Dutch gymnast Epke Zonderland face-planted into the mat during the final of the men’s horizontal bar at the Rio Olympics – then got up and performed beautifully.
Reuters/Mike Blake
Some Olympic moments are a timely reminder of the human capacity to bounce back in the face of challenge or failure. But why do some people wilt, while others seem to do over or go again?
Badminton players need to excel in physical, tactical, psychological and technical traits.
Reuters/Peter Cziborra
Badminton is one of the most popular sports in the world (especially across Asia, Denmark and the United Kingdom), with over 200 million people playing worldwide.
The living room TV isn’t the only way to watch the Olympics these days.
Seven West Media
Athletes need to learn to find and access their ideal emotional state to achieve their best.
Cathy Freeman was criticised for flying the Aboriginal flag at the 1994 Commonwealth Games but the same act at the Sydney 2000 Olympics was hailed as a moment of reconciliation.
Reuters/Jerry Lampen
Racewalking has been part of the Olympic Games since 1904, but gets little respect in the United States. That might change if Americans knew a little more about it.
The average margin in gold medal games across the last four Olympics is 3.5 goals in men’s competition and 1.5 goals in women’s competition.
Reuters/Laszlo Balogh
Every few days, there are news reports of some kind of violence encountered by athletes or journalists at the Rio Games. To understand why, we need to understand how prevalent violence is in Brazil.
Letting it happen or making it happen?
Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach
The psychological states athletes experience – temporary, brief, subjective experiences that happen during exceptional performance – are often collectively described as “the zone”.
We’re used to categorising people as “male” or “female” – but that’s no excuse for lashing out when athletes defy our expectations.
Does it make sense to target female athletes with high testosterone levels? Caster Semenya competes in the women’s 800-meter semifinal during the London Olympics.
Gary Hershorn/Reuters
Some women naturally produce high levels of testosterone. Why is this innate condition treated differently from other conditions that potentially enhance athletic performance?
In the 100m final, every hundredth of a second gained or lost in the race counts.
Reuters/Carlos Barria
The fastest male and female sprinters attain incredible top running speeds with peaks in excess of 44km per hour and 38km per hour, respectively, in the men’s and women’s 100m races.
Russia athletes eat in the main dining hall inside the London 2012 Olympic Games athletes village.
REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett