</a> consist of three muscles running along the back of the thigh, from the hip down to just below the knee. Pushing these muscles beyond their limits through stretching or overloading can lead to painful injuries, with the muscles potentially tearing. </p>
<p>Hamstring strains are particularly prevalent in activities involving running, jumping, sudden stops and starts. The risk of injury increases with age and people with a history of hamstring injuries are at higher risk of experiencing repeat occurrences. </p>
<p>Fatigue and muscle weakness also increase the chances of injury, while inflexible or shorter hamstring muscles struggle to bear the force required for certain movements. Muscles often work in pairs and some experts believe that an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22763118/">imbalance</a> between the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh and the hamstring muscles at the back could also contribute to the problem.</p>
<p>To tackle this growing concern, we examined the behaviour and structure of these muscles in rugby union players and compared them with people who were active and exercised, but didn’t play rugby.</p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37495222/">We discovered</a> that the hamstring muscles of rugby players showed greater stiffness compared to the other group. This is not surprising as muscle stiffness is associated with explosive movements such as sprinting, jumping and contact actions, which are all common in rugby training and match play.</p>
<p>Muscle volume is related to the muscles’ ability to exert force. So, as expected, our MRI analysis showed that the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh were significantly larger in rugby players relative to body size. </p>
<p>But what was surprising were the findings that there was no discernible difference in the relative size or volume of the hamstring muscles between the two groups. This contradicts <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20453429/">previous research</a> which suggested that the relative size of hamstring muscles tends to be larger in strength and power sport athletes, such as rugby, compared to endurance sport athletes and non-athletes. </p>
<p>But our research points to an interesting discrepancy – rugby players displayed an imbalance in size between their quadriceps and hamstring muscles. </p>
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<p>Our findings suggest that rugby players could face a higher risk of experiencing hamstring muscle strains, with both increased stiffness of the hamstring muscles and the imbalance between the size of the muscles at the front and back of the thigh playing a role. </p>
<p>Even among amateur rugby players, the process of preparing for and participating in rugby could potentially lead to less flexible hamstring muscles and larger quadriceps muscles relative to the hamstrings. This, in turn, might emphasise the need to focus on developing the size (and therefore, by design, the strength) of the hamstring muscles, which could address the imbalance. </p>
<h2>Is there a solution?</h2>
<p>A strategy to prevent hamstring injuries should work on reducing the factors that make the risk higher. For instance, it’s important to keep an eye on older athletes and those with previous hamstring injuries, and manage fatigue appropriately. </p>
<p>Encouraging athletes to have a comprehensive warm-up routine is also crucial. When muscles warm, they become more elastic, which might help them handle strain better and potentially prevent tearing. </p>
<p>While we are not entirely sure if stretching before an activity can really lower the injury risk, adding controlled, dynamic stretches to the warm-up might be beneficial, especially if they match the movements used during the sport.</p>
<p>A modern approach involves including exercises in players’ training routines that strengthen. But such exercises should not merely aim to increase muscle size, strength and power. Instead, they should focus on improving flexibility, enhancing the stability of core muscles and strengthening the hamstrings while they are being lengthened. </p>
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<p>An example of this is the <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a27030999/nordic-hamstring-curls-injury-prevention/">Nordic hamstring exercise</a>, which involves kneeling on a pad (for knee comfort) and lowering your torso slowly towards the floor with control. This exercise has been suggested to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30808663/">cut the rate</a> of hamstring injuries in half among athletes in team sports. </p>
<p>However, some experts have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34520846/">raised doubts</a> about how effective these exercises really are, and not many teams seem to be adopting these measures. This might be due to the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25995308/">delayed soreness</a> that can come with these exercises.</p>
<p>So, how to reduce hamstring injuries in sports such as rugby remains unclear. And alleviating this problem during the upcoming Rugby World Cup will be difficult – the fatigue from the increased intensity of matches in a concentrated period of time means that managing risk will be problematic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211290/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gokhan Yagiz received funding from the Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of National Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Owen receives funding from Bangor University and World Rugby. </span></em></p>New research shows that rugby players’ hamstrings are stiffer than active people who don’t play rugby.Gokhan Yagiz, Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina UniversityJulian Owen, Lecturer in Sport & Exercise Physiology, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1960272022-12-09T07:12:04Z2022-12-09T07:12:04ZNew study reveals gender bias in sport research. It’s yet another hurdle to progress in women’s sport<p>Throughout history, sports have been guilty of prioritising certain groups at the exclusion of others. There has been a pervasive idea that being an athlete requires the demonstration of traditionally masculine traits. Any individual not doing so was, and often still is, susceptible to being harassed, sidelined, or ostracised.</p>
<p>Indeed, femininity has historically been considered nonathletic. Research finds some athletes describe a perception that being a “woman” and an “athlete” are almost <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:SERS.0000018888.48437.4f">opposing identities</a>.</p>
<p>For these reasons and more, women’s sport has been held back in ways that men’s sport has not. While progress is certainly now being made, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2022.2150981">new research</a>, published this week, finds large gender gaps persist in sports research.</p>
<p>We found sport psychology research studies – which inform the strategies athletes use to reach peak performance – have predominantly used male participants. </p>
<p>For example, across the sport psychology research we looked at between 2010 and 2020, 62% of the participants were men and boys. Further, around 22% of the sport psychology studies we examined had samples with only male participants. In contrast, this number was just 7% for women and girls.</p>
<p>Women may experience sport and exercise differently from men. As in other areas of medicine, an evidence base that’s predominately informed by men’s experiences and bodies will lead to insufficient, ineffective outcomes and recommendations for women.</p>
<h2>Some progress has been made</h2>
<p>Progress in women’s sport is evident, and continues every year. Gender gaps across recreational and professional sport are slowly narrowing. </p>
<p>Girls’ involvement in sport continues to grow, with the number participating in high school sports in the United States <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00913847.2020.1852861?journalCode=ipsm20">increasing by 262% between 1973 and 2018</a>. In Australia, participation in sport among women and girls between 2015-2019 <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2021.710666/full">grew at a faster rate than among men and boys</a>.</p>
<p>Improved opportunity and exposure has also occurred in professional settings, and public interest has increased significantly. For example, the 2020 Women’s Cricket World Cup saw attendance records tumble, with the final played at the MCG in front of <a href="https://mcg.org.au/whats-on/latest-news/2020/march/records-tumble-as-australia-claims-icc-womens-t20-world-cup">86,174 fans</a>.</p>
<p>Many sports now enter a complex new era of professionalisation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-afl-has-consistently-put-the-womens-game-second-is-it-the-best-organisation-to-run-aflw-180665">as we’re seeing in AFLW</a>.</p>
<p>Despite positive trends, critical issues remain.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tokyo-olympics-are-billed-as-the-first-gender-equal-games-but-women-still-lack-opportunities-in-sport-165280">The Tokyo Olympics are billed as the first gender equal Games, but women still lack opportunities in sport</a>
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<h2>Gender bias in research</h2>
<p>Any growth in women’s sport must be supported by the underlying evidence base that informs it.</p>
<p>As mental health researchers in the field of elite sport, we aim to make real-world impacts through rigorous applied research. Our team has previously explored gendered mental health experiences among elite athletes, finding women report more significant symptoms of mental ill-health and <a href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/7/1/e000984">more frequent negative events like discrimination or financial hardship</a>.</p>
<p>Research like this is critical for informing the services and systems which support peak performance. But the research has to represent its target, or else progress will be limited.</p>
<p>It’s now well understood that the field of medical and scientific research is rife with examples of the ways in which unequal participation by gender has caused negative health effects. With men’s experiences and bodies <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1115616">considered the norm</a>, inaccurate understanding of causes, tools, and treatments have been frequent.</p>
<p>Medical and scientific research in sport is not exempt.</p>
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<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p>As sports become increasingly competitive and pressurised, sport psychology is critical to supporting athletes within these high-stress environments.</p>
<p>Following concerns about gender bias in scientific research, we wanted to understand whether the field of sport and exercise psychology was appropriately representative.</p>
<p>We recorded the gender of study participants across research published in key sport and exercise psychology journals in 2010, 2015 and 2020, to estimate gender balance over the last decade. This included studies on topics such as: physical and mental health, personality and motivation, coaching and athlete development, leadership, and mental skills.</p>
<p>Across more than 600 studies and nearly 260,000 participants, there were significant levels of gender imbalance.</p>
<p>This imbalance varied, depending on the area being investigated. While sport psychology research focuses on performance and athletes, exercise psychology is more focused on areas of health and participation. Our findings showed that the likelihood of including male rather than female participants in sport psychology studies was almost four times as high as for exercise psychology.</p>
<p>We also identified that those studies which specifically explored themes relating to performance (such as coaching, mental skills, or decision-making) all featured samples with fewer women and girls, as compared to those focused on topics like health, well-being, or activism. </p>
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<h2>What our findings mean</h2>
<p>Our findings, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2021-0028">along with those of others</a>, hint at a number of worrying conclusions.</p>
<p>Women and girls in sport are likely to be instructed in strategies and approaches informed by research that does not sufficiently represent them.</p>
<p>Among many factors, topics like coaching methods, injury management, and performance psychology are critical to sports performance. For some or all of these, women athletes’ experiences may differ from those of men.</p>
<p>Changes to policy have made a significant difference to gender equity in sport. But researchers and funding bodies must follow suit, ensuring we develop the understanding and methods to properly represent all groups we seek to serve. Only then can women’s sport truly flourish.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196027/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Courtney Walton receives funding through a McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Melbourne. He advises a number of elite sports codes and organisations nationally.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Gao receives salary support from the Department of Health, State Government of Victoria for unrelated projects. She is an investigator on projects funded by NHMRC, NIH, HCF and MRFF. She is affiliated with Orygen and Monash University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Rice receives funding from the NHMRC, MRFF and The University of Melbourne. He advises a number of elite sports codes and organisations internationally.</span></em></p>Sport and exercise psychology research studies – which inform the strategies athletes use to reach peak performance – have predominantly used male participants.Courtney C Walton, Research Fellow & Psychologist, Mental Health in Elite Sports, The University of MelbourneCaroline Gao, Senior Research Fellow, Biostatistician, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of MelbourneSimon Rice, Associate Professor & Clinical Psychologist, Mental Health in Elite Sports, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657372021-08-08T21:05:49Z2021-08-08T21:05:49ZWhat’s behind the spate of super-fast sprints at the Tokyo Olympics? Technology plays a role, but the real answer is training<p>The Tokyo Olympic Games have seen incredible performances in the short-distance track events. We have seen two major world records fall: the men’s and women’s 400-metre hurdles - and numerous personal best times. </p>
<p>In the women’s 400-metre hurdles, five of the eight competitors in the final ran personal bests. Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah set an Olympic record to win the women’s 100-metre event. A European record was set in the men’s 100-metre event, and all medallists in the race were slightly faster than the respective medal-winning times at the 2016 Rio Olympics. </p>
<p>What’s behind these super-fast times? Some have suggested the composition of the track, new “super spike” running shoes, or hot weather are responsible. While these almost certainly contributed to the results, another reason is likely to be more uninterrupted training through reduced international travel and competition in the months leading into the Tokyo Olympic Games. </p>
<p>This better preparation in turn is due to two things: first, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant less competition and more time for training; and second, steady improvements in sports science and applied research are maximising the extremes of human performance.
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<h2>Bouncy tracks, super spikes and heat</h2>
<p>The track surface at the Tokyo Olympic stadium, installed by an Italian company called Mondo, is designed to allow runners to better grip the surface while also providing better shock absorption. The surface contains hexagonal air chambers that can compress and bounce back with each step. </p>
<p>Many athletes are also wearing relatively new spikes containing a stiff and lightweight plate made from carbon fibre. The Nike version of these so-called “super spikes” also features a foam layer under the carbon fibre to provide additional spring.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/super-shoes-explaining-athletics-new-technological-arms-race-156265">Super shoes: Explaining athletics’ new technological arms race</a>
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<p>These Nike shoes in particular have been criticised as providing an unreasonable advantage, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/03/karsten-warholm-slams-super-spikes-as-threat-to-track-and-field-credibility">including</a> by 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm. Warholm wore Puma carbon-fibre spikes without the additional foam in his world record-setting win, while silver medallist Rai Benjamin wore Nike’s version. </p>
<p>The weather in Tokyo, with temperatures in the 30s and humidity sometimes over 80%, may have also contributed to the fast times in sprint events. Hot conditions means warmer muscles, which can produce force more quickly, making for faster sprinting. </p>
<p>Heat and humidity also put greater strain on athletes over longer distances, which is the main reason we have seen fewer records fall in the track endurance events.</p>
<h2>Uninterrupted training and competition</h2>
<p>However, suggesting these personal best performances and record times in sprint events can be fully attributed to environmental conditions, new shoe technology and the track surface is a little disrespectful to the athletes. Both Warholm and Sydney McLaughlin, who respectively set the new men’s and women’s records for 400m hurdles, broke previous records they had recently set themselves. </p>
<p>On Tuesday Warholm smashed the record he had claimed in July, and on Wednesday McLaughlin beat the time she set in June. Both athletes were in career-best form heading into Tokyo. </p>
<p>All the athletes were aiming to achieve peak performance at Tokyo by precisely timing their training and recovery cycles. This gives them the best chance of maximal performance: personal best times, and for some Olympic or world records. </p>
<p>In addition to manipulating their training programs to peak at Tokyo, at the Olympics the best are racing against the best. This high level of competition raises the standard of each round compared with other international races, and this too contributes to the number of world-class performances in Tokyo. </p>
<p>For example, McLaughlin and her US teammate Dalilah Muhammad have both previously set the 400m hurdles world record when competing against each other. There is no doubt competition with other world-class athletes creates a favourable scenario for achieving more fast times.</p>
<h2>COVID and research</h2>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, COVID-19 may have also played a role in these intense track performances. The pandemic has meant a reduced racing schedule over the past 18 months, with far less international travel and few races.</p>
<p>This may have allowed for more consistent training with fewer interruptions and peaks and declines organised around races. It is conceivable that this has contributed to some of the world-class performances we have seen.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/record-setting-performances-at-the-tokyo-olympics-come-after-months-of-pandemic-induced-stress-163623">Record-setting performances at the Tokyo Olympics come after months of pandemic-induced stress</a>
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<p>In addition to all of these factors, sports science research and support plays an important role in improving performance. Continued applied sports science research in athletes and the ongoing effort to push human limits to performance means we are likely to see world records being broken at the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and beyond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phil Bellinger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Super spikes’ and a springy track can’t take all the credit for lightning-fast sprint times at the Tokyo OlympicsPhil Bellinger, Lecturer in exercise science, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638602021-07-15T16:46:42Z2021-07-15T16:46:42ZWearable tech at the Olympics: How athletes are using it to train to win<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410869/original/file-20210712-70822-19nc18m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C51%2C4896%2C3202&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wearable technology can help elite athletes, but sometimes too much data can be a problem.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 250px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/wearable-tech-at-the-olympics--how-athletes-are-using-it-to-train-to-win" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>One of the joys of watching the Olympics is seeing the speed, strength and grace of the competitors. It’s amazing how the best athletes in the world make it look easy, but for anyone with personal experience in a particular sport, there’s an appreciation for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication that goes into producing medal-winning performances. </p>
<p>Given the high standards of Olympic competition, it’s not surprising that coaches and athletes look for any possible advantage — from dietary regimens to equipment innovations and novel training methods — to maximize the chances of success. </p>
<p>One of the more recent tools in the Olympic arsenal is wearable technology, which many of us are familiar. Devices such as Fitbit, Garmin, Polar and the Apple watch allow us to measure and track various aspects of our health and performance. </p>
<p>Wearable tech was especially useful to keep track of athletes when training grounds were shut down because of the pandemic. The English Premier League used it to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/05/tech/statsports-performance-tracking-spt-spc-intl/index.html">keep track</a> of their players during remote training after the country went into lockdown.</p>
<p>In simple terms, “wearable technology” refers to anything attached to the body that measures some aspect of performance during physical activities such as running, biking, walking or swimming.</p>
<h2>How sensors monitor movement</h2>
<p>Many of the current devices involve micro-electromechanical systems, which incorporate sensors that quantify some aspect of physical function or movement — such as heart rate, speed, force or acceleration. </p>
<p>One of the main advantages of wearable systems is that they’re relatively inexpensive and small enough to be attached to any part of the human body. As a biomechanics researcher, I typically analyze movement in a lab with expensive 3D cameras. While this provides a high degree of accuracy, it limits the types and quantity of movements that can be analyzed. </p>
<p>Wearable technology — my current research and consulting focus — provides exciting new opportunities to measure performance from entirely new perspective, from basic metrics such as step or stroke count to new and highly advanced metrics such as harmonic ratios (frequency analysis) and fractal (self-similar) pattern recognition.</p>
<p>Consequently, wearable tech has the capability to provide a vast array of metrics to coaches and athletes in many different sports — from stride rate and stroke rate in running, swimming and rowing, to ground contact time and force analysis in speed skating and jumping. </p>
<h2>Continuous data</h2>
<p>One of the most obvious benefits of wearable tech is its ability to provide information that wasn’t previously available. For example, force-sensing resistors placed in shoes, ski boots or bike pedals can provide a continuous stream of data for entire training sessions.</p>
<p>Similarly, volleyball coaches who want to track the number of jumps in a given period of time (at each practice or during a week) to monitor training volume for the prevention of knee injuries, previously had to watch hours of video to obtain this information. </p>
<p>Currently, a simple wearable device called <a href="https://www.myvert.com/">(VERT)</a> can automatically extract this information using an accelerometer. One of my <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/wearable-tech-designed-canadian-swimmers-spawns-swimlytics/">recent research projects</a> used the same sensor to determine stroke count and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14763141.2020.1760923">body roll in elite swimmers</a>, as both of these factors contribute to the mechanisms of shoulder injury.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Swimmer in swim cap treading water and holding onto swim rope" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410658/original/file-20210709-15-17kh6cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadian Olympian Penny Oleksiak at the 2019 World Swimming Championships in South Korea.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Must be accurate and reliable</h2>
<p>To benefit performance, the data collected from wearable tech has to be both valid (accurate) and reliable (measured consistently).</p>
<p>This is not as easy as it sounds because the algorithms used to extract meaningful performance metrics are often finicky. For the information to be useful to coaches for evaluating performance and making training-related decisions (such as technique modifications), it has to be trustworthy. </p>
<p>The data also needs to be placed into the appropriate context to have meaning. For example, a sensor can tell a coach a swimmer’s average stroke rate for an entire race (or training session), but it’s not as meaningful as knowing how it varied or when it changed during the race. </p>
<p>Understanding the data in the appropriate context can provide insights into race tactics, pacing strategies and conditioning, but without this information the data is often meaningless. </p>
<h2>Quantity of data can be unmanageable</h2>
<p>An additional consideration for the implementation of wearable tech by Olympic athletes is the amount of data that’s generated.</p>
<p>Wearable tech produces large quantities of data that needs to be analyzed and contextualized with other types of information, such as sets, repetitions, intensities and interval times. The sheer quantity of data can easily become unmanageable when multiple athletes and training sessions are involved.</p>
<p>While challenging, the potential of wearable tech to provide new opportunities for Olympic athletes to optimize performance is unlimited, especially as sport science researchers continue to create new methods (such as AI) to explore what the technology is capable of. </p>
<p>It’s not unrealistic to imagine a not-too-distant future in which small unobtrusive sensors placed in a shoe or swim goggle will not only be able to enhance athletic performance, but be able to tell a recreational runner the amount of injury risk associated with a particular stride pattern or a physician the amount of risk associated with an elderly person’s gait.
Hopefully, in this way, wearable technology will provide many important benefits to society in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163860/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. John Barden provides sport science and data analytics consulting services to coaches and athletes through his company, Performance Insight. From 2015 to 2018 he received funding from Own the Podium to develop a sensor-based performance analysis system for Swimming Canada. </span></em></p>The future of wearable technology holds limitless potential for elite athletes to optimize and enhance their athletic performance.John Barden, Professor of Biomechanics, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1193292019-06-30T09:40:28Z2019-06-30T09:40:28ZLong-haul flights and Super Rugby performance: what the science says<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280959/original/file-20190624-97762-k5rs59.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sikhumbuzo Notshe of the Stormers (L) is tackled by Waisake Naholo of the Highlanders (R) during a Super Rugby match between New Zealand's Highlanders and South Africa's Stormers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA-EFE/NIC BOTHMA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Super Rugby is arguably the highest expression of rugby at club level in the world. Its next closest rival in the world of international competitive rugby at club level is the European Rugby Champions Cup (Heineken Champions Cup). Super Rugby involves teams from South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and Japan. As the competition is conducted in multiple countries, teams have to travel frequently throughout the six months long season.</p>
<p>Travel is <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/exhausting-travel-taxes-sharks-chance-of-super-rugby-success">commonly perceived</a> as <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/82480731/travel-factor-a-killer-when-hunting-super-rugbys-holy-grail">“the” major factor</a> affecting a team’s performance. Losing away games reduces the chances of finishing high on the ladder or hosting a grand final. Ultimately, it affects the team’s chance of winning. For example, through the 23 years of the competition, only six visiting teams have won the title and only twice has that occurred following international travel to play the final.</p>
<p>We <a href="http://vuir.vu.edu.au/37817/1/LO%2C%20Michele%20%28Mick%29-Final%20Thesis_nosignature.pdf">set out to establish</a> whether this perception was scientifically correct. To better understand the complex relationship between regular air travel and athletes’ psycho-physiological response and performance, we investigated the impact of travel on performance during the first 21 years of Super Rugby (1996-2016). </p>
<p>We directly monitored players from four teams following long-haul trans-meridian travel. The findings of our research show that long-haul travel influenced team performance. However, the away-match disadvantage is likely to be the main cause of these negative effects on match outcomes. Fatigue related to long-haul travel is suggested to have a larger impact on players’ individual performance when overseas. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16089184">The away-match disadvantage</a>is a combination of factors, such as crowd support and potential officials’ bias that deteriorates the psychological and behavioural states of athletes, along with their performance, when a match is played away. </p>
<p>Although travel and the away-match disadvantage have a similar effect on all teams, when a match is played against a ‘weaker’ opponent, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31109247">team statistics</a> – like the number of carries, tackles and tries – are only minimally impaired, even following trans-meridian travel. Even if the technical skills and physical performance of players are not particularly affected by travel, playing away from home may affect <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31109247">tactical and strategic aspects</a> of Super Rugby matches, and negatively influence match outcomes.</p>
<h2>Jet lag and travel fatigue</h2>
<p>There is ample anecdotal support that frequent travel can negatively affect travellers because of travel fatigue and jet lag. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22450594">Travel fatigue</a> is a state of weariness that accrues after a single trip and accumulates over time. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15768727">Jet lag</a> occurs when the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10381883">circadian rhythms</a>, which are the rhythmic pattern of all the physiological functions and systems of the human body, are not synchronised with the external clock. </p>
<p>This typically happens after rapid travel across time-zones. Jet lag is a common complaint reported by travellers crossing more than three time zones during their journey. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15700719">Symptoms of jet lag</a> include sleep disturbances, fatigue, changes in mood and a deficit in cognitive skills. All of these may detract from an athlete’s peak performance.</p>
<p>So how does this play out for athletes like those competing in Super Rugby?</p>
<h2>Varying factors</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20632735">Performance</a> is complex and may be influenced by many different factors, including travel. </p>
<p>Over the history of Super Rugby it appears quite clear that travel, especially across multiple time zones, had a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31104575">negative impact</a> on the winning capability of the teams. However, travel fatigue itself had only <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31104575">a limited impact</a> on team performance. </p>
<p>Super Rugby teams reach the match venue at least one day prior to the match and a full night of rest is usually <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9232562">enough to recover</a> from the effects of travel fatigue. Similarly, crossing time zones appears to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31104575">minimally impair performance</a>. However, the direction of travel largely dictates the magnitude of this impairment: eastward travel is slightly more detrimental than westward travel. As such, for example, a team travelling from South Africa towards Australia or New Zealand will struggle more than a team travelling from South Africa towards Argentina.</p>
<p>This is because eastward travel requires a phase advance of the circadian rhythms while travelling westward requires a phase delay. Circadian rhythms are, on average, slightly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10381883">longer than 24 hours</a> and the human body shows a natural tendency to drift slightly each day. As such, it is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20204161">easier to cope with a delay</a> rather than an advance in time. </p>
<p>This means the symptoms of jet lag are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12076414">more severe</a> after eastward travel, the time required to recover <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20204161">is longer</a> and performance <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8423745">more impaired</a>.</p>
<h2>Impaired performance</h2>
<p>A number of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22299812">specific strategies</a> are commonly used by all teams to try and reduce the negative effects of travel. Compression garments can help in reducing travel fatigue and reduce the risk of cramping or even deep vein <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15768727">thrombosis</a> whilst travelling. </p>
<p>Other strategies, mostly based on <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12076414">melatonin supplementation</a>, can help reduce the effect of jet-lag upon arrival. Although these strategies help the team in successfully dealing with long-haul travel, team performance when overseas <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31109247">is still impaired</a>.</p>
<p>Travel is an intrinsic feature of Super Rugby but travel variables are too many to control and therefore there is not a final solution to address all travel related issues. However, our findings suggest that, for the most part, teams appear to be successfully dealing with long-haul travel. Now they should focus on reducing the effects of the away-match disadvantage – for instance by improving players’ behavioural response when competing away from home or implementing different game plans.</p>
<p><em>Professor Andrew M Stewart (Victoria University), Professor Robert J Aughey (Victoria University) and Associate Professor Nicholas Gill (University of Waikato) co-authored the research on which this article is based.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michele Lo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Travel is commonly perceived as “the” major factor affecting a team’s performance.Michele Lo, Researcher at the College of Sport & Exercise Science and Institute for Health and Sport (iHeS), Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1151482019-04-11T20:11:07Z2019-04-11T20:11:07ZThe success of Winx shows the value of symmetry in race horses<p>As Australia prepares to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/superracing/queens-elizabeth-stakes-2019-winx-prepares-for-final-race-of-her-career/news-story/e7632c4c6d90fb980a60f35b73b98303">farewell the beloved racehorse Winx</a> in her final race this weekend, it’s interesting to look at the factors that contributed to her incredible success.</p>
<p>This magnificent mare’s extraordinary career reflects her impeccable genetics, rearing, training, strategic rest periods, and race riding. Optimal heart, lung and muscle function also play a part.</p>
<p>But what about something we refer to as her “economy of locomotion” during high-speed galloping? This is the energy cost of travelling a particular distance. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vets-can-do-more-to-reduce-the-suffering-of-flat-faced-dog-breeds-110702">Vets can do more to reduce the suffering of flat-faced dog breeds</a>
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<p>This can be compromised during a race, both by behavioural factors such as “pulling” due to overexcitement, and by any bias in the horse towards one side over the other, known as structural asymmetry.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0xBGLMHufCo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">David Evans on Winx.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We don’t know whether Winx has perfect structural symmetry. But her trainer and regular riders would have a strong sense of the mare’s balance during track work and races.</p>
<h2>A matter of left and right</h2>
<p><a href="https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/arthropods_04">Bilateral symmetry</a> in animals refers to the balance of structures, such that they are mirror images along the body’s midline. </p>
<p>Asymmetry is a disruption of the left-right balance that may be associated with factors such as abnormal anatomy, chronic lameness, or laterality (a preference to use one side of the body rather than the other). </p>
<p>In horses, there is now evidence from laterality studies of differences in and between populations due to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159104002916" title="Motor and sensory laterality in thoroughbred horses">age, training, handling, breeding</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159104002631" title="Idiosyncratic motor laterality in the horse">sex</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25108052" title="Is the left forelimb preference indicative of a stressful situation in horses?">arousal</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20636782" title="Lateralised motor behaviour leads to increased unevenness in front feet and asymmetry in athletic performance in young mature Warmblood horses">anatomical proportions, such a ratio of head length to leg length</a>.</p>
<h2>Racecourses vary from state to state</h2>
<p>Horse racing in Australia is rarely done only in a straight line. In New South Wales and Queensland, for example, horses race in a clockwise direction, whereas in Victoria they race anticlockwise.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.racing.com/horses/winx/stats">Winx has raced and won</a> mostly in NSW but has also won four Cox Plates (Victoria), so clearly she can cope with both track directions. </p>
<p>For many others, race direction can matter and may risk injury to a horse.</p>
<p>On bends, it is common for horses to use the left leading leg when galloping in an anticlockwise direction, and <em>vice versa</em>. But, because of asymmetry, many horses have a preferred leading leg. So, depending on the state, the bends favour some horses more than others. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268756/original/file-20190411-44814-2peq6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268756/original/file-20190411-44814-2peq6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268756/original/file-20190411-44814-2peq6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268756/original/file-20190411-44814-2peq6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268756/original/file-20190411-44814-2peq6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=947&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268756/original/file-20190411-44814-2peq6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=947&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268756/original/file-20190411-44814-2peq6c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=947&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>The direction of racing predicts which limbs are vulnerable to injury. </p>
<p>Irrespective of course direction, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080606815728">one study</a> found 72% of musculoskeletal injuries occur to the leading leg. Major sites on a racetrack of injury were:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>on the straights (30.77% of injuries involved the leading leg)</p></li>
<li><p>coming out of a turn (55.31% of injuries were to the leading leg)</p></li>
<li><p>passing a turn (62.5% of injuries corresponded with the leading leg)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This implies that more strain is put on the leading leg during turns. </p>
<p>Therefore, horses racing on their weaker side, in a direction counter to their preferred leading leg, may be at increased risk of injury. </p>
<hr>
<figure> <img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/556/Winx.gif" width="100%"><figcaption> The transfer of weight in a gallop in motion.</figcaption></figure>
<hr>
<h2>Asymmetry is normal in horses</h2>
<p>Sizeable anatomical asymmetries can affect <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1985.tb02501.x" title="Retrospective study of hindquarter asymmetry in Standardbred Trotters and its correlation with performance">a horse’s race performance</a> and, beyond a certain point, can lead to lameness. </p>
<p>Thoroughbreds have been shown to have longer <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4c75/add7151755e02b0779822a1ac55bdacabad3.pdf" title="Third metacarpal bone length and skeletal asymmetry in the Thoroughbred racehorse">right than left</a> third metacarpal bones (the long bone in the front leg between the knee) and pastern (the joint immediately above the hoof). This could theoretically lead to advantages when racing on anticlockwise courses, and disadvantages on clockwise courses.</p>
<p>From the moment a foal first rises to her feet, she will tend to use one side of the body more than the other. Any innate bias can become consolidated as the foal grows.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268494/original/file-20190410-2909-1e7up41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268494/original/file-20190410-2909-1e7up41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268494/original/file-20190410-2909-1e7up41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268494/original/file-20190410-2909-1e7up41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268494/original/file-20190410-2909-1e7up41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268494/original/file-20190410-2909-1e7up41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268494/original/file-20190410-2909-1e7up41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Horses at pasture spend up to 16 hours per day grazing, an activity that forces them to stand with one foreleg ahead of the other, many lock in a preference for advancing the left or right foreleg.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul McGreevy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When she goes into exercise training, the asymmetry persists, and may show in the horse’s behaviour.</p>
<h2>Checking a horse’s movement</h2>
<p>Side biases in the movement behaviour in the horse include the ease with which they flex their necks to the left or the right and, perhaps most importantly, their preferred leading leg in the canter and gallop.</p>
<p>Last year we published a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/comments?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0198545" title="The laterality of the gallop gait in Thoroughbred racehorses">study</a> on more than 2,000 thoroughbred racehorses that established, for each horse, the lead-leg preference of the initial stride into gallop from the starting stalls. </p>
<p>Almost half (48.74%) of the horses started races in a direction counter to the optimal gallop leading leg and so would have to change leading leg to optimise their performance and safety on bends.</p>
<p>This increases the risk of errors on landing and therefore injuries. Injuries to horses also bring the risk of injury or even death for jockeys. Perhaps, when we have the right data, we will be able to confirm that Winx makes very few of these changes.</p>
<h2>Let the tech detect the movement</h2>
<p>Much recent research in horse biomechanics has used on-board accelerometry technology that can measure their movement while exercising freely in their natural environments at speeds near those in competition.</p>
<p>Studies have focused on gait characteristics – the way a horse moves – in normal and obviously lame horses and in other clinical conditions. It’s shown to be useful for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26518143" title="Comparison of a standalone consumer grade smartphone with a specialist inertial measurement unit for quantification of movement symmetry in the trotting horse">accurate and sensitive detection of gait abnormality</a>.</p>
<p>One study using accelerometry on 222 riding horses perceived as “healthy” by their owners found that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316465770_Head_and_pelvic_movement_asymmetries_at_trot_in_riding_horses_in_training_and_perceived_as_free_from_lameness_by_the_owner">73% showed movement abnormalities</a> during straight-line trotting.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-horse-racing-in-australia-needs-a-social-licence-to-operate-79492">Why horse-racing in Australia needs a social licence to operate</a>
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<p>Further studies using this technology should improve the welfare of performance horses and their riders if it can identify any gait abnormalities due to laterality, lameness, and other clinical problems. </p>
<p>Gait analysis will also reveal the attributes of horses that can safely and optimally race in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions, as Winx has shown. </p>
<p>So here’s hoping Winx can go out with another victory in her final race, at a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/sport/racing/randwick-sold-out-for-winx-farewell-20190410-p51cw4.html">sold-out event</a> at Randwick (it’s a clockwise track and she’s had <a href="https://www.racenet.com.au/horse/winx">plenty of wins there</a>).</p>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115148/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Paul McGreevy is an Honorary Fellow of the International Society for Equitation Science and a life member of the RSPCA NSW. He has received funding from the Australian Research Council for research into the welfare of racing Thoroughbreds. He consults to the RSPCA Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Evans receives funding from Australian Research Council, and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. He has received research consultancy income from RSPCA Australia.</span></em></p>It’s the last race for Winx this weekend and she’s been an incredible race horse. But what makes a good race horse?Paul McGreevy, Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science, University of SydneyDavid Evans, Adjunct Associate Professor in Equine Exercise Science, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1125052019-02-26T20:16:08Z2019-02-26T20:16:08ZHow long before we break the two-hour barrier in the men’s marathon?<p>What can you do with 99 seconds? Check your email? Fire off a tweet? Walk 100 metres?</p>
<p>For current <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/16/eliud-kipchoge-smashes-world-marathon-record-berlin">men’s marathon world-record holder</a>, Kenyan <a href="https://www.iaaf.org/athletes/kenya/eliud-kipchoge-188307">Eliud Kipchoge</a>, 99 seconds is all that stands between him and the sub two-hour (or “sub-2”) marathon run.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-17/de-castella-tips-eliud-kipchoge-for-sub-two-minute-marathon/10256920">Breaking the two-hour barrier</a> in the men’s marathon could be the defining moment of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/17/sub-two-hour-marathon-not-fanciful-eliud-kipchoge">Kipchoge’s illustrious career</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-tips-to-help-your-kid-succeed-in-sport-or-maybe-just-enjoy-it-110785">Five tips to help your kid succeed in sport – or maybe just enjoy it</a>
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<p>But how close is he? How hard is dropping 99 seconds, really?</p>
<p>To find out, in a study <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/publishahead/A_Statistical_Timetable_for_the_Sub_2_Hour.96666.aspx" title="A Statistical Timetable for the Sub-2-Hour Marathon">published today in Medicine and Science of Sports and Exercise</a>, I crunched the data on all male and female marathon world record times since 1950.</p>
<h2>The barrier broken</h2>
<p>Kipchoge could break the sub-2 barrier tomorrow, but it is very very unlikely: there’s just a 2% chance of it ever happening, to be precise.</p>
<p>The more likely answer is that we will have to wait until May 2032 to see someone – most likely not Kipchoge – go sub-2 in an official event. By that time, the chance of someone going sub-2 increases to 10%.</p>
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<p>But we may have to be even more patient: 2054 sees the probability of a sub-2 marathon rising to 25%.</p>
<p>The reason for the shifting date is that from the standpoint of statistics, there is a direct connection between the predicted date of arrival of the sub-2 moment, and its probability of happening.</p>
<p>The key insight of the approach comes down to the difference between what is likely to happen on average, and what is likely to happen in just one single realisation of the future.</p>
<h2>The Bradman average</h2>
<p>Take Australian cricketing legend <a href="https://www.statslife.org.uk/sports/1989-did-don-bradman-s-cricketing-genius-make-him-a-statistical-outlier">Don Bradman’s phenomenal test batting average</a> of 99.94 runs. This number represents the average over Bradman’s 80 innings (including ten not-outs). </p>
<p>But what we should remember is that, when using this average to predict the future, the average has some variation associated with it. So actually, we should probably quote the Don’s average as 99.94, within the range 71.0 to 128.8.</p>
<p>What these numbers mean is that if Bradman were to have played another ten test innings, then the average of those ten innings would lie, with 95% chance, within the range 71.0 to 128.8. (For the statistician in all of us, yes, that’s a confidence interval.)</p>
<p>Which is helpful. But what if the English skipper who faced Bradman, <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/23521.html">Norman Yardley</a>, is playing one of those fictional next games. He cares more about what Bradman might score right now, at the crease, not over a series of ten such events. </p>
<p>At this point, Yardley needs what is called a “prediction interval”: the likely range of a single inning’s score (not the average over a number of innings).</p>
<p>Sorry Yardley. The answer is a tad demoralising: the prediction interval for Bradman’s test innings is from 0 to 343.5 runs!</p>
<p>In other words, with 95% likelihood, a single Bradman innings will fall anywhere in the interval 0 to 343.5 runs.</p>
<h2>A marathon prediction</h2>
<p>Back to the marathon, it is exactly this insight that helps us to make a more accurate point-prediction for when the sub-2 marathon will be run, leading to our May 2032 estimate (with 10% likelihood).</p>
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<p>The table (above) shows how the men’s marathon times have been tumbling, especially in more recent years.</p>
<p>The neat thing about the modelling framework is that we can also calculate the likely fastest ever men’s marathon time, again at 10% likelihood. That comes in at 1:58:05 (1h 58m 5s), a prediction that turns out to be remarkably close (within seven seconds) to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2022559" title="Modeling: optimal marathon performance on the basis of physiological factors">one made on entirely physiological grounds in 1991</a>.</p>
<p>Importantly, we can also explore female marathon times in the same way.</p>
<p>For instance, in the analysis, the likely fastest ever women’s marathon time equates to 2:05:31 (2h 5m 31s), around ten minutes faster than the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/apr/20/paula-radcliffe-london-marathon-record">current world record, set in 2003, of Paula Radcliffe (UK)</a>.</p>
<p>But what time target would be the equivalent for women of the men’s sub-2?</p>
<p>Knowing the limits of male performance, we can simply calculate the distance from the male limiting time (1:58:05) to the 2 hour time, a difference of 1 min, 55 secs.</p>
<p>We can then express this difference as a percentage of the male limiting time, giving 1.62%, add it to the female limiting time. This procedure gives us a time that is the same distance, in performance terms, from the female limiting time as the sub-2 barrier is from the men’s.</p>
<p>The result? 2:07:33 (2h 7m 33s) which doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.</p>
<h2>The sub-120 and the sub-130</h2>
<p>For this reason, I suggest that a reasonable choice for an arbitrary focus for elite female performance could be 130 minutes (2h 10m 0s). Let’s call it the “sub 130 minute marathon”. (Remember, the sub-2 – or sub 120 minute – barrier is itself entirely arbitrary.)</p>
<p>Which leads us to another important observation.</p>
<p>Paula Radcliffe’s remarkable 2:15:25 (2h 15m 25s) world record was set one sunny day in London in April 2003 – and here we are, almost 16 years later, and the time still stands (see table, below).</p>
<p><iframe id="49zJy" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/49zJy/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>For context, the male world record mark has been improved on seven times over the same period. So where are all the female world-record marathoners?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-parkour-the-sport-that-seems-reckless-but-takes-poise-and-skill-110881">The science of parkour, the sport that seems reckless but takes poise and skill</a>
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<p>I don’t have a full answer to that question. But <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24191965" title="Marathon progress: demography, morphology and environment">a fascinating study from 2014</a> of the characteristics of the best male and female marathoners in recent times gives us an important clue.</p>
<p>While for male marathoners, African runners better their best non-African counterparts to the tune of around 2.5%, for female marathoners, no difference presently exists between African runners and the best of the rest by continent.</p>
<p>It would seem to me that there is likely a group of world-record smashing African female marathoners living somewhere on the planet today, but nobody knows who they are. Yet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112505/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon D Angus has received or receives research funding from Amazon Web Services, .auDA Domain Administration Ltd, and the Dept. of Education and Training.</span></em></p>Number crunching the winning race time for marathon athletes can tell us when the men are likely to break the two-hour barrier. But what about a target barrier for women marathon runners?Simon D. Angus, Associate Professor, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/918332018-02-15T03:03:04Z2018-02-15T03:03:04ZWhat makes a winning halfpipe snowboarder like Scotty James?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206339/original/file-20180214-174969-4tur21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scotty James became the second Australian in Winter Olympic history to win a medal in the snowboard halfpipe event.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Fazry Ismail</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Wednesday, <a href="http://pyeongchang2018.olympics.com.au/athlete/scotty-james">Scotty James</a> won <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-14/scotty-james-takes-bronze-on-the-halfpipe-in-pyeongchang/9444852">Australia’s second medal</a> at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang – bronze in the men’s snowboard halfpipe competition.</p>
<p>James’ medal adds to those won by fellow Australian <a href="http://corporate.olympics.com.au/sports/snowboard/medals">Torah Bright</a> (gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and silver at Sochi in 2014) in the women’s snowboard halfpipe event. </p>
<h2>What is snowboard halfpipe?</h2>
<p>The snowboard halfpipe made its debut at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2754608-olympic-freestyle-skiing-2018-complete-guide-to-pyeongchang-winter-games">The event</a> takes place on a trough-like feature made of snow, built on a shaped earth base. The Olympic halfpipe is sloped at approximately 17-18°, and is between 150-170 metres long, 19-22m wide, and 6.7m high. </p>
<p>The halfpipe event consists of three runs lasting around 20-30 seconds, and involves between six and eight “hits” of the pipe. A “hit” is an aerial trick (jump, rotation and twist) off the top of the pipe. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.fis-ski.com/mm/Document/documentlibrary/Snowboard/04/21/07/FISSnowboardJudgesbook1314_Final_English.pdf">Six judges score</a> a competitor’s run based on each hit’s height, rotation, technique and degree of difficulty, with a score given out of 100. The highest and lowest scores are removed, and the final score is the average of the four remaining scores. </p>
<p>The best score of the three runs is recorded; the highest scores determine the medals.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.fis-ski.com/mm/Document/documentlibrary/Snowboard/04/21/07/FISSnowboardJudgesbook1314_Final_English.pdf">International Ski Federation’s</a> snowboard judges’ manual specifically outlines the scoring criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>amplitude – with the greater the height of the jump off the top, the riskier the hit, and greater point scores;</p></li>
<li><p>difficulty – more rotations increases the difficulty, but also switch take-offs (opposite side to natural board stance), frontside or backside rotation, take-offs (on heel or toe side), different hand grab placements on board, blind landings (athlete can’t see where they are landing), combinations and sequential hard tricks, different rotational axis (lateral/longitudinal or horizontal), and an alley-oop (spin opposite direction to jump entry (for example, front entry to back spin);</p></li>
<li><p>execution – overall control throughout the run, and for each individual hit. It is also the ability to perform the positions of the intended trick once they have initiated it;</p></li>
<li><p>variety – changing the type of trick for each hit gets a higher score (for example backside then frontside, changed spin axis, different grabs);</p></li>
<li><p>combinations – consecutive difficult hits score higher;</p></li>
<li><p>pipe use – anything performed before an athlete crosses the marked finish line is counted in judging, with hits scoring higher if performed off the top of the pipe;</p></li>
<li><p>progression – introducing new tricks never seen in the sport is highly favoured; and</p></li>
<li><p>risk-taking – pushing to the maximum limit of ability is advantageous.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Judges deduct points for errors in a run based on the following criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>one-to-ten points for small mistakes (hand drag, flat landings, deck landings, and sliding);</p></li>
<li><p>11-20 points for medium mistakes (stop full, longer hand drags, heavy hand touches, slight butt touches, and revert to natural stance on board);</p></li>
<li><p>21-25 points for major mistakes (heavy butt or body landing, complete bailing from hit).</p></li>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights of the men’s snowboard halfpipe final from Pyeongchang.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Injuries</h2>
<p>The nature of snowboard halfpipe means most competitors risk serious injury – and <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089155/Sarah-Burke-death-Skier-dies-brain-damage-9-days-half-pipe-crash.html">possible death</a> – throughout their career. </p>
<p>Halfpipe has the third-highest incidence of injury (behind big air and snowboard cross). There is a <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/40/3/230.short">reported</a> 1.6 injuries reported per 1,000 runs for men, and 2.3 injuries per 1,000 runs for women.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/40/3/230.short">most common injuries</a> are to the lower arm/wrist, spine, and knee. As a result, current training practices focus heavily on giving athletes the physical tools to prevent these injuries.</p>
<p>Specifically, many programs <a href="https://benthamopen.com/ABSTRACT/TOSMJ-5-1">target jumping/landing force</a>, as this is the common factor of injury occurrence for snowboard halfpipe athletes. Training for “crash robustness” requires athletes to build joint strength and soft-tissue support in muscles and ligaments across the entire body. </p>
<p>Core strength to support and tolerate spinal loads during rotations, jumps and landings is also crucial in avoiding spinal injuries. </p>
<h2>Physical demands</h2>
<p>Snowboard halfpipe is an explosive, skill-based sport. While building “crash robustness” is integral, these athletes need to train to perform. They may seem laid-back and relaxed, but they are subjected to high physical load and fatigue induced by training and competition.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://benthamopen.com/ABSTRACT/TOSMJ-5-1">average training day</a> for halfpipe may consist of between ten and 12 runs (each lasting 20-30 seconds), plus hikes to the top of the pipe. This equates between two and four hours of training each day. Managing <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-winter-olympic-athletes-cope-with-the-cold-91575">sub-zero temperatures</a> and the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.00901.x/full">effects of altitude</a> on physical performance is also a concern.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-winter-olympic-athletes-cope-with-the-cold-91575">Explainer: how Winter Olympic athletes cope with the cold</a>
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<p>The northern hemisphere training and competition period can last between four and five months. But athletes like James may also <a href="http://www.fis-ski.com/news-multimedia/news/article=winter-the-southern-hemisphere-multiple-fis-competitions-underway.html">train and compete</a> during the southern hemisphere winters.</p>
<p>Halfpipe snowboarders do not require large muscle mass to compete; they prefer to remain lean to maximise their hit amplitude. Their physical training focuses on neuromuscular adaptations to induce greater muscle fibre recruitment, power/speed, and eccentric (muscle lengthening under tension) force absorption for landings.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Scotty James demonstrates core strength and neuromuscular gym training, and other off-snow training.</span></figcaption>
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<p>A <a href="https://benthamopen.com/ABSTRACT/TOSMJ-5-1">large majority of off-snow training</a> focuses on sport-specific skill development, such as building co-ordination and the smoothness of trick execution. Athletes and coaches use a “gymnastic approach” to off-snow training – via trampolines, foam pits, and diving platforms/pools – to practice aerial skills in a safe landing environment.</p>
<p>So, behind his cool exterior, James has worked as hard as any other elite athlete on all aspects of his training to avoid injury and increase performance. Put together, this enabled him to stand on the podium to receive his bronze medal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91833/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jade Haycraft receives funding from the Australian Government (Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship).</span></em></p>Halfpipe snowboarders like Scotty James may seem laid-back and relaxed, but they are subjected to high physical load and fatigue induced by training and competition.Jade Haycraft, PhD Candidate, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/915752018-02-14T03:27:08Z2018-02-14T03:27:08ZExplainer: how Winter Olympic athletes cope with the cold<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206311/original/file-20180213-175001-ba6dty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Temperatures in Pyeongchang fall below -10℃ at night.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Filip Singer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The canvas of white currently fascinating many viewers of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang may seem totally foreign to those more used to watching sport played under the summer sun. It is grey and cold in the South Korean alpine town. Temperatures drop below <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/kr/pyeongchang-gun/223567/weather-forecast/223567">-10°C</a> at night.</p>
<p>Many might have questions about how elite athletes can perform to their best in such cold conditions. So, what’s happening to the body in the cold. What stresses does it experience? And what about injury?</p>
<h2>What happens to muscle in the cold?</h2>
<p>If human muscle is cooled by one degree, it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1555556/">loses 2-5% of its performance</a>. A whole host of muscle properties <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/525366">can be affected</a>, such as the time it takes a muscle to generate peak tension and then the time to relax from this peak.</p>
<p>Cold also disrupts the nervous impulses that control muscle through changes in activation patterns. So, there may be a delay in the sequence in which muscle activates to create and control movement. This <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21068679">equates to</a> about a 10-20% loss in vertical jump height and a reduction of up to 25% in peak muscle power.</p>
<p>For a landing, the limbs and joints become stiffer. This means much more force <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1896081/">gets absorbed</a> by a body’s trunk rather than in the lower limbs.</p>
<p>The losses in performance have been attributed to an increase in thickness of the fluid in muscle and joints, as well as the disruption of nervous input to muscle.</p>
<h2>How does this translate to sporting performance?</h2>
<p>In the longer events like cross-country and the longer downhill skiing runs, generating muscle heat isn’t as much of an issue. The events are long enough to allow elevated metabolism to generate enough body heat to offset the effects of the cold temperature. </p>
<p>But in the shorter events – like aerial skiing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-winning-mogul-skier-like-matt-graham-91743">moguls</a>, ski jumping and many of the snowboarding events – getting a good warm-up and maintaining the heat close to the skin are imperative. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-winning-mogul-skier-like-matt-graham-91743">What makes a winning mogul skier like Matt Graham?</a>
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<p>Modern winter sport clothing relies on layering to maintain warmth. Athletes generally layer up with a next-to-skin garment, a mid-layer insulation, and an outer layer to protect from the wind and water. The next-to-skin layer is commonly worn to keep skin temperatures (and hopefully muscle temperatures) up. </p>
<p>Many athletes are now also using warming cuffs or pads which they remove just before their event. These self-warming devices fit over the next-to-skin garment and maintain the warmth around the large muscles and joints of the lower limbs. </p>
<p>But what if you don’t have the luxury of being an elite athlete?</p>
<p>The next time you hit the snow or exercise in the cold and don’t have the benefit of self-warming garments, take the time to warm up – thoroughly. This increases your metabolism and, in turn, warms the body from within. </p>
<p>Next, try to maintain the muscle temperature by wearing an insulated, next-to-skin garment that holds some of the heat generated. </p>
<p>And if you’re on a chairlift preparing to ski, remember that your muscles are cooling and losing some of their force and power-generating potential. Do a short secondary warm-up at the top of the run, or start up slow and build into the run.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206313/original/file-20180214-174990-7zh9yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206313/original/file-20180214-174990-7zh9yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206313/original/file-20180214-174990-7zh9yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206313/original/file-20180214-174990-7zh9yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206313/original/file-20180214-174990-7zh9yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206313/original/file-20180214-174990-7zh9yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206313/original/file-20180214-174990-7zh9yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Modern winter sport clothing relies on layering to maintain warmth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Filip Singer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What about injury?</h2>
<p>The most popular winter sports – downhill skiing and snowboarding – have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10352778">quite high injury rates</a>, mostly to the lower limbs. Improper techniques – especially landing techniques – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19720537">have been linked</a> to many of these injuries.</p>
<p>Some studies <a href="https://www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/JOURNALS/JAI/PAGES/JAI101378.htm">have also linked</a> colder temperatures to increased injury rates. These studies suggest the increased injury rates are a result of changes in muscle performance coupled with the increased biomechanical demands of winter sport, such as having your feet bound to skis or a snowboard, performing sharp turns, and landing from a jump.</p>
<p>While watching the Pyeonchang Olympics on your couch, spare a thought for the changes in the body caused by the environment these athletes compete in. It fundamentally changes the body parts they rely on to carve, flip, twist, turn, slide, grab and generally shred up the Games’ white canvas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91575/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Netto works for Curtin University. He receives funding from government and non-government organisations. </span></em></p>Here’s how athletes at the Winter Olympics are able to perform in extreme cold.Kevin Netto, Associate Professor, School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/917432018-02-13T01:08:33Z2018-02-13T01:08:33ZWhat makes a winning mogul skier like Matt Graham?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206091/original/file-20180213-58312-19q1onl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What makes the mogul discipline distinctive is that it is both a judged event and a timed event.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Sergei Ilnitsky</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Monday, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-13/freestyle-skier-matt-graham-parties-after-winning-silver-medal/9425316">Matt Graham</a> won Australia’s first medal – a silver – at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the freestyle moguls.</p>
<p>Graham’s second placing is the third time an Australian has won a medal in the event at a Winter Olympics. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Begg-Smith">Dale Begg-Smith</a> – who was also coached by Graham’s mentor, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olympics/winter-olympics-2018-matt-graham-insists-moguls-king-mikael-kingsbury-is-beatable-20180211-h0vwpd.html">Steve Descovich</a> – won gold at the 2006 Turin Olympics and silver at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.</p>
<h2>What is mogul skiing?</h2>
<p>There have been official mogul races since 1971. The <a href="http://www.fis-ski.com/mm/Document/documentlibrary/FreestyleSkiing/04/21/06/FreestyleSkiingJudgingandScoringHandbook2014v.1.0_English.pdf">International Ski Federation’s handbook</a> stipulates that a mogul competition:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… shall consist of one run of free skiing on a steep, heavily moguled course, stressing technical turns, aerial manoeuvres and speed. </p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.fis-ski.com/mm/Document/documentlibrary/FreestyleSkiing/02/03/28/FS_FIS_FreestyleICRmarkedup201602.08.16_English.pdf">A mogul event</a> consists of one or more rounds (beginning with one run for all competitors), and a final phase of one or more rounds. Graham’s silver medal came after four runs on the Olympic course: one qualification round and three final rounds.</p>
<p>What makes the mogul discipline distinctive is that it is both a judged event <em>and</em> a timed event. </p>
<p>Athletes are given a score out of 100 for their overall time (20 points), and their technical ability in turning manoeuvres (60 points) and aerial manoeuvres (20 points). In the evaluation of turns, five judges determine “rhythmic changes in direction of travel”. Two judges evaluate the form and difficulty of a mogul skier’s aerial manoeuvres. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.fis-ski.com/mm/Document/documentlibrary/FreestyleSkiing/04/21/06/FreestyleSkiingJudgingandScoringHandbook2014v.1.0_English.pdf">International Ski Federation’s judges’ handbook</a> provides very clear guidelines for awarding marks to athletes.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Lbf4yVkjCU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Matt Graham’s silver-medal-winning mogul skiing performance.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Physical demands</h2>
<p>Moguls skiers face several physical challenges in their discipline. They ski, at speed, downhill on a steep course and have to absorb the shock to their bodies of numerous artificially created undulations – known as moguls. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/sports/freestyle-skiing">Olympic course</a> has:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… a slope, with an average tilt of 28 degrees, a difference in elevation of 110 metres, a course length of 250 metres, and a minimum course width of 18 metres. And the middle portion of the course has two jump sections. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In training, athletes must grow accustomed to the forces they will experience at speed, and prepare them for two landings on a steep slope while attempting elevated aerial manoeuvres. </p>
<p>In Pyeongchang, athletes also had to deal with extremely low temperatures that changed the texture of the skiing surface.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/winter-olympics-how-athletes-adapt-to-competing-in-the-bitter-cold-91269">Winter Olympics: how athletes adapt to competing in the bitter cold</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Mental demands</h2>
<p>The decision to take part in mogul skiing requires athletes to develop their mental skills to deal with the volume of training required, the precision of their technical skills, and their ability to tolerate low temperatures on a snow surface that varies every time they ski. </p>
<p>As with all sports, athletes have to consider their exposure to injury – particularly to their lower limbs. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/44/11/803.short">2010 study of freestyle skiers</a> reported:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the injury rate among World Cup athletes in freestyle skiing is high, especially for severe injuries. The knee is the most commonly injured body part, also dominated by severe injuries.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_MXOwX3Ah6M?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Canada’s Michael Kingsbury won gold in the men’s mogul skiing.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The role of coaching</h2>
<p>Mogul skiing’s technical and tactical aspects create opportunities for coaches to develop a personal learning environment for athletes. </p>
<p>Australia has both a head coach (Desovich) and a jump coach (Jerry Grossi). Both work with athletes in a daily training environment that takes them all over the world. Graham has competed in world events since 2010; he was a finalist at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. </p>
<p>His silver medal at Pyeongchang is the culmination of support from his family and friends, years of training, and the insights of experienced coaches.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91743/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Keith Lyons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Matt Graham’s silver medal in mogul skiing is the third time an Australian has won a medal in the event at a Winter Olympics.Keith Lyons, Adjunct Professor of Sport Studies, UC-RISE, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/902762018-02-07T11:38:59Z2018-02-07T11:38:59ZHow AI could help football managers spot weak links in their teams<p>Football fans have long been bombarded with an <a href="https://www.premierleague.com/stats">array of statistics</a> ranging from the number of successful passes completed to the distance covered by each player in English Premier League matches. But that approach is blind to the context of the game and the specific role of each player. </p>
<p>What is needed is a new system that can reveal not only what distance players covered in a game, but why they covered it and at what intensity. These statistics would tell managers and coaches who on their team is following the game plan and who is playing a game of their own. It is this method that <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0433">our new research</a> has explored.</p>
<p>Elite clubs use technologies ranging from GPS to automated camera tracking technology to collect data. As the physical demands of top leagues around the world are <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140811124626.htm">increasing year on year</a> even more focus is now placed on the physical efforts of players to gauge intensity.</p>
<p>For four decades, clubs used the more traditional system of analysing the distance covered by players from walking through to sprinting. Although this “old” technique provides some basic insight into the physical demands of match play, it lacks important context, such as the tactical reasons why players move.</p>
<p>But our novel approach focuses not only on intense efforts but effectively contextualises these efforts in relation to tactical activities for each position on the field. For example, the overlapping runs a full back might make or running “in behind” for a centre forward. It also considers collectively the moves and decisions a team might make, such as closing down opposition players.</p>
<h2>Unique physical profile</h2>
<p>Our study analysed <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/doi/abs/10.1123/ijspp.2017-0433">English Premier League players</a> by synchronising high-intensity distance data with the video footage of each game. This analysis clearly unveiled the unique physical profile that exists for each distinct tactical role. The old, “blind” distance-covered approach only demonstrated that high-intensity distances were greatest for wide midfielders and lowest for centre backs – with full backs, central midfielders and centre forwards falling somewhere in between.</p>
<p>Our new method provided more insight into tactical efforts with and without the ball. For instance, in possession, centre forwards carried out more high-intensity efforts in the offensive third of the pitch while driving through the middle, running in behind and breaking into the box. </p>
<p>Wide players, such as full backs and wide midfielders, produced more high-intensity efforts overlapping and running the channel (running along the wide areas of the pitch) than other positions. They also performed more crosses after these runs than other positions due to more of their efforts finishing in wide attacking pitch areas. </p>
<p>Out of possession, positions with a major defensive role in the team, such as centre backs, full backs and central midfielders, produced more high-intensity efforts covering space and recovery running. While all positions performed frequent high-intensity efforts closing down the opposition, this was particularly evident for centre forwards as modern tactics require them to “press” regularly. </p>
<h2>Cybernetics and artificial intelligence</h2>
<p>This new method could help managers and coaches check if players are adhering to their tactical directives during play. We hope it will revolutionise the way in which elite teams interpret their physical-tactical data so more insight can be provided to managers, coaches, players and sports scientists.</p>
<p>To enable this to happen, we are taking the concept a step further and collaborating on a new project between the sports science and computing departments of Liverpool John Moores University. </p>
<p>The plan is to create a cutting edge product that elite teams can use to monitor players. It will combine techniques from artificial intelligence and machine learning to facilitate the rapid pattern matching needed to contextualise tactical activities. If this can be effectively automated, then top teams will be able to use it to root out the weak links in their teams and those on the opposition side.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>More evidence-based articles about football:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/does-spending-big-in-the-football-transfer-window-get-results-two-experts-crunch-the-data-89184?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">Does spending big in the football transfer window get results? Two experts crunch the data</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mohamed-salah-effect-is-real-my-research-shows-how-he-inspires-egyptian-youth-97220?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">The ‘Mohamed Salah Effect’ is real – my research shows how he inspires Egyptian youth</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-keep-footballers-fit-and-fuelled-for-a-world-cup-97803?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=WorldCup2018">How to keep footballers fit and fuelled for major tournaments</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90276/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Ade also works as Head of Elite Fitness Development & U23's Fitness Coach at Liverpool FC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Laws and Paul Bradley do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new approach to gathering data from football matches which uses cybernetics and AI could help coaches spot weak links in their teams.Paul Bradley, Sports Scientist, Liverpool John Moores UniversityAndy Laws, Programme Leader for Department of Computer Science, Liverpool John Moores UniversityJack Ade, PhD candidate, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/822122017-08-10T20:06:46Z2017-08-10T20:06:46ZIs Usain Bolt the greatest athlete of all time? That’s not what the numbers say<p>Usain Bolt has finally hung up his running shoes, retiring from athletics amid plaudits hailing him as the <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/more-sports/world-athletics-championships-twice-banned-justin-gatlin-makes-sure-usain-bolt-has-no-fairytale-ending/news-story/e90514a60f1f5de0c429fd51ce4d7db3">greatest athlete</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/aug/05/bolts-time-runs-out-greatest-athletics-champion-of-them-all">greatest champion</a> of all time.</p>
<p>While it wasn’t quite the fairy tale ending in <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/more-sports/usain-bolt-runs-his-final-ever-100m-final/news-story/2b2f8df4ebefb0aed1b0538c369b150c">Bolt’s final race</a> – he came third and claimed only bronze in the 100m final at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in London – his overall career results are certainly fit for the record books.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XxOoPEhy9T8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The final sprint race for Usain Bolt saw him bring in the bronze.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>He is the fastest runner in history over 100m and 200m, as well as winning the “<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-20/rio-2016-usain-bolt-claims-triple-triple-at-olympics/7769198">triple triple</a>” at the Olympics: gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay at three consecutive games, in Beijing, London and Rio. (The Beijing 2008 4x100m relay gold <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jan/25/usain-bolt-jamaica-olympic-relay-gold-nesta-carter-drugs">was later revoked</a> after his team mate Nesta Carter was disqualified for failing a drug test.)</p>
<p>Bolt also held the world championship title over these distances between 2009 and 2015, with the exception of <a href="http://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/14698558">one false start in the 100m</a> in 2011. </p>
<p>But is the Jamaican athlete the greatest of all time, as is <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/we-name-the-greatest-athletes-of-all-time-in-the-wake-of-usain-bolts-remarkable-feats-at-rio-olympics/news-story/65b3f82a2e13c88d14a3104929419df3">often claimed</a>? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-secret-to-usain-bolts-speed-may-lie-in-synchronicity-37897">The secret to Usain Bolt's speed may lie in synchronicity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to compare athletes</h2>
<p>This is an interesting question given how the athletics world has changed over time. </p>
<p>Athletes today have access to cutting-edge training methods, nutrition plans and <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/knowledge_base/organised_sport/sports_and_sports_organisations/sport_technology">scientific and technological advancements</a> in equipment such as <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-18735617">track composition</a> and <a href="http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/g1101/the-evolution-of-athletic-shoe-tech/">footwear</a>. There have also been improvements in measuring an <a href="https://www.sporttechie.com/track-and-field-technology-is-rapidly-advancing/">athlete’s performance during a race</a>. </p>
<p>The performance of past 100m winners could be influenced by a number of things such as race conditions and scientific advantages that were available at the time.</p>
<p>For Bolt to truly deserve the title of “greatest of all time”, we need to compare his results to those of previous athletes over the 100m. We also need to compare his track performances to the fastest times over the other track distances. We can do this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/jqas-2012-0047">using statistics</a>.</p>
<p>If we look at the fastest 100m race times for each year, we see there has been a large decrease in fastest times for both men and women. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/dymCr/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="600"></iframe>
<p>This pattern of decreasing times is observed for race times across all distances. A key reason in the decrease in race times is due to advances in modern training and scientific knowledge. In our statistical model, we include a changing trend in time so we can compare athlete performances in different years. </p>
<p>We also need to include adjustments in our statistical model for environmental and political factors that influence the population from which athletes are. During World War I and World War II, for example, the pool of athletes was depleted by men away fighting for their country.</p>
<p>The statistical model that we used, that includes both the trend in time and adjustment for population influences, is called a <a href="https://www.encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php/Weibull_distribution">Weibull distribution</a>.</p>
<p>This distribution is perfect for calculating the probability of rare events occurring in a given year, such as the fastest race times, and is ideal for estimating the probability of breaking world records.</p>
<h2>Crunch the numbers</h2>
<p>We use this distribution to model the fastest race times each year over the distances 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m. Using the statistical properties of the distribution, we can then rescale to compare different athletes’ performances over different distances. This means we can answer the question: is Usain Bolt the greatest athlete of all time?</p>
<p>The top 10 rankings from the statistical model are given below. These rankings account for the advantage of racing in different years and account for performances over different distances. </p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/e5b0u/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="466"></iframe>
<p>Bolt is the world’s fastest man of all time over 100m and 200m but the title of world’s greatest athlete goes to <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/lee-evans-38545">Lee Evans</a> of the United States, who broke the world record in the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/lee-evans">mens 400m at the Olympics in 1968</a> in Mexico City.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Lee Evans wins the race and a new world record.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For women, the greatest athlete of all time is <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/florence-joyner-9542053">Florence Griffith-Joyner</a> of the United States for her performance in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/london-2012-olympics-blog/2012/apr/11/olympic-florence-griffith-joyner-seoul">100m in the US Olympic Trials in 1988</a>. Her records for both 100m and 200m remain unbroken today.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/1cDjB/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="466"></iframe>
<p>Griffith-Joyner’s 100m world record time of 10.49s was suspected to be wind-assisted. But she also ran the second- and third-fastest official times in history for the women’s 100m, at 10.61s and 10.62s, so the title is well deserved.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Florence Griffith-Joyner, also known as ‘Flo Jo’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The study of extremes</h2>
<p>All this number crunching might seem like just a bit of fun, but statistical modelling of minima and maxima is actually really important and commonly used in fields of engineering, finance and earth sciences.</p>
<p>For example, we use distributions like this one to model the wettest day of the year and estimate the amount of rainfall we expect on average once every 100 years – the 1-in-100-year prediction.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-was-the-sydney-storm-once-in-a-century-40824">Explainer: was the Sydney storm 'once-in-a-century'?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This allows us to build infrastructure to cope with extreme rainfall events, like drainage and levee banks, and protect against rainfall events that we may not have even seen yet.</p>
<p>But the statistical modelling also gives us a useful method of checking to see if claims of athletic greatness or champion uphold to scrutiny of the numbers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate R Saunders receives scholarship funding from the ARC through the Laureate Fellowship FL130100039, top funding from CSIRO and is a student with the Australian Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alec G Stephenson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jamaican Usain Bolt is often hailed as the greatest athlete of all time. But when you crunch the numbers, his name doesn’t come top of the list.Kate R Saunders, PhD Student, The University of MelbourneAlec G Stephenson, Senior Data Scientist, Data61Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/798522017-06-23T14:04:45Z2017-06-23T14:04:45ZConfidence can be a bad thing – here’s why<p>Have you ever felt 100% confident in your ability to complete a task, and then failed miserably? After <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40347469">losing in the first</a> round at Queen’s Club for the first time since 2012, world number one tennis player, Andy Murray, hinted that “overconfidence” might have been his downfall. Reflecting on his early exit, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40349519">Murray said</a>: “Winning a tournament is great and you feel good afterwards, but you can also sometimes think that your game is in a good place and maybe become a little bit more relaxed in that week beforehand.” </p>
<p>There is no doubt that success breeds confidence, and in turn, the confidence gained from success positively influences performance – normally. However, recently, this latter part of the relationship between confidence and performance has been called into doubt. High confidence can have its drawbacks. One may only need to look at the results of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/where-it-all-went-wrong-for-theresa-may-79219?sr=5">recent general election</a> to note that Theresa May called for an early election partly based on her confidence to win an overall majority. </p>
<p><a href="http://ipep.bangor.ac.uk/confidence.php">Our research</a> at the Institute for the Psychology of Elite Performance at Bangor University has extensively examined the relationship between confidence and performance. So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of having high (or indeed low) levels of confidence for an upcoming task?</p>
<h2>Confidence and performance</h2>
<p>First, let’s look at the possible outcomes of having low confidence (some form of <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2010-12916-001">self-doubt</a>). Low confidence is the state of thinking that we are not quite ready to face an upcoming task. In this case, one of two things happens: either <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19744355">we disengage</a> from the task, or we invest extra effort into preparing for it. In one of our studies participants were required to <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/240e/c8b5df5f3763819537d97ebe3e1887ae345a.pdf">skip with a rope</a> continuously for one minute. Participants were then told that they had to repeat the task but using a more difficult rope to skip with (in fact it was the same type of rope). Results revealed that confidence decreased but performance improved. In this case, self-doubt can be quite beneficial.</p>
<p>Now let’s consider the role of overconfidence. A high level of confidence is usually helpful for performing tasks because it can lead you to strive for difficult goals. But high confidence can also be detrimental when it causes you to lower the amount of effort you give towards these goals. Overconfidence often makes people no longer feel the need to invest all of their effort – think of the confident student who studies less for an upcoming exam. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175200/original/file-20170622-11958-s82n4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175200/original/file-20170622-11958-s82n4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175200/original/file-20170622-11958-s82n4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175200/original/file-20170622-11958-s82n4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175200/original/file-20170622-11958-s82n4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175200/original/file-20170622-11958-s82n4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175200/original/file-20170622-11958-s82n4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘There’s no way I’ll miss from here.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pov-shot-golf-player-putting-green-624573974?src=uKrJ7gkUvI1YoL_2Hs6Wig-2-8">Jacob Lund/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Interestingly, some of our <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029211000227">research findings</a> show that when people are faced with immediate feedback after a golf putting task (knowing exactly how well you have just performed), confidence expectations (number of putts they thought they could make next) far exceeded actual obtained performance levels by as much as 46%. When confidence is miscalibrated (believing you are better than you really are), it will have a negative effect on subsequent task performance.</p>
<p>This overconfidence in our ability to perform a task seems to be a subconscious process, and it looks like it is here to stay. Fortunately, in the long term the pros of being overconfident (reaching for the stars) seem to far outweigh the cons (task failure) because if at first you do not succeed you can always try again. But miscalibrated confidence will be more likely to occur if vital <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/spy/5/1/1/">performance information</a> regarding your previous levels of performance accomplishments is either ignored or not available. When this happens people tend to overestimate rather than underestimate their abilities. </p>
<p>So, Andy Murray, this Queen’s setback is a great wake-up call – just in time for Wimbledon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Confidence in sports, exams and other endeavours in life, can be counter-productive.Stuart Beattie, Lecturer of Psychology, Bangor UniversityTim Woodman, Professor and Head of the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/635022016-08-05T04:18:45Z2016-08-05T04:18:45ZThe man who brought science and a touch of humanity to Australia’s Olympic swimming hopes<p>As we head into the summer Olympics in Rio, many Australians will be looking forward to the swimming events in particular.</p>
<p>As they do they should pause to remember the achievements of our greatest swimming coach, <a href="http://www.sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame/member-profile/?memberID=29">Forbes Carlile</a>, who at age 95, died only a few days before the games.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-02/australias-oldest-olympian-forbes-carlile-dies-at-95/7681638">tributes now flowing</a> recall Carlile’s many sporting innovations, his knack for producing champions, and his <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/forbes-carlile-to-swim-well-is-an-asset-for-life-20160802-gqj1pt.html">forthright – sometimes even intimidating – manner</a>.</p>
<p>But what were those innovations, and what was that knack? And did his manner have anything to do with either?</p>
<h2>Early science</h2>
<p>The driving force behind Carlile’s innovations was his scientific background. As an undergraduate at the University of Sydney, he first <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/talkingheads/txt/s2316987.htm">studied medicine but soon switched to physiology</a>, working under the supervision of <a href="http://www.sahof.org.au/hall-of-fame/member-profile/?memberID=271">Professor Frank Cotton</a> who is often referred to as the father of sports science in Australia. </p>
<p>After graduating with an honours degree and then a Masters of Science, he continued for some years with Cotton at the university, teaching and researching the ergonomics of athletes. The two men together established the first “laboratory” for training excellence at Palm Beach, New South Wales, in 1945. </p>
<p>It was at Palm Beach where Carlile tested his first theories for improved swimming performance: increased workloads and year-round commitment. In the 1940s, most coaches were wary of <a href="https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/swimming-spit/">over-stressing a swimmer</a>, fearing that too much swimming could weaken the body and lead to staleness.</p>
<p>So, too, most swimmers rested for the winter months – perhaps not as surprising as it seems today, given that most swimming was done in ocean pools or unheated outdoor facilities.</p>
<p>Carlile’s experiments showed that increasing the distance per session generally strengthened the body rather than weakened it. He also advocated for more indoor pools, even building one himself at his rented property (somewhat to his landlord’s consternation). </p>
<h2>Olympics success</h2>
<p>The first clear vindication of his methods came in the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/melbourne-stockholm-1956">1956 Olympics</a> in Melbourne, where as head coach he led the Australian Swim Team to eight of the 13 gold medals on offer. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CFlj4QtCsyE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Australia’s Jon Henricks shows what he’s capable off ahead of the Melbourne games.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By this stage, Carlile had set up his own swimming laboratory at Drummoyne, with his wife Ursula. During the next decade he pioneered other techniques, all based on scientific experimentation. </p>
<p>Most are now standard features of elite swimming competition the world over. These include even-paced racing, low-fat diets, a steady two-beat freestyle kick, and the “training taper” (fewer miles, more speed) in the run-up to a main event.</p>
<p>To aid his observations, he invented the large-faced pace clocks now found on all poolsides; the habit of measuring heart rate at regular intervals; and the daily logging of workouts. </p>
<h2>The golden Gould</h2>
<p>By the 1970s – especially once he had propelled his most successful protégé, <a href="http://www.shanegould.com.au/pages/about-shane.php">Shane Gould</a>, to Olympic stardom – nearly every coach in the country followed Carlile’s methods.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133030/original/image-20160804-12230-p03f97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Australian Olympic swimming champion Shane Gould with her five individual medals from the 1972 Munich Olympic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Julian Smith</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Into the following decade, some pushed them even further. Whereas Gould, for instance, swam on average 60-70km per week, some swimmers were clocking 80km. Where Gould’s workouts lasted two hours, some now lasted two and a half. Whereas Gould prescribed optional gym sessions, many now had them as compulsory, in addition to the standard ten or so pool sessions a week.</p>
<p>But the results did not always support the increased intensity. While the Australian Swim Team never fell back into the international doldrums of the 1940s, it only nabbed one or two gold medals at each successive Olympic Games until 2000.</p>
<p>Had systems replaced systematic experimentation? Did Carlile’s innovations lose some of their edge when they no longer had his close scientific eye tracking their effects and making adjustments accordingly?</p>
<p>During the last quarter of the 20th century, Australian swimming seemed to follow the results of science more than the process of constant scientific inquiry and refinement. </p>
<p>Shane Gould’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-02/shane-gould-reflects-on-former-coach-forbes-carlile/7683730">recent reminiscences</a> of her coach add a further dimension to our understanding of the role of the scientific approach in swimming:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He was into that [systematic method], but he didn’t medicalise and he didn’t mechanise people. So while he had a scientific approach, he still understood the humanity of our bodies and, you know, respected us as people, embodied humans not as deconstructed body parts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Carlile’s knack for producing champions, in other words, was ultimately in the way he combined a scientific mentality with an astute feeling for the individual quirks of each swimmer under his care.</p>
<p>He managed to “throw volume” at his swimmers – in Gould’s memorable phrasing – yet still see them as humans more than as objects of study. </p>
<h2>We go to Rio</h2>
<p>The Australian swimmers performing this year at Rio are all beneficiaries of Carlile’s innovations.</p>
<p>All have tallied untold distances in the pool, all have battled against the hands on that poolside clock, and all, presumably, have enjoyed their recent taper into upcoming events. </p>
<p>But if they do well on the dais in the end, it will probably mean they also had coaches who nurtured, held or otherwise carried them through the rigours of their preparation. </p>
<p>They will show that Olympic glory is cherished above all because it is a human achievement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63502/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Fullagar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Australian swim team hoping for medal success in Rio have a lot to thank one of the earlier pioneers of sport science: Forbes Carlile.Kate Fullagar, Senior Lecturer in Modern History, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/613162016-07-07T10:42:55Z2016-07-07T10:42:55ZHow does a Tour de France favourite win on the scorching mountain slopes?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129234/original/image-20160704-19091-olrq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=260%2C344%2C1700%2C1122&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Peak performance? How riders prepare decides their fate.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/willj/7558625860/in/photolist-cvVW8w-fi3bdP-hBaCJG-6mKNGU-nWE8Ra-afYAbt-57d1VZ-edVqy1-3o8nt-e17hBy-5x4da-4be1RR-jWRWbd-6mKMm7-fiemFb-8oSmZi-8mmVY1-8mn4aA-a5SbKJ-ag2phq-nWRMGS-a7d1zg-fhWr8B-fie2GG-8Awzh-5YqtgA-dh7bii-2gT6Tp-2napqV-agFg2C-afYAR2-afYAiF-fhdnkY-ag2m3w-aCzAX-aCzEV-57d6fR-4be2ir-8rYx5k-8rMn8f-3o8rb-4be2Ec-fhdcRo-fifHkG-a7fTLj-3o8ni-hk73Z-71bfJR-9PGE4P-71bcYg">will_cyclist/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Tour de France is winding its way from the flat, windswept coast of northern France down through the Loire valley and <a href="http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2016/us/overall-route.html">the lumpy terrain</a> of the Massif Central. So far, it has been a time for the bulky sprinters and the <a href="https://velovoices.com/peloton-primer/peloton-primer-types-of-rider/">puncheurs</a> who specialise in short, maximum efforts. But as with every Tour, the race will be won on the long, winding slopes of the mountain stages when the summer heat and relentless gradient can sap both strength and morale. </p>
<p>This year’s edition <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/tour-de-france/seven-key-climbs-of-the-2016-tour-de-france-196139">will take the riders up passes</a> in the Alps and Pyrenees as well as up the Provencal monster of Mont Ventoux. The race will reach altitudes of more than 2,000m above sea level, while temperatures are likely to nudge 40˚C. </p>
<p>That combination of heat and altitude is a huge challenge for general classification contenders such as Britain’s Chris Froome, Colombia’s Nairo Quintana and Spain’s Alberto Contador. Understanding the physiological effects such extremes can cause will help define who is wearing the yellow jersey in Paris.</p>
<h2>Peaks and troughs</h2>
<p>One of this year’s most compelling tests will fall during stage 12, when the riders face a 184km slog to the summit of Mont Ventoux. It peaks at 1,912m after a 15.7km climb with an average gradient of almost 9%. The mountain <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jul/14/archive-1967-simpson-death-tour-de-france">has a tragic history</a> and a daunting reputation thanks to its exposed, volcanic slopes which provide the bunch with little respite from the glaring sun. </p>
<p>The effects of a combination of heat and altitude, as often experienced on Ventoux, are not well understood. There is some <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24748530">recent evidence</a> to suggest an additive effect of heat and altitude, which can reduce exercise performance by as much as half compared to about a 35% reduction due to either heat or altitude in isolation. The paucity of research on the combined effects means athletes and coaches still tend to focus their efforts on each factor in isolation.</p>
<p>So what can you do to prepare for the brutality of racing up a mountain in the burning heat of the day – the riders are scheduled to start climbing Ventoux at about 4pm on Bastille Day (July 14)? </p>
<h2>Climate control</h2>
<p>The good news is that acclimatisation works. It has repeatedly been shown that <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9309637">cycling performance is impaired in the heat</a>, but that this can be overcome by a period of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20724560">heat acclimatisation</a>. The athlete is repeatedly exposed to exercise in warm conditions in order to elevate their core body temperature and stress their cardiovascular system. In many <a href="http://www.gssiweb.org/en/Article/sse-153-heat-acclimatization-to-improve-athletic-performance-in-warm-hot-environments">scientific studies</a> in this field, acclimatisation to the heat is often achieved using environmental chambers to artificially replicate a warm environment. However, for obvious reasons, many cycling teams choose to take their key climbers to warm weather training camps. </p>
<p>It can can reduce core temperature and heart rate, both at rest and during exercise. These measures are often used to determine whether an athlete has become heat acclimatised – but how does it happen? </p>
<p>Reductions in heart rate, both at rest and during exercise, occur in response to an expansion in plasma volume. An expansion of plasma volume allows the cardiovascular system to meet the demands of increasing peripheral blood flow to the skin, while preserving skeletal muscle blood flow and that to the core. Increases in skin blood flow are important as it represents a key avenue by which heat generated via exercise (made worse during exercise in the heat) is transferred from the body core to the skin and helps defend against <a href="http://www.webmd.com/first-aid/hyperthermia">hyperthermia</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129236/original/image-20160704-19110-1rq9k6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heat can hamper riders’ ability.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/evilnick/191172022/in/photolist-hTNMm-2pWdV-2pDQ6w-g9DSC-cKZ21o-8cDuaD-iwh8B-6aZWUa-2ShPr-ihVQK-ebHgiB-39p6P-4Un7TT-6Hn84y-jc76Gy-5pcixw-5kMM1V-9ejYU3-6sb6e-bX53B4-cvtAxY-5FYsdK-bX54i6-au2Byw-dNRBv7-bX53tZ-cerpnu-sojdB-8xJETJ">evil nick/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Preventing large increases in core and skin temperature are important in determining performance. It <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25943669">is thought</a> that feedback <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21197543">from these regions</a> helps to determine an athlete’s pacing – in other words, the hotter you get, the less you think you can push it. </p>
<p>It is not uncommon that during the Tour, temperatures on Ventoux and in the Alps and Pyrenees will exceed 30˚C. That means that whichever of the Tour favourites is better acclimatised will have lower core and skin temperatures at crucial moments and will be able to go harder than their rivals.</p>
<h2>Height restriction</h2>
<p>The effects of altitude alone on cycling power output and endurance capacity <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26629912">are well known</a>, largely occurring as a result of the reduction in the partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere. This effectively means that for each breath a cyclist takes at altitude they are getting less oxygen to the muscles, which elevates the physiological strain. The heart rate goes up, and the power output goes down.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129241/original/image-20160704-19127-1sn1nfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More oxygen equals better performance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com">Anna Kireieva/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Altitude training can prepare riders for these extremes, too. Long periods of altitude work can drive an increase in haemoglobin and red blood cells via erythropoiesis – the same effect as can be artificially and illegally achieved with the <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/how-does-epo-work">use of the infamous drug, EPO</a>.</p>
<p>This is an important adaptation because an increase in red blood cells and haemoglobin improves the blood’s ability to move oxygen around your body. This means that more oxygenated blood reaches the muscles, helping to meet the metabolic demand of cycling at a given intensity more easily. Riders can therefore sustain a higher power output on the mountain slopes for a longer period of time compared to an individual who has not undergone altitude training (or taken EPO).</p>
<p>So let’s say that we arrive at Mont Ventoux on July 14 with the sun blazing and the racing hard. We will essentially be faced with a test of the favourites’ preparation. Has Froome done the altitude work to get enough oxygen to his legs when Quintana attacks? And when these two hot favourites start trading blows, will Contador or Italy’s Fabio Aru have done enough warm weather training to stay cool? It will look like an old-fashioned fight between the lean and lycra-clad, but beneath it all, the scientific foundations that will define the result have already been decided.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When the road heads higher and the mercury is rising, the world’s top cyclists get to test the quality of their preparation.Steve Faulkner, Research associate, Loughborough UniversityKaty Griggs, Research Assistant and PhD student, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/529072016-03-23T19:36:20Z2016-03-23T19:36:20ZIs winning all that matters in AFL or does the performance count?<p>In professional team sport, a preoccupation with the outcome of competition itself is common – who won and who lost – above and beyond a side’s performance. While wins and losses are undeniably the end game for clubs and fans, as a sole focus it is not always valid.</p>
<p>Uneven competition conditions exist in almost every professional sporting league around the world. For example, extremely <a href="http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2015/05/20/revealed-psg-become-the-best-paid-team-in-global-sport-ahead-of-real-madrid-manchester-city-barcelona-and-the-la-dodgers-200501/">inequitable salaries exist</a> between clubs in European football.</p>
<p>Consider the Super Rugby teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (and now Japan and Argentina). Each face vastly differing amounts of travel throughout the course of a regular season. Clearly, not all clubs are created equal so how do we judge their successes accurately?</p>
<h2>Expectations</h2>
<p>The ability of teams to overcome and win in spite of these challenges is rightly lauded. By quantifying the influence of these conditions on how a team competes, more informed match predictions can be provided. This allows for the subsequent outcome to be separated from the performance of the team itself, by comparing directly with the pre-game expectation.</p>
<p>Redefining performance as the magnitude by which a team surpasses expectation is attractive on multiple levels. The notion of performance is embedded into the contracts of many athletes and professional staff working in sport. It may also equip coaches with the ability to assess their team selections and strategies more precisely.</p>
<p>Current Greater Western Sydney (GWS) head of athletic performance <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidGJoyce">David Joyce</a> and I have published <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24977714">work</a> discussing the influence of various factors on the difficulty of Super Rugby matches.</p>
<p>As a consequence of geographical distance, we found that the team <a href="https://www.westernforce.com.au/">Western Force</a>, based in Perth, Western Australia, were at a disadvantage with respect to the rest of the competition.</p>
<p>Essentially, in order to achieve the same outcomes as another side, the Force needed to perform at a higher level relative to expectation, as partially determined solely by factors relating to their fixture.</p>
<h2>Aussie rules</h2>
<p>The Australian Football League (AFL) is also characterised by a fixture whereby teams compete against each other an unequal number of times throughout the course of a season.</p>
<p>Teams face varying volumes of travel and a contrasting number of days’ break between matches. Adapting the same approach as mentioned above, we developed two models of match difficulty for the 2015 AFL season.</p>
<p>The models work by predicting a margin and outcome for a given match, using fixed factors available in the lead up to the game. Examples include the rank of the opponent from the previous year and the location of the match.</p>
<p>Similar approaches are commonplace in bookmaking to provide line betting markets, while multiple illustrations can also be found in the <a href="https://scoreboardjournalism.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/the-times-bill-edgar-vs-other-models/">popular</a> and social <a href="https://twitter.com/cchappas/status/704245121206788100">media</a>. </p>
<p>But instead of focusing on returning a financial dividend, the team’s margin differential relative to the predicted expectation is instead taken as a representation of their performance. </p>
<p>The second model is capable of being iterated on a weekly basis. It also takes into account the conditions subject to change regularly during the season. These include the number of team changes, the current difference in ladder position between the two sides and the current form of each team. </p>
<p>The contrasting findings between both models illustrates the influence of these dynamic factors on match difficulty. </p>
<p>For instance, prior to the 2015 season starting, Geelong faced the most difficult run of matches. But as the season progressed (and the fixture difficulty changed), on average Essendon ultimately competed in more difficult games.</p>
<h2>Performance</h2>
<p>Performance of each of the 18 AFL teams in 2015 relative to expectation can be seen below. Expressed as a percentage, the average performance of each team above or below that of the model prediction is shown. The figure clearly shows that West Coast, Geelong and Richmond all performed well above expectations (9% or greater) for the season.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/h3HEw/2/" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="600"></iframe>
<p>Note also that both the <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2015/27/haw-v-wce">2015 grand final teams</a> – Hawthorn and West Coast – performed better than expectations with Hawthorn eventually taking the title.</p>
<p>For comparison, the number of wins recorded by each team for the 2015 season is shown below, with the clubs ranked in the same order as in the above figure.</p>
<iframe src="https://charts.datawrapper.de/jeSpy/index.html" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<p>While a clear relationship exists between the final ladder position and team Performance vs Expectation (dubbed “PVE”), we see that despite only winning half their matches for the year, Geelong were somewhat able to overcome their difficult fixture and perform above expectations.</p>
<p>In contrast, GWS and Collingwood could have been expected to finish higher, having had a relatively easier fixture.</p>
<p>Sure, the models don’t yet consider each team’s individual player characteristics and game style, but it is a start. Use of the approach within a performance context could allow for a much needed increase in the precision by which performance is evaluated.</p>
<h2>The 2016 season</h2>
<p>With the 2016 AFL season upon us, the average match difficulty for the 18 teams competing in the competition can be seen below.</p>
<iframe src="https://charts.datawrapper.de/XalHK/index.html" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" width="100%" height="500"></iframe>
<p>Adelaide, GWS and again West Coast are going to need to be at their best in order to overcome the most challenging fixture, whereas Geelong are well-placed for a successful year given their easier run comparative to 2015.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen as to who can outperform the model in the upcoming AFL season. But considering their only moderate average match difficulty for the season ahead, it would take a brave person to suggest that the Hawks can’t make it four in a row in 2016.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52907/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Robertson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The path to grand final victory in AFL can be paved with many wins and losses. But it’s measuring how a team plays against an expected result that can help them improve.Sam Robertson, Senior Research Fellow, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/466852015-08-27T20:03:04Z2015-08-27T20:03:04ZThe secret behind Jarryd Hayne’s success on the US footy field<p>Jarryd Hayne’s bold move to try his hand and fast feet in the United States National Football League (<a href="http://www.nfl.com/">NFL</a>) has generated a <a href="http://www.foxsports.com.au/us-sports/nfl/jarryd-hayne-getting-even-more-spotlight-than-49ers-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-us-media/story-fnp3l4e4-1227499212615">media storm</a> in recent weeks. That’s not surprising, given he has walked away from an established career as a rugby league player in Australia, and guaranteed dollars, with no guarantee of success in the US. </p>
<p>But Hayne’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-27/nfl-great-jerry-rice-praises-jarryd-hayne/6728984">encouraging form</a> for the San Francisco <a href="http://www.49ers.com/">49ers</a> is also not surprising for the those who have an interest in the developmental pathway of expert sport performers. </p>
<h2>Skills learned from other sports</h2>
<p>There is strong evidence to support the notion that skill-transfer from similar-type sports played during the development years can fast track the ascension of athletes to expert status. This is particularly the case in team sports, or what are classified as “invasion games”, such as rugby league, American football, basketball, hockey and soccer. </p>
<p>Our own research in the Australian Football League (<a href="http://www.afl.com.au/">AFL</a>) has shown skill transfer to be a powerful mediator in the development of those players classified as expert on-field decision-makers. In one <a href="http://www.humankinetics.com/acucustom/sitename/Documents/DocumentItem/16443.pdf">AFL funded study</a>, the expert players were compared with less-skilled decision-makers (both groups were elite AFL players). The former were found to specialise solely in AFL much later due to concurrent participation in other invasion sports throughout their formative years. That is, the experts played lots of games early on, and not just AFL.</p>
<p>The finding of massive hours clocked in basketball was a common theme among the expert group and the transfer of the game smarts, including visual perception and decision-making, between these invasion type sports appears influential in developing sport expertise. </p>
<p>The research is making an impact in AFL circles. After an extensive international recruiting drive by the AFL, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-20/american-holmes-to-make-afl-debut-for-st-kilda/6712412">Jason Holmes of St Kilda</a> last week became the first American athlete to play in the AFL.</p>
<p>Holmes has a college basketball background, but importantly for the kicking skills required in AFL, he had spent several seasons on his high school football team as a punter. The punter’s job is to achieve good field position at the end of a play phase. They kick the ball as long and high as possible to allow their team enough time to race from the line of scrimmage and stop the ball.</p>
<p>At the AFL pre-draft testing day in 2013 – interestingly named the <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/draft/combine+">Combine</a> after the NFL equivalent – Holmes kicked five straight on the set-shot goal-kicking test. </p>
<h2>Australian eyes on the US</h2>
<p>The AFL is not misguided in this push to open the pathway for American athletes. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (<a href="http://www.ncaa.org/">NCAA</a>) in the US has more than 200,000 male student-athletes training and competing in high performance programs. The larger of these university programs operate on annual budgets some ten times greater than an Australian NRL club. </p>
<p>The opportunity for the AFL, and perhaps NRL, is that NCAA college level is the end of the sporting road if the athletes do not make it to the professional level. And according to NCAA statistics, only 1.2% of basketball players make it to the professional level. That’s a lot of elite athletic talent looking for something to do after college.</p>
<p>As part of a detailed analysis conducted for one AFL club, I estimated more than 1,000 college athletes would have a realistic shot at playing AFL football. With these numbers outstripping the current number of players in the AFL system at 792, the AFL’s foray into American athlete recruitment will only get stronger from here. </p>
<p>Collingwood Football Club appears to be exploiting this skill transfer phenomenon. The most high profile example is five-time <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/allaustralian">All Australian</a> team selection <a href="http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/player-profile/scott-pendlebury">Scott Pendlebury</a> who briefly took up the offer of an Australian Institute of Sport <a href="http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/news/2014-01-31/10-things-about-scott-pendlebury">basketball scholarship</a> before deciding to return to AFL football in the elite Under 18 TAC Cup.</p>
<p>Other Collingwood players fitting the skill transfer model include <a href="http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/player-profile/nathan-j-brown">Nathan Brown</a> with basketball, <a href="http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/player-profile/jarrod-witts">Jarrod Witts</a> with rugby union, former player and Irishman Marty Clarke in Gaelic football and now <a href="http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/player-profile/mason-cox">Mason Cox</a>, a collegiate basketball player from Oklahoma State University touted as the next American to make an AFL debut.</p>
<h2>Other Australians who’ve scored overseas</h2>
<p>So the Jarryd Hayne story is exciting and the skill transfer model will hopefully work in his favour. He may also benefit from a psychological sense of invincibility, knowing he does not have to face the likes of Sam Thaiday and Willie Mason without pads or a helmet.</p>
<p>But this transition of Australians to the NFL is not new. <a href="http://www.nfl.com/player/darrenbennett/2499622/profile">Darren Bennett</a> heads the list of success stories with the former Melbourne and West Coast player an NFL <a href="http://www.chargers.com/news/2012/11/26/bennett-inducted-chargers-hall-fame">Hall of Fame inductee</a> as a punter for the San Diego Chargers. <a href="http://www.nfl.com/player/bengraham/2506128/profile">Ben Graham</a> from Geelong <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-01-19/graham-set-to-become-first-aussie-to-play-in-super/270116">punted in a Super Bowl</a> game with the Arizona Cardinals. Collingwood goal kicker <a href="http://www.nfl.com/player/savrocca/2507020/profile">Saverio Rocca</a> punted with the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins.</p>
<p>While Jarryd Hayne is receiving the media attention, there are four other Australians currently in the NFL. <a href="http://www.nfl.com/player/jessewilliams/2539192/profile">Jesse Williams</a> is a Lineman for the Seattle Seahawks and played in a National Championship at college with Alabama. His background is rugby league and basketball. <a href="http://www.nfl.com/player/tomhornsey/2551434/profile">Tom Hornsey</a> is a punter with the Dallas Cowboys and punted the ball to Hayne on a couple of the plays last week, but this interesting Aussie link received little mention in the media.</p>
<p>At the Pittsburgh Steelers, two Australians are locked in a battle to win the roster spot as punter. <a href="http://www.nfl.com/player/jordanberry/2553348/profile">Jordan Berry</a> and <a href="http://www.nfl.com/player/bradwing/2540208/profile">Brad Wing</a> are former AFL players in the elite Under 18 TAC Cup, transferring their booming kicks with the AFL ball to the highly specialised role of punter in the NFL. </p>
<p>While punters are at the bottom end of the food chain when it comes NFL salaries, the winner of the Pittsburgh contract will overnight earn the equivalent of the elite players in the AFL and NRL.</p>
<p>With Jarryd Hayne vying for a role as a playmaker with the 49ers, his potential earnings for a successful career in the NFL will make Buddy Franklin’s <a href="http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-10-08/buddy-becomes-a-swan">A$10 million deal at the Sydney Swans</a> pale in comparison.</p>
<p>Given the evidence supporting positive transfer of skills across sports of a similar games category, combined with the amazing fact the player salary cap at a single NFL franchise far exceeds the salary cap for the entire NRL competition, there will be many more Australian athletes following the current trailblazers across the Pacific.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46685/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Berry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jarryd Hayne is wowing crowds and commentators with his play on the American football field in the US. His years in Australian rugby league may have a lot to do with his star performance.Jason Berry, Senior Sport Scientist, Institute of Sport, Exercise and Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/449232015-07-23T05:23:32Z2015-07-23T05:23:32ZLet’s hear it for carbs – Tour de France cyclists couldn’t do it without them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89364/original/image-20150722-1437-9ur14c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A human machine.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/109661044@N07/19448291945/in/photolist-vCzzCn-vTggMK-uFz9XQ-vCCqDK-ovEv1m-uEAEoX-vC2jdA-2aSjzz-vChZxr-2raxm9-vQzyMU-odciyS-nVSniU-j1pYf-vBmrc3-vovFAG-vCMn9G-uFnXT6-vovG3o-vEwouw-nWHKrW-vCi4dn-cPvNzG-od6H9m-vGJEef-62gdUK-dHHy6F-uEUvQE-obkxpq-7gNRsF-vM6zC4-uFnXMp-vF5TA6-vBPaLP-gMjRX-uFnY9B-oY1zNy-pUWc6A-vCdKXn-pCnkNp-odmCwK-vkwJ5p-oeY6mF-imqMA-oedjVx-oedkpZ-vzJz61-vYUT8w-ofZk7B-39vfnV">Rob Schleiffert</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Tour de France is widely regarded as the most strenuous endurance endeavour in sport. Performance levels have become so high that efforts approach the limits of human tolerance and it is clear that <a href="https://theconversation.com/eat-me-drink-me-fuelling-riders-in-the-tour-de-france-14856">optimum nutrition</a> is important to ensure physiological function is not hindered. But unlike the bad reputation carbohydrates get in some ordinary diets and in endurance sport circles, the evidence suggests that this energy source is not a devil in disguise.</p>
<p>In 1903 the winner of the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14507292">inaugural stage</a> of “Le Tour” was a French chimney sweep called Maurice Garin who obtained food throughout the race in bars and drank from fountains. More than 100 years later competition is between professional cycling teams offering a range of sports science support to the cyclist, who in turn is a very highly-trained professional athlete whose entire lifestyle is dedicated to the event.</p>
<h2>Energy demands and the toxic debate</h2>
<p>Nutritional support focuses on meeting energy demands, fluid intake but also on carbohydrate availability. Indeed the general consensus is to maximise carbohydrate stores <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14971431">pre-exercise</a> to meet fuel requirements of the race and optimise <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14971430">restoration of muscle glycogen</a> stores between stages, in order to minimise the impairing effects of carbohydrate depletion. However, recently carbohydrate and in particular sugar (a type of carbohydrate) have received much bad press in the media, and to some extent in academia. </p>
<p>This is epitomised by Robert Lustig’s <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=the+toxic+truth+about+sugar">“sugar is toxic”</a> meme leading us to question not only if high intakes of carbohydrate are safe, but if they are optimal for endurance performance after all. Recently, Timothy Noakes, a notable sport and exercise scientist and a prolific marathon runner, has lent his weight to the argument that over-consumption of <a href="https://www.discovery.co.za/email_za/mailers/pdfs/general/noakes.pdf">refined carbohydrates may be toxic</a> for the body. As a consequence there is new interest in high-fat and restricted carbohydrate diets for endurance performance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89368/original/image-20150722-1442-1wkde1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89368/original/image-20150722-1442-1wkde1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89368/original/image-20150722-1442-1wkde1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89368/original/image-20150722-1442-1wkde1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89368/original/image-20150722-1442-1wkde1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89368/original/image-20150722-1442-1wkde1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/89368/original/image-20150722-1442-1wkde1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s not the sugar that’s toxic, but the dose.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaibara/139793866/in/photolist-dmtR5-Nrxeq-Bp8Um-8TTih5-53yBXh-4JFj7B-dw3mzH-cjPUR-8mkcpZ-cjMDH-7oeTd6-bonaap-bxfi7N-dihMg-E1X2x-buYj8g-5cVakv-pPUxYN-6b3TaU-dXqzWk-4ZvZAU-bV7iZU-94qyK-E1WGp-8LaGtW-5LprqX-62UT8Z-9BqRdW-b6oSD-bpD1nV-E1X2D-kTdnZo-bsn26j-5RPb7F-qN5sQJ-ceKFZS-5jojqe-KokST-9RLHk-5SDBnv-3hYwBX-9vqj2i-87p9qS-6bQJ2m-4ETbNi-9jf1sG-rPim4f-pZKEt6-99bxdA-9TyLRV">Umberto Salvagnin</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, it is prudent to be cautious of fads and fashions in research, and the “toxic truth about carbohydrate” message is bordering this line. It would certainly be premature to change guidelines based on the limited evidence that we currently have in relation to high-fat, low carbohydrate diets for ultra-endurance events such as the Tour de France.</p>
<p>The link between dietary carbohydrate intake and exercise tolerance <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=the+relative+value+of+fat+and+carbohydrate+as+sources+of+muscular+energy">was established</a> as early as the 1920s. Furthermore, seminal research on food intake and energy expenditure during the Tour de France was conducted by Saris and colleagues in 1989. They observed a mean energy intake of almost 6,000 kcal and a peak intake of 7,739 kcal (a lot). This matched energy demands (mean value 6,066 kcal) rather well. Of this, 62% of energy intake was from carbohydrate, with just 23% from fat. This is in line with modern recommendations for endurance performance where 65-70% of daily energy intake should be in the form of carbohydrate. </p>
<p>The precedence was set and the conclusion was that strategies to deliver large quantities of carbohydrate were an appropriate solution for the Tour de France.</p>
<h2>Carbs important for endurance</h2>
<p>Other <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/238767928_High-carbohydrate_versus_high-fat_diets_in_endurance_sports">research reviews</a> support this and there are several physiological mechanisms that make us believe carbohydrate is very important for endurance performance. </p>
<p>First, carbohydrates primarily serve as an energy fuel, and glycogen becomes the most important substrate when exercise intensity is high. This relates to the fact that less oxygen is required to oxidise a unit of carbohydrate when compared to fat. </p>
<p>Second, there are common pathways by which carbohydrate and fat are oxidised and fat metabolism is somewhat dependent on a background level of carbohydrate catabolism. This is often referred to as “fat burns in a carbohydrate flame”. </p>
<p>The brain also relies on blood glucose (carbohydrate) almost exclusively under normal conditions which is important to avoid so-called central fatigue which can include weakness, hunger and dizziness. Presumably the ability to concentrate is very important for Tour de France cyclists – several spectacular and dangerous crashes this year spring to mind.</p>
<h2>The human engine</h2>
<p>Noakes’ <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24861453">suggestion</a> regarding high-fat diets, and the finding that elite athletes chronically adapted to such a diet are able to more effectively oxidate fat is interesting, but there is little evidence to suggest diets high in fat will enhance performance. </p>
<p>Additionally, the long-term health effects of such diets are not known. Demonising sugar and carbohydrate is not useful or accurate. This relates to both performance and health for the Tour de France cyclist and the general public. We need sugar (carbohydrate) just like we need fat and protein. There is, as one would expect, a level of flexibility in the ratio of how we consume these nutrients – but what Tour de France cyclists demonstrate particularly well is the need for balance. Energy intake must match energy expenditure. Sugar is not toxic, the dose makes the poison.</p>
<p>The extraordinary demands of the Tour de France requires a special internal combustion engine. For <em>homo sapiens</em> this “engine” constitutes a carbon-based fuel chemically reacting with oxygen extracted from air and burning, producing among other things energy. As far as we know, a focus on carbohydrate intake before, during and in between stages is the best way to facilitate this. So as the riders move through the Alps do not expect to see a new nutritional strategy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44923/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Haines does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Intake of carbohydrate before, during and in-between Tour stages is the best known way to power cyclists’ ‘engines’.Matthew Haines, Senior Lecturer in Health and Wellbeing, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/445222015-07-10T12:44:21Z2015-07-10T12:44:21ZScience says a 17-mile stage might be the Tour de France’s toughest test<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88036/original/image-20150710-16930-1qk4ty2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Keeping it together. Staying out the wind. the TTT at the Giro d'Italia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aukje de Vrijer</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Tour de France has been rolling for more than a week now and has finally made it to France in a brutal few days that has seen <a href="http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2015/us/stage-4.html">220km stages</a>, major crashes, cobbles, steep ramps and <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/tour-de-france/tony-martins-abandons-tour-de-france-with-broken-collarbone-181565">broken bones for two race leaders</a>. But perhaps the biggest challenge lies just around the corner in an intriguing Stage 9, where the riders have to cover what looks like a trifling 28km.</p>
<p>The problem is that those 28km come in a <a href="http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2015/us/stage-9.html">lumpy team time trial from Vannes to Plumelec</a>, and include a 2km finish at a 6.2% incline. Normally, that wouldn’t set the heart racing for the main contenders, but this will be an exciting test. Each team must bring five riders to the line together before the clock stops; with Tours sometimes decided by seconds, cooperation is now required for the riders to win.</p>
<h2>Playing hide and seek</h2>
<p>That teamwork is essential in a team time trial was made painfully clear in the recent team time trial at the Dauphiné Liberé, a week-long stage race that is a traditional warm-up event for the three-week romp around France. In a stage comparable to the Stage 9 Tour route, several teams lost one or two riders early in the time trial as the road rose and fell. This is a huge risk, or a huge error, depending on whether it was planned or not. </p>
<p>Simply put, the more riders you have, the less time each of them needs to cycle in the front position, the position where aerodynamic drag is experienced most and most power must be expended to maintain a competitive speed. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-behind-tour-de-frances-hide-and-seek-tactics-29008">In a previous article for The Conversation</a>, I have outlined the benefits of drafting – but these benefits are amplified in the team time trial. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88037/original/image-20150710-16909-k10ten.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Preparing for pain. But will they stil be together at the end?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dnet/3547245570/in/photolist-6psywo-6pswmJ-nyuPJq-ngZ6rr-nwr1PJ-nybMZM-nAfzwx-nytNQV-nye7XU-nytUkx-ngZ9wh-nye7gy-nyeaif-nAfx58-ngZ8Py-nye8Yw-ngZ9UG-nAfzpP-6pok5H-o2NECq-6pokdB-6pssSy-6poknr-6poqHF-6porLB-6porAV-nxZS95-6psxXm-6pordH-6pooLg-8x22xd-8x1XdS-6pojGz-6pstCW-6pswbW-ojfYRL-8x1Vyq-ooQRbz-8x1U4E-8wYGSF-ooQRxr-8wXXdZ-6poqbH-8wY1Ck-6psyjL-6psw1E-6pss8y-6e5GmV-ngsq9k-ngsxhE">E. Dronkert</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Drafting behind your fellow team member <a href="https://www.exploratorium.edu/cycling/aerodynamics2.html">can lead to at least a 15% reduction in required power output</a> compared to the front rider while cycling at the same velocity. Having a rider behind you <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PevpVXelq8A">is of benefit too</a> as it removes the void which acts as a drag to the rear. All this means that drafting is crucial for the team time trial – and riders need to optimise their aerodynamics by riding closely together. At the same time, they will need to share the load of riding in the front position and distribute the team’s energy optimally over the race. That is a tough call to make. Each bump in the road will suit different riders best.</p>
<h2>Aero heroes</h2>
<p>Aerodynamics do not only play a role in drafting, they also play a role in how to optimally pace yourself during a time trial. In scientific literature, a lot <a href="http://www.abcc.co.uk/pace-judgement-in-time-trials/">has been written</a> on pacing a time trial, but that has mostly focused on individual performance. Much less is known about how to pace a team time trial.</p>
<p>So, let’s put you in the skinsuit and aero helmet for a moment. When you are cycling in front position, you can imagine yourself cycling through a big bowl of table-tennis balls: the air molecules. Now imagine that you would like to accelerate and cycle twice as fast through this big bowl of balls: you will hit twice as many balls per second, but also, you will hit them with twice the impact force per ball. This means that the air frictional resistance is four times as large (twice as many balls x hitting them twice as hard). </p>
<p>Using some more biomechanics, the power that is needed to overcome this air-frictional resistance (that has become four times as large) while cycling at a velocity (that has become twice as large) is now eight (4x2) times as large compared the power required to cycle at the original velocity. It sounds exhausting – and it is. </p>
<p>In fact, it means that it requires relatively more power to accelerate above average velocity than it would save to decelerate below average velocity. The below image helps to understand why riding to beat <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-bradley-wiggins-can-break-cyclings-toughest-record-41655">cycling’s world hour record</a>, for example, calls for an evenly paced race rather than variable pace. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88039/original/image-20150710-17458-142j0ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Faster is harder.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Florentina Hettinga</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Risk strategy</h2>
<p>Individual time trials have been seen in the Tour de France since 1934 and are a fairly straightforward test of one rider’s ability against another (assuming the weather doesn’t sharply change during the stage). Team time trials, however, demand more debate because the format can clearly favour the strong team, while handicapping strong individual riders who are supported by relatively weaker team mates. We have seen that drafting is crucial, and we have seen that were it possible, an even-paced strategy with each rider taking equal shifts in front would be optimal. As we have hinted at above though, not all riders are equal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88045/original/image-20150710-17482-1xb9h8d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This is a sub-optimal aerodynamic configuration.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/waltarrrrr/8677471122/in/photolist-edNiR5-edL5nJ-edNcHw-hoJkkd-RMsFX-hoJfyG-edG1Wf-9whrZN-rRpmAh-bbmL4M-b7AFwB-9weqx4-g3t14e-kPyfEZ-sgub5w-6y4eGz-bbmJwB-bbmK2F-6f5h7e-bbmJEp-bbmKat-bbmKWR-87WzqW-bbmLb4-bbmKxZ-b7qnVr-bbmKQz-bbmKqx-bbmKhD-bbmJNz-bbmLot-bbmJWn-bbmLhn-bbmKL6-phsxyp-9UDVxf-9MAmDc-edFZPA-bUNft6-9whrsE-ahiLjj-bUNfEB-9weqe2-9weq38-7TQSk6-51vo1j-bUGPce-bUGPjr-9Kuhya-hoJgaG">waltarrrrr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>They are not equally strong, so teams need to think about how to structure the strategy as the team rolls through their turns on the front. Also, not all riders are equally large, and teams need to think about how to position them: better for a small rider to cycle behind a large rider rather than vice versa. And lastly, remember that the time of the fifth rider over line is the time that counts for the win. That offers the possibility of sacrificing riders. They might burn off the weakest riders in the early stages, or keep the weaker climbers as fresh as possible for the final ramp. It can be a huge risk. The Dauphiné Liberé team time trial saw most, if not all, teams arrive at the finish with the bare minimum – and all it takes is a late puncture to bring that strategy crashing down. </p>
<p>The complexity of pacing, strategy, aerodynamics, power and gradient may seem hidden at first glance as the teams glide past in sleek formation, but with so many factors at play, there are so many aspects that can go wrong. It’s unlikely anyone will win have won the Tour once Sunday’s team time trial is over, but don’t be surprised if a couple of contenders have seen their chances slip away.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Florentina Hettinga does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mountains? Pah. 60kph sprints and 220km stages? They’re nothing. The thing most troubling the teas battling for the yellow jersey is this time trial.Florentina Hettinga, Lecturer Sport Science, School of Biological Science, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/416552015-06-02T13:45:49Z2015-06-02T13:45:49ZHow Bradley Wiggins can break cycling’s toughest record<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83645/original/image-20150602-6997-ldxuji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wiggo is days away from 60 minutes of pain.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sebastien Nogier/EPA</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www1.skysports.com/cycling/news/15264/9838682/smashing-hour-world-record-inspiring-cyclist-bradley-wiggins">challenge for Bradley Wiggins</a> is beautifully simple: complete the greatest number of laps of a velodrome track in one hour by pedalling as close as possible to the black racing line. However, the simplicity is deceptive, the pain is intense, and cycling’s hour record requires meticulous preparation in terms of equipment, training and strategy in order to have the best chance of success. </p>
<p>The wind can be a friend to the cyclist, but is more often the foe. This is because the power needed to overcome drag rises in proportion to the cube of velocity, so at 50kmph, more than 90% of the rider’s power output is spent fighting the wind. </p>
<p>A skilled road racer can use the wind to their advantage by <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-behind-tour-de-frances-hide-and-seek-tactics-29008">slipstreaming to save energy</a> before choosing the prime moment to attack, but when the rider is alone against the clock there is no place to hide. This is why the time-trial is known as the “race of truth” and the <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tag/hour-record">hour record</a>, which is held under relatively stable conditions in a velodrome, is possibly the perfect time-trial. </p>
<h2>Marginal gains</h2>
<p>Alex Dowsett is the current holder of the hour record in a year which has seen a glut of attempts after the sport’s governing body <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/hour-record-rule-change-athletes-hour-scrapped-123397">eased back on the rules</a>. On May 2, <a href="http://movistarteam.com/equipo/alex-dowsett">Dowsett</a> rode to a remarkable distance of 52.937km (Wiggins is targeting <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/sir-bradley-wiggins-reveals-hour-record-target-distance-174752">55.250km</a>).</p>
<p>I was lucky enough to help <a href="http://www.writtle.ac.uk/pge_PressRelease.cfm?ID=1215">construct the training plan</a> which got Alex there, and the experience offers up some useful insights into just what it takes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">And 52.937 km later, you get to celebrate. Alex Dowsett on the Manchester velodrome.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.crankphoto.co.uk">Chris Keller-Jackson</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since Francesco Moser’s successful attempt in 1984 (51.151 km) when he adopted a special skinsuit, disc wheels and low-profile frame, aerodynamics have featured prominently in the technical preparation. People may remember the intriguing battle between <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/battle-of-the-brits-hour-record-heroes-27170">Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman</a> as they traded blows over the record and adopted a range of startling on-bike positions in the pursuit of aerodynamic advantage. </p>
<p>Current rules on equipment and riding position are still strict, so any gains come from refinements that take many hours of wind tunnel testing. But they can be found. </p>
<p>Even something as simple as the skinsuit and socks underwent numerous redesigns for Alex‘s attempt to ensure the fabric and fit produced minimal drag. In fact every possible trick of engineering and physics was afforded Alex from the use of custom aero equipment like the disc wheels, frame, handlebars and helmet through to the use of low viscosity lubricants and ceramic bearings. </p>
<p>We even estimated that by heating the velodrome to 28-29 degrees celsius, the reduction in air density and subsequent drag would more than compensate for any loss of performance due to dehydration – although he did still take the precaution of precooling with an ice jacket.</p>
<h2>Easing off</h2>
<p>Training for the hour is pretty similar to tuning an engine. The key to effective physical preparation is to ensure the training is correctly sequenced and monitored to optimise gains in fitness whilst avoiding overtraining. By employing mostly high volume endurance riding with regular intense intervals and carefully timed races, Alex’s fitness was systematically developed with the goal of generating greater power output for the same blood lactate concentration and heart rate. </p>
<p>However, improvements are often masked by accumulated fatigue so a taper was employed prior to the event whereby training load, but not intensity, was reduced to help recovery without compromising fitness. In spite of research, tapering is still very much an art with many cyclists under-performing if they feel “too fresh”: sometimes as a coach you really can be too good.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Looking for a smart start.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/toasty/914441359/in/photolist-2oNKyk-5mfbt4-hNJJvt-p2CD3J-ieksfj-qyfyBh-nJ8eNA-iNxnMX-4D14F1-pC4RX2-ftsRg4-dYoLEK-9Ejxgc-fAzXdg-fDiP6C-2gP5ix-fwEW4n-pEb6uJ-at6dj7-fxU3Eb-fySWhi-pmpLnE-oFn4Ye-qGMSWp-svdL46-pjbLqw-hNFzwm-qaSraY-thMioR-9sXPMk-pYv2Tf-rdEWQB-qXGor6-7NYfve-8MXhjZ-pPVCZw-95rwVx-8oTvmn-r7Q3z1-sodcbE-mqs6dU-q3WdnY-3q2Q57-oTHvBL-qqyV3d-qZ6qJ7-4V6Yux-9kiucX-qu5NHJ-fBkwit">Kenneth Lu</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The hour record is an aerobic event, in fact the intake of air is pretty crucial you might say. But it also demands a significant contribution from those anaerobic <a href="http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/MuscleFiberType.htm">Type II muscle fibres</a> which don’t get their energy from oxygen and which are engaged at the tortuous start when the rider is trying to churn a massive gear into life.</p>
<p>Theory states that provided the athlete maintains an even pacing strategy at a power output where heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate concentration remain close to a steady state, then the maximum speed should be achieved. Not only is this sweet spot difficult to judge, but the hour record is raced from a standing start that threatens to immediately over-tax the anaerobic systems which tire quickly. The dilemma for Wiggins will be the same as for every hour record racer: go out too slow and valuable speed is lost; too fast and you are plunged into an oxygen deficit that takes dozens of laps to repay.</p>
<p>The precise mechanisms of fatigue are hotly debated in the literature but what we do know is that as time passes any theoretical steady state is lost: fuel is burnt, <a href="http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Metabolites.aspx">chemicals build up which contribute to exhaustion</a>, water is lost and heat accumulates. </p>
<p>The postural muscles throughout the body which maintain the rider’s unnatural aerodynamic position struggle under the strain of high cornering forces and the fixed wheel becomes an instrument of torture with no break from the relentless rhythm of pedalling – there is no freewheeling relief on a track bike. There is some respite as the bike accelerates through each bend, but this is accompanied by an abrupt drop in speed at the start of the following straight. Consequently, the perception of effort rises and the rider’s willpower to continue and ability to hold the line are tested.</p>
<h2>Pace planning</h2>
<p>And so to the biggest deception of all. During the opening 20 minutes the pace is easily manageable with the freshness of the taper, the warm air, the full aero package and low friction components. The speed is “free” and the temptation to ride too fast is great: many have. The previous record holder, Australia’s Rohan Dennis (52.491km), almost paid the price of an ambitious start to slow significantly later on. And it is not hard to pick out Jack Bobridge’s failed attempt from the chart below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comparing the pacing. How the riders have approached this year’s Hour record attempts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/xavierdisley/status/598394274036744192/photo/1">B Xavier Disley, PhD</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Alex’s hour on the other hand was well-drilled with the pace rehearsed over thousands of training laps. He rode to a strict schedule, never going too deep, never accumulating a debt he could not repay. And in the last third of the race, confident that he had budgeted wisely, he attacked Dennis’s record.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lIKgYg0xN3c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights of Rohan Dennis’ record ride.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Was his a “perfect hour” as it was dubbed by his sponsors, or was it too respectful? Maybe it was the euphoria of success, but Alex didn’t show the usual signs of exhaustion at the finish, even lifting his bike above his head in celebration. What is for certain is that Wiggins, having openly pledged to set a record that will stand for many years, cannot afford to hold anything back, not even in the first 20 minutes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41655/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Riding a bike for 60 minutes doesn’t sound like the hardest thing in the world, but trying to cover 55km will push the Tour de France winner to the limit.Mark Walker, Deputy Head of the School of Sport, Equine & Animal Sciences, Writtle CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/389732015-05-18T20:02:47Z2015-05-18T20:02:47ZGames by numbers: machine learning is changing sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81809/original/image-20150515-25444-1bbhyb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=310%2C0%2C2253%2C1328&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's hard for a human to keep an eye all the players' performance in any game, such as this typical AFL match at the MCG in Melbourne. So let the machines do all the work.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sufw/5917585651/">Flickr/Sascha Wenninger </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The drive to improve performance means elite sport is inundated with data from wearable technologies such as GPS, computer vision and match statistics.</p>
<p>So professional clubs are constantly on the lookout for tools that can help turn these data into usable and meaningful information.</p>
<p>One such tool gaining popularity is machine learning. Put simply, machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence, whereby computers are able to learn without being explicitly programmed by a human operator.</p>
<p>What makes machine learning algorithms so useful is their ability to be trained on large pre-existing data sets. These trained algorithms can be used to identify potentially complex yet meaningful patterns in the data, which then allows us to predict or classify future instances or events. </p>
<p>Machine learning approaches often outperform traditional statistical techniques, which are largely incapable of accounting for the dynamic and almost random patterns in so much of the data obtained from sport.</p>
<h2>A game of footy</h2>
<p>Consider a typical game of elite Australian Rules football. During any match played in the Australian Football League (AFL), sources of information relating to player movement and performance are available in near real time to coaches and support staff.</p>
<p>Despite access to this information, the ability of coaches to observe, process and evaluate the actions of 18 players on different areas of the field is limited. And that doesn’t even include the opposition. As humans, coaches simply do not possess the capacity to undertake such a task successfully.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.jnd.org/about.html">Don Norman</a> summarises this predicament in his book <a href="http://www.jnd.org/books/things-that-make-us-smart-defending-human-attributes-in-the-age-of-the-machine.html">Things That Make Us Smart: Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine</a>. He says the power of the unaided human mind is overrated. This is due partly to our inability to overcome inherent limitations in areas such as memory and conscious reasoning:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Human memory is well tuned to remember the substance and meaning of events, not the details […] Humans can essentially attend to only one conscious task at a time. We cannot maintain attention on a task for extended periods. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the sporting context, coaches are therefore limited with respect to their cognitive abilities. This can only be improved by developing external aids, such as machine learning, to enhance these skills.</p>
<p>Suppose we consider a short five-second period of play within an AFL match, featuring multiple players each undertaking different movement patterns and performing various skilled actions.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gF6c7Eex0Yc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Try and keep your eye on all the action in the grand final highlights.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This brief section of the game could potentially be construed differently by multiple coaches working within a single team, depending on <a href="http://us.macmillan.com/thinkingfastandslow/">cognitive biases</a>, including previous experience, prejudices and individual personality traits.</p>
<p>Machine learning thus has a place in providing rapid, objective evidence obtained from data in order to help inform coach decision-making.</p>
<h2>The science in sport</h2>
<p>But what about the scientific evidence for this approach? The peer-reviewed sports science literature is actually full of successful applications of machine learning to sport.</p>
<p>Examples from biomechanics, in particular, show extensive use of machine learning. Notably, pattern recognition algorithms have been developed to identify individual athlete movement sequences in a variety of different sports.</p>
<p>In soccer, machine learning <a href="http://www.disneyresearch.com/publication/assessing-team-strategy-using-spatiotemporal-data/">match analysis</a> has been used to identify the conservative strategies of away teams competing in the English Premier League. It has also been used to discover the <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/78738/">optimal methods</a> by which teams obtain a shot on goal, or return the ball in tennis. </p>
<p>Machine learning has been used to predict the behaviour of individual athletes, <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/uwic/ujpa/2012/00000012/00000001/art00008">such as cricket bowlers</a> in the Indian Premier League, and <a href="http://www.sportspa.com.ba/images/june2011/full/rad6.pdf">team performance in the Asian Games</a> based on factors varying from athlete age and experience levels to national social-cultural factors.</p>
<p>Researchers from the University of Coimbra, in Portugal, <a href="http://www.jssm.org/research.php?id=jssm-10-458.xml">successfully implemented</a> a suite of machine learning algorithms to identify talented basketball players based on their psychological characteristics and practice history.</p>
<p>A team from Deakin University <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244014001455">developed a set of rules</a> to explain the physical characteristics most strongly linked with Australian Rules football draft success.</p>
<p>A body of work focusing on automated classification of human movements including kicking, running and jumping using wearable technologies has also emerged.</p>
<p>Machine learning is also being used to help predict the <a href="http://sharp.cs.ucl.ac.uk/work.html">return-to-play time</a> for soccer players following an injury and in selecting the appropriate <a href="http://js.sagamorepub.com/ajess/article/view/2803">balance of batsmen and bowlers</a> in a cricket match. </p>
<h2>Machine learning vs human coaching</h2>
<p>Improvements in technology and machine learning continue to progress the field towards artificial intelligence and real-time use in sport. But is it possible that computers will ever replace the coach?</p>
<p>Well, in some ways, they already have. Many elite sporting clubs already set specific thresholds for athletes during training. These are based on perceived reductions in performance or increases in injury risk if this threshold is overcome.</p>
<p>The judgement on what is appropriate treatment of the athlete is made solely by a computer-based analysis of data collected in the field. For the moment, at least, the decision on whether to act or not on this information still remains with the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814052720">coach</a>.</p>
<p>But in future that may well change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sam Robertson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When it comes to keeping an eye on all the action in sport a coach can only see so much. But machine learning can crunch all the data and look for improvements.Sam Robertson, Senior Research Fellow Victoria University/Western Bulldogs, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/409162015-04-29T16:38:18Z2015-04-29T16:38:18ZBridge may be a sport but the brain definitely isn’t a muscle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79832/original/image-20150429-6233-ketm8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A judge has claimed bridge exercises the "brain muscle".</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://theconversation.com/drafts/40916/edit">European Bridge League/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-32483538">This week</a> a High Court judge opened the way for the card game bridge to be classified as a sport under English law. Recalling his own bridge-playing experience, Justice Mostyn recognised claims that the game could be recognised as a “mind sport” that exercises the “brain muscle”. He also stated that the game involves more physical activity than rifle shooting.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.ebu.co.uk/node/2029">case</a> was brought by the English Bridge Union, which wants bridge to be classified as a sport in the hope the group would qualify for Sport England lottery funding, and a full judicial review has been awarded.</p>
<p>Given that chess is <a href="http://www.olympic.org/chess">recognised</a> by the International Olympic Committee as a sport, the union’s claim may not be as unlikely as it appears. But the judge’s views were misguided.</p>
<p>The brain is not a muscle, it is an organ. It does not contain any muscle cells (which can be smooth, striated or cardiac) and it is incapable of contraction and dilation from central nervous system signals.</p>
<p>Increased cerebral activity will elevate glucose metabolism in the brain, but this will have negligible affects on the body’s overall energy balance or consequential physical health benefits. Any benefits of this kind are often negated by the typical consumption of snacks and beverages during the activity.</p>
<p>Brain plasticity <a href="http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2013/07/03/WNL.0b013e31829c5e8a.abstract">research</a> has demonstrated the capacity of the brain to develop new neurons throughout life when exposed to mentally challenging tasks. This means improvement of cognition is possible at any age. This activity can even reverse cognitive decline and delay the onset of dementia. In other words, the idea that you should “use it or lose it” is true.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79833/original/image-20150429-6245-1joyv70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/79833/original/image-20150429-6245-1joyv70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79833/original/image-20150429-6245-1joyv70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79833/original/image-20150429-6245-1joyv70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79833/original/image-20150429-6245-1joyv70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79833/original/image-20150429-6245-1joyv70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/79833/original/image-20150429-6245-1joyv70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unlike bridge, rifle shooting has demonstrated physical benefits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncngpao/8718578245/in/photolist-ehqZyz-8Xu8ME-Pq3km-Pq3jS-oow9tC-7UcUei-jF23zz-9BpABq-9nGUXk-9B8A44-9B8Cde-PqCoX-9BojYH-dVJMNA-7ejHPa-8jvGcm-qWeobn-jw14Zy-bQrqoZ-7UcUap-9BpxPo-9BbyHm-9BbN7L-7ejPLP-7ejHv2-dVD1sn-9B98AR-bxNBA2-ehqZFp-ooxDA6-fNfutJ-9BoANN-4L839X-6DKgap-9Bbzsb-9BriWL-9Boqze-9Bowce-oN4Zw8-pGLZRf-7ejNrH-7eoE5o-7eoGXW-6f3Yh8-Pq3Jf-8igtFy-5WC4Y9-bBwKxG-iU2zmf-ooxzv2">North Carolina National Guard/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In its defence, Sport England referred to the Council of Europe’s <a href="http://bit.ly/1Cq3T0A">definition</a> of sport: “Sport means all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim at expressing or improving physical fitness and mental well-being, forming social relationships obtaining results in competition at all levels”.</p>
<p>It is not difficult to see that bridge fails to tick the boxes referring to physical activity and fitness. Yet the judge insisted that the dealing and playing of bridge requires greater physical activity than that of rifle shooting. From this I assume he meant the dynamic arm movement of selecting and placing cards onto a table (and possibly toilet breaks?), versus the static contraction of holding a rifle to take the desired shots.</p>
<p>Maybe Justice Mostyn has a point, but as yet there is no evidence to prove the physical benefits of bridge, unlike rifle shooting, which has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHMO91TvY2Y">demonstrated</a> increased skeletal muscle activity. Critically, the physical activity required to take the rifle shot will determine its accuracy, whereas the speed and accuracy of placing cards on a table bears no relationship to the performance outcome. </p>
<p>However, we are now into the pedantic world of legal definitions. Jaffa Cakes <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/money/2012/may/29/vat-what-how-much-why">succeeded in being classified</a> as a cake as opposed to a biscuit for the sake of lower taxation, so maybe bridge could be classified as a sport.</p>
<p>One thing is for certain: this topic will always make for an interesting debate at the bar, even during the sport of darts. I’ve heard an alternative definition: “A sport should only be considered such when it necessitates the changing of shoes.” Maybe the Council of Europe should adopt this instead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40916/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angus Hunter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A recent court ruling paved the way for the card game bridge to be classified as a sport. But don’t rely on the judge’s understanding of biology.Angus Hunter, Senior lecturer in exercise physiology, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/405092015-04-21T05:19:22Z2015-04-21T05:19:22ZJames Anderson record will stand test of time – here’s why<p>Fast bowler, James Anderson has just become England’s <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cricket/32371710">all-time record wicket taker</a> in test match cricket. When Fred Trueman, a previous record holder, was <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/2339668/Action-man-Trueman-was-the-greatest-of-the-great.html">asked in 1964</a> if anyone would ever beat his achievement he said “whoever does it will be bloody tired”. </p>
<p>Trueman is both right and wrong in his assessment of the toll Anderson’s achievement has had on his body. There is no doubt that fast bowling is a hazardous business with <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3781856/">about one in five</a> fast bowlers out on any given day due to injury. That’s an injury rate comparable to contact sports such as Rugby Union and Australian Rules Football. </p>
<h2>Extreme stress</h2>
<p>The extreme trunk movement involved in bowling fast means that front foot hits the bowling crease with a force of around eight times a bowler’s body weight. So it is not surprising that lower-back stress fractures account for the most lost playing time in world cricket. Fast bowlers are also susceptible to abdominal muscle (side) and hamstring strains, knee and ankle pain. </p>
<p>The most important injury risk factors are bowler workload and physical preparation. While a consistent, moderately high bowling workload is likely to be protective against injury, sudden increases in workload, for example at the start of a season, or when coming back from injury, pose a high risk. </p>
<p>Resistance training, which builds up strength through repeated exercises, is a relatively new, yet essential element of fast bowling preparation programmes. Improved muscle strength, particularly of the legs and trunk will not only allow a bowler to deliver the ball faster for longer, but larger, stronger muscles are also efficient at absorbing the injurious forces produced during the delivery stride. </p>
<p>Other risk factors that are relatively easy for coaches and players to control include ensuring appropriate footwear selection and maintenance, training surfaces, nutrition (a lack of enough calories <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25748470">is a leading cause of bone stress injury</a>) and recovery between bowling spells. </p>
<h2>Careful planning</h2>
<p>Elite England bowlers are encouraged to adopt a 7-4-2 bowling schedule whereby during the majority of seven-day weeks they bowl a maximum of four times (the four) and on only two consecutive days (the two) once a week. Ensuring some non-bowling days per week allows the body to recover and adapt to bowling stress. </p>
<p>All professional fast bowlers will sustain their fair share of injuries – Anderson certainly has, including a career-threatening <a href="http://www.lccc.co.uk/lccc/players/jamesanderson">lower-back stress fracture in 2006</a>. Thorough rehabilitation, building and maintaining trunk and leg strength and carefully planning his bowling schedule have been key factors in allowing him to consistently play at the highest level over the past ten years, culminating in the breaking of Ian Botham’s England wicket-taking record. </p>
<h2>Modern support</h2>
<p>What is evidently the difference between Anderson’s achievement and Trueman’s effort is the emergence of evidence-based exercise and sports medicine support programmes targeted at protecting the game’s most valuable asset – in the modern game, as in the past, there is no substitute for out-and-out pace. </p>
<p>In Trueman’s day, managing a bowler’s workload amounted to nothing much more than on-field conversations between captains and their willing (or not so willing) workhorses: “Come on Fred, can you give me a few more overs?” The longest-known bowling spell in test cricket <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/637661.html">was by Indian leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani</a>. Though the lower impact and rotational forces of spin bowling reduce the propensity for injury, after bowling the same way (except for scheduled breaks) for 354 balls (59 overs) at the Oval in 1990, he would no doubt have been, in Trueman’s words, “bloody tired”. </p>
<p>A brief comparison shows <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/8608.html">that Anderson has bowled</a> 22,114 test match deliveries since his debut in 2003, and has a current total of 80,803 deliveries in first-class cricket. This is an annual average of 1,923 test match deliveries. <a href="http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/21600.html">Trueman bowled</a> 15,178 test deliveries between 1952-65, an annual average of 1,167. In his career he bowled a total of 115,865 deliveries in first-class cricket. Given that Trueman’s career was slightly longer, the overall figures actually suggest similar bowling loads. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78615/original/image-20150420-25708-pv3iup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/78615/original/image-20150420-25708-pv3iup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78615/original/image-20150420-25708-pv3iup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78615/original/image-20150420-25708-pv3iup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78615/original/image-20150420-25708-pv3iup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78615/original/image-20150420-25708-pv3iup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/78615/original/image-20150420-25708-pv3iup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A true Yorkshireman.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/atoach/5594497899/in/photolist-krakfC-b7qmt8-2upqQB-5v76bA-d3GoEj-bkehKX-azNcoW-9pNG9K-9pRJUb-9wngjk-ki6URb">Tim Green</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What is dissimilar is that a support network is constantly at hand to help monitor Anderson’s physical condition. It is unlikely that the curmudgeonly Trueman would have tolerated such an intrusion to suggest when he might do more or less work. In stereotypical Yorkshire fashion, when Trueman was asked by his biographer, John Arlott, what the title of the book should be, Trueman <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/2339668/Action-man-Trueman-was-the-greatest-of-the-great.html">said that it should be called</a> the definitive biography of “t'finest bloody fast bowler that ever drew breath.”</p>
<p>Anderson has a good chance of keeping the record even if greater medical attention is given to the health and longevity of the next generation of England fast bowlers. The reason for this is not related to injury prevention but due to a decline in test cricket and the gradual specialisation of bowlers. </p>
<p>The next generation of emerging fast bowlers are likely to find their niche in different forms of cricket, where Twenty20, which has shorter bowling periods, is likely to take a greater share of the total amount of elite cricket on offer. In such a changed cricketing landscape, if you are a fast bowler, what’s not to like about Twenty20? A day’s “work” involves only four overs compared to a five-day test where you are often one of three fast bowlers undertaking extended spells.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Ranson is head of Cardiff Metropolitan University's sports injury research group that provides injury surveillance services to the England and Wales Cricket Board</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alun Hardman is affiliated with Cricket Wales as a member of their insight and innovation group</span></em></p>Anderson’s achievement in modern-day cricket is a feat but the next generation of fast bowlers may do something different.Craig Ranson, Senior Lecturer, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityAlun Hardman, Senior Lecturer in Sports Ethics, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/397822015-04-14T01:37:32Z2015-04-14T01:37:32ZTaking the hard knocks out of boxing to make the sport safer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77314/original/image-20150408-3172-j33e9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If banning boxing is not the answer then how to reduce the risks and make it safer?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldseriesboxing/16633917361">Flickr/WorldSeriesBoxing</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The tragic death recently of a <a href="http://www.news.com.au/sport/more-sports/boxer-brayd-smith-23-dies-following-toowoomba-bout/story-fndukor0-1227265459218">young Queensland boxer</a> raised the question of safety in the sport and whether <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-boxing-be-banned-38907">boxing should be banned</a>.</p>
<p>Claims that boxing is safer than a number of very popular and well-accepted sports warrant careful scrutiny as they often derive from overly simplistic analyses. </p>
<p>The risks associated with boxing should never be trivialised, but science and technology could possibly help to mitigate them.</p>
<h2>Is boxing dangerous?</h2>
<p><a href="http://ejmas.com/jcs/jcsart_svinth_a_0700.htm">Between 1890 and 2007</a> at least 1,216 boxers (923 professionals, 293 amateurs) died from acute injuries, particularly to the head and neck, with subdural haematoma the most common cause of death.</p>
<p>Additionally, boxing can lead to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17503873">chronic brain injury</a> through cumulative head impacts. About <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10946737">20% of professional boxers</a> eventually suffer from <a href="http://neuroanatomy.org/2010/005_007.pdf">dementia pugilistica</a>, characterised by discernible anatomical changes to the brain and diverse neurological symptoms.</p>
<p>The incidence of less severe pathological and functional deficits is likely much higher. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brains of 76 boxers showed that 38% of professionals and 11% of amateurs had <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22043621">abnormalities probably resulting from boxing</a>.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20176736">another study</a>, more than a third of 61 amateur boxers (but no age-matched controls) had raised levels of anti-hypothalamic and anti-pituitary antibodies, suggesting that head trauma had produced an auto-immune response that could compromise pituitary function.
</p>
<h2>Other concerns about boxing</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol2-issue9/B290925.pdf">Arguments against boxing</a> are not exclusively medical.</p>
<p>Ethicists contend that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00948705.1993.9714503">intent to harm the opponent</a> is a core element of boxing and that occasional catastrophic consequences therefore cannot be considered entirely accidental. Legal experts <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19297874">note</a> that boxing consists of activities that in other contexts would constitute criminal assault. </p>
<p>There are also perceptions that the sport entails <a href="http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol68/iss6/7/">exploitation of vulnerable young people</a> by profit-hungry entrepreneurs and promotes the idea that <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books/about/Family_violence.html?id=Em6uAAAAIAAJ">physical violence is acceptable</a> and may even yield fame and fortune. </p>
<p>Despite the concerns, boxing retains widespread support. Some arguments can be mounted in its favour. It is accessible even in dense urban environments and underpins popular physical fitness programs.</p>
<p>For <a href="http://www.loicwacquant.net/assets/Papers/PUGILISTICPOINTOFVIEW-lowq.pdf">many participants</a>, it offers hope of escape from poverty, pride in mastery of complex skills and opportunity to build identity.</p>
<p>It has catalysed positive social change and has inspired much literature and <a href="http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Art-and-Aesthetics-of-Boxing,674001.aspx">art</a>. Most professional boxers reportedly love the sport (although more than 80% would not want their children to pursue it).</p>
<p>The greatest impetus for continued legality of boxing is probably financial.</p>
<p>Professional boxing is big business. Boxers have received purses of more than US$50 million for single world championship bouts and huge profits can be generated through gate receipts, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2013/09/19/floyd-mayweather-will-earn-more-than-80-million-for-record-breaking-fight/">pay-per-view television sales</a> and gambling.</p>
<p>A sport able to produce such substantial economic activity will always have political supporters. Professional boxing was banned for more than 30 years in Sweden and Norway, but the bans were recently rescinded. </p>
<h2>Making boxing safer</h2>
<p>Attempting to make boxing safer might be the most pragmatic approach. But how might this be achieved?</p>
<p>There is demonstrable scope for modifying boxing through scientific and technological advances. Maximum durations of professional bouts have been reduced based on evidence that this decreases serious injury risk.</p>
<p>As long ago as the 1960s, there were efforts to develop <a href="http://www.google.com.au/patents/US3247520">pneumatic boxing gloves</a> to diminish impact forces. Potential exists to design better head guards. <a href="http://www.light-contact.ch/4-1-Light-Contact-Boxing.html">Modified forms of boxing</a> involving subjective restriction of punch forces have arisen in various locations. </p>
<p>But there is advocacy for more radical change. </p>
<p>Various authorities have proposed <a href="http://www.si.com/vault/1983/04/11/619344/too-many-punches-too-little-concern">removing the head and neck</a> from the target area. The American Medical Association recommends combining this with development and use of low-impact gloves.</p>
<p>The Australian Medial Association, while opposed to all forms of boxing, <a href="https://ama.com.au/position-statement/boxing-1997-reaffirmed-2007">suggests</a> that there should at least be decreased emphasis on scoring head blows and an increase in glove size.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19346182.2012.725413#.VSTC9xOUetA">version of boxing</a> incorporating these recommendations has evolved in Australia over the past nine years. </p>
<p>Called <a href="http://boxing.org.au/development/development-programs/boxtag/">Box'Tag</a>, it also makes use of an <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705810003668">automated scoring system</a> developed through research collaboration between the Australian Institute of Sport and CSIRO. </p>
<h2>What is Box'Tag?</h2>
<p>Box'Tag contestants wear specialised vests with a sensor fabric defining scoring regions on the torso and upper arms.</p>
<p>The sensor fabric incorporates stripes of silver-coated nylon yarn through which a low-level electrical current can be run. A small transceiver worn at the back of the vest generates the current.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/77455/original/image-20150409-15240-g2o0aq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No head shots and a safer game in Box'Tag.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kris Arnold Photography, Canberra.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Patches of conductive material are affixed to the gloves. When this material bridges two vest stripes a change in the electrical resistance of the vest occurs, enabling impact detection.</p>
<p>Electrical resistance data are transmitted by Bluetooth to a ringside computer, where customised software determines whether a point is awarded. Scores can be displayed in real time.</p>
<p>The scoring system rewards light rapid, punching rather than forceful impacts. It provides an option for assigning handicaps to contestants, so facilitating bouts between athletes of differing standards.</p>
<p>Despite prohibition of head and neck impacts, Box'Tag contestants wear protective equipment, including head guards, to diminish effects of any accidentally misdirected contacts. Gloves incorporating bladders to reduce impact forces are in use but require further iteration. </p>
<h2>Popularity of the safer sport</h2>
<p>Presently, the modified form of boxing is being practised at only a few clubs. <a href="http://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol2-issue11/H2116069.pdf">Research by myself and colleagues</a> shows that it has gained enthusiastic participation in those settings, with safety among the major attractions. Its potential for wider uptake remains to be investigated.</p>
<p>Box'Tag overcomes essentially all the objections to conventional boxing although the modifications are likely too substantial to gain universal acceptance and replace traditional professional boxing events.</p>
<p>While Box'Tag provides for audience involvement through ability of spectators to submit SMS messages indicating their subjective assessments of contests, its elimination of knockouts and blood flow will almost surely prevent it from ever attracting big crowds and therefore the sponsorship and TV interest enjoyed by professional boxing. </p>
<p>But learnings from the development of Box'Tag may help fuel the emergence of several different forms of modified boxing that together can satisfy the requirements of diverse interest groups while all providing some enhancement of safety.</p>
<p>Over time, a few of the modifications might be adopted into traditional boxing with significant benefit to the sport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39782/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allan Hahn has received funding from the Olympic Solidarity Commission of the International Olympic Committee, the Queensland Academy of Sport, Boxing Australia Limited, a joint research program of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Australian Institute of Sport, and the Cooperative Research Centre for Microtechnology to explore development of modified boxing.</span></em></p>Boxing is big business but can come at a cost with severe health risks, even death. So what’s being done to reduce those risks?Allan Hahn, Adjunct Professor, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.