tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/athletics-3374/articlesAthletics – The Conversation2024-02-06T19:08:18Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228692024-02-06T19:08:18Z2024-02-06T19:08:18ZVenture capitalists are backing a ‘steroid Olympics’ to find out what happens when athletes are doped to the gills<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573654/original/file-20240206-15-zgrilp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C6979%2C4663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/very-muscular-strong-man-hero-athletic-207704356">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many, elite sport is the quintessential human endeavour. It drives ferocious competition, captures unconditional tribal loyalty, and rewards the victors with fame and fortune. </p>
<p>As the Olympic motto declares, the limits of human performance are there to be tested – faster, higher, stronger. But what would happen if the boundaries were not just pushed, but abandoned altogether?</p>
<p>That’s what PayPal cofounder <a href="https://news.uk.cityam.com/story/2109160/content.html">Peter Thiel</a> wants to do, putting some cash into lawyer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/24/australian-entrepreneur-plots-enhanced-games-for-drug-taking-athletes">Aron D’Souza’s</a> concept of an “<a href="https://enhanced.org">Enhanced Games</a>”, where drug testing is out the window and anything goes. </p>
<p>Will <a href="https://enhanced.org/2024/01/29/seedfundingannouncement/">venture capital</a> make the Enhanced Games a reality? Despite rhetoric about making sport safer and “the medical and scientific process of elevating humanity to its full potential”, the games are out to make money. </p>
<h2>The case for enhancement</h2>
<p>The argument in favour of “enhanced” sport declares the current system dishonest and ineffective, as <a href="https://enhanced.org/2023/11/27/honest-sports/">drug use is supposedly already widespread</a>. It calls for athletes to make their own body-boosting decisions, and for their excellence to be rewarded with a <a href="https://enhanced.org/pay-athletes/">more equitable share</a> of the sport-entertainment loot. </p>
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<p>As drug use in sport is here to stay, the argument goes, athletes should be permitted to use every advantage they can to secure success. In the world of hyper-commercialised, spectacle-driven sport theatre, athletes and fans alike are desperate to find out what can be done when anything is possible.</p>
<h2>Costs to participants</h2>
<p>As experts in sport management and integrity, we have a few concerns with this proposed venture. </p>
<p>It’s not that we’re averse to “thinking outside the box” to shake up existing systems, which are sometimes inequitable and unfair. And we agree there’s always more that can be done to reduce the harm elite athletes’ bodies endure.</p>
<p>However, any enhanced entertainment value would come at a cost to the participants. There’s no shortage of evidence demonstrating the <a href="https://www.sportintegrity.gov.au/what-we-do/education/health-effects-of-doping">dangers of pharmaceutical abuse for performance enhancement</a>, let alone what might happen when used in experimental combinations and dosages. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-its-time-to-legalise-doping-in-athletics-46514">Why it's time to legalise doping in athletics</a>
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<p>Let’s not pretend this will be a kind of harm-reduction strategy to combat banned substance use in sport either, a bit like decriminalising cannabis. </p>
<p>In the Enhanced Games, athletes would be rewarded for “excellence”. That means the race to dope, where inevitably more is better, will not be limited to medicines that have been approved for human use.</p>
<h2>What’s sport for?</h2>
<p>In addition to damage to athletes, there’s also the damage to sport. </p>
<p>We’d like to think that most committed sport fans would prefer to watch athletes, not injectable avatars. But this event is designed as instantly accessible consumer fodder, not a treat for sporting aficionados. </p>
<p>The Enhanced Games suggests the path to victory is via what many sport fans would regard as cheating. Instead of promoting success via persistence, resilience and hard work, it suggests there is a “magic pill” or “silver bullet” for every challenge. </p>
<p>Even if we leave aside the significant health risks of a “go for it” open category of sport (which presents deal-breaking legal and medical ethics concerns anyway), it challenges the very essence of what sport should be about. </p>
<p>Perhaps we’re being idealistic, but what’s the point of sport if it isn’t at least aiming to be authentic? The main thing these games will “enhance” is the existing problems with elite sport. </p>
<h2>More inequality and prospects for exploitation</h2>
<p>The idea of the Enhanced Games seems to proceed from the premise that all participants are adults who can make fully informed decisions about their own short-term goals and long-term health in ways that will affect only themselves. This is unlikely to reflect the reality. </p>
<p>Elite sport is not conducted on a level playing field. Access to money, knowledge, power and technology already gives some athletes an edge over others, and the Enhanced Games would exacerbate these inequalities.</p>
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<p>The Enhanced Games proposal does not set out how the increased risk to athletes exploited for commercial gain will be managed. The games also proposes to include events in which the burgeoning elite competitors are young and vulnerable, such as gymnastics and swimming, which may have serious implications for these children and their carers.</p>
<h2>Winning – but at what cost?</h2>
<p>Sport has never been a “win at all costs” proposition. Sport should be part of a society that cares about respect, fun, friendship, health, learning new skills and vitality. </p>
<p>If only the entrepreneurs and venture capitalists could concentrate their money and efforts on bringing the joy of sport to disadvantaged people and help support building thriving communities. </p>
<p>In years to come, we hope to look back on the Enhanced Games with as much interest as sprinter Ben Johnson’s 1998 novelty race against two horses. (Johnson, notoriously banned from normal competition for life after failing multiple drug tests, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/17/sports/plus-running-johnson-is-third-in-charity-race.html?pagewanted=print">came third</a>.)</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Ordway has been appointed as a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Social
Science Research Expert Advisory Group (SSREAG) and previously worked for the Australian
Sports Anti-Doping Authority (precursor to Sport Integrity Australia). The University of Canberra has a Memorandum of Understanding with Sport Integrity Australia and is researching several co-funded projects, including on anti-doping.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The University of Canberra has a Memorandum of Understanding with Sport Integrity Australia and is researching several co-funded projects, including on anti-doping.</span></em></p>A plans for ‘Enhanced Games’ with no restrictions on performance-enhancing drugs would be bad for athletes and for sport itself.Catherine Ordway, Associate Professor Sport Management and Sport Integrity Lead, University of CanberraAaron CT Smith, Director, UC Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2153772023-10-12T07:42:41Z2023-10-12T07:42:41ZMarathon under 2 hours is closer than ever – scientist shows how Kenya’s Kiptum tests human limits<p>War in the Middle East plunged humanity to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/timeline-surprise-rocket-attack-hamas-israel/story?id=103816006">new lows</a> on Sunday 8 October 2023 that have gripped international attention since. If that were not the case, the world would likely be abuzz with the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/08/1204559751/kelvin-kiptum-marathan-world-record-chicago#:%7E:text=TED%20Radio%20Hour-,Kelvin%20Kiptum%20breaks%20a%20world%20record%20at%20the%20Chicago%20Marathon,seconds%20at%20the%20Chicago%20Marathon.">breathtaking exploits</a> of a 23-year-old Kenyan who changed running history in Chicago on the same day.</p>
<p>Kelvin Kiptum, running just his third marathon, finished the 42.195 kilometre race in 2h 00m 35s. This lowered the previous world record set by countryman Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin last year, by a whopping 34 seconds. This is the first time that the world record has been obliterated by more than 30 seconds since official ratification began 20 years ago. The better-known Kipchoge comes closest for clipping 30 seconds off his own mark in 2022.</p>
<p>Kiptum’s jaw-dropping average pace was 21 kilometres per hour (13.04 mph) or just 2 minutes and 51.5 seconds per kilometre (4:36.0 min/mile).</p>
<p>My interest as a data scientist and economist (and fellow runner) lies in <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/publishahead/A_Statistical_Timetable_for_the_Sub_2_Hour.96666.aspx">analysing</a> the historical progression of the men’s and women’s world marathon records.</p>
<p>Can the extraordinary feats of human endeavour be submitted to statistical analysis?</p>
<p>My approach is to think of the marathon world record progression as a bit like watching developments in technology. In both, <em>many</em> factors can lead to a performance gain. In the case of marathon running, this can include training regime, nutrition, psychological preparedness and equipment. </p>
<p>On 8 October, Kiptum didn’t only set a new mark. He also changed the trajectory of the marathon world record.</p>
<p>By my calculations and analysis he has, in all likelihood, set the scene for the “sub-2 hour” marathon mark to fall in the next few years. Prior to Kiptum’s run, I was less convinced we would see the milestone fall before the end of the decade.</p>
<h2>Why are we still talking about ‘sub-2’?</h2>
<p>Didn’t Kipchoge <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/eliud-kipchoge-ineos-159-marathon">already</a> go “sub-2” back in 2019? Well, not really.</p>
<p>Athletics is one of those sports where official record keeping really counts. Courses have to be measured (three times) to within a centimetre, lines must be crisp and clear, hurdles must be set out in rows with military precision and athletes must crouch frozen in place without as much as a hair moving until the starter’s gun rings out. There’s a whole <a href="https://worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/book-of-rules">rulebook</a> set down by the International Association of Athletics Federation for a road marathon to be called “official”.</p>
<p>And so, when Kipchoge (backed by a <a href="https://www.ineos159challenge.com/">million-dollar</a> funded team) ran as the only “competitor” for 1h 59m and 40s around the <a href="https://www.wien.info/en/prater-hauptallee-130184">Prater Hauptallee</a> in Vienna in October 2019, everyone, including <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/races-places/a28701150/eliud-kipchoge-two-hour-marathon-ineos-challenge/">Kipchoge</a>, knew this was not the end of the grand search for an official sub-2. </p>
<p>The world record remained at Kipchoge’s own 2h 1m 39s set in the Berlin marathon in September 2018. Kipchoge would go on to lower his own official marathon world record to 2h 1m 9s in September last year, also in the Berlin marathon.</p>
<p>And that is where the official record stayed, until October 8.</p>
<h2>How good was Kiptum’s new world record?</h2>
<p>There are many ways we could answer this question. For amateurs and elites alike, there are so many ways that one could seek to improve their performance. These include (though the list is much longer):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>training choices (volume, intensity, rest, cross-training) </p></li>
<li><p>nutrition (micro- and macro-nutrients, pre-race fuelling, in-race hydration) </p></li>
<li><p>psychological training (set-backs, performance anxiety, boredom, motivation, self-talk) </p></li>
<li><p>equipment tech in shoes and apparel. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>From the standpoint of statistical and economic analysis, after making a few assumptions, we can expect that the arrival of a world record in the marathon might follow a defined pattern. So much so, we can model the historical times, which is to say, fit a mathematical formula to them, and so, gain insights about the present and the future.</p>
<p>Economists have been <a href="https://sites.santafe.edu/%7Ewbarthur/thenatureoftechnology.htm">modelling</a> athletic performance for decades. We now know that so long as the arrival rate of small improvements (think: a new supplement, shoe foam, or training aid) across each factor is roughly consistent over time, we should expect that the summary outcome will have reasonably predictable behaviour. It’s this overall process we can model.</p>
<p>My approach is to fit a model to the average trend of marathon world record times over several decades, and then to estimate the likelihood of going below this trend to run a given time on a given day.</p>
<p>First up, we can model the historical progression of the male world record as if we didn’t know about Kipchoge’s 2022 world record and Kiptum’s new mark. This will tell us how unusual (or unexpected) these times were, from the perspective of history.</p>
<p>What we find is that, whereas Kipchoge’s run on that particular September 2022 day (“+” in figure below) was remarkable, with a likelihood of close to “1 in 4” chance, based on history, Kiptum’s run was, statistically speaking, more impressive. Kiptum’s run (“x” in the figure below) lands closer to the “1 in 10” likelihood line.</p>
<p>In other words, Kiptum’s performance is less expected (or more unusual), based on the historical world record progression line, than Kipchoge’s. This is so even if you take into account the natural progression of the world record we’d expect over the year between the runs.</p>
<p>Given how amazing Kipchoge’s Berlin 2022 run was, that’s saying something.</p>
<h2>Does Kiptum change sub-2 expectations?</h2>
<p>Let’s suppose that a hypothetical runner in the mould of Kiptum was at the start line in future (official) marathons. When would they go sub-2? </p>
<p>By following the “1 in 10” line out into the future, we see that it crosses the 2 hour line in May 2032. This is no different to what I <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2019/07000/a_statistical_timetable_for_the_sub_2_hour.14.aspx">predicted</a> four years ago.</p>
<p>However, what if we allow our modelling procedure to take account of both Kipchoge’s and Kiptum’s new 2022 and 2023 world records respectively?</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/eliud-kipchoge-broke-the-mens-marathon-record-by-30-seconds-how-close-is-the-official-sub-2-hour-barrier-now-191421">When I add only Kipchoge’s mark</a>, and work with a runner like Kipchoge at “1 in 4” likelihood, the sub-2 moment doesn’t change very much, moving forward by just a few months to November 2031.</p>
<p>However, if we further add Kiptum’s more extraordinary run, something remarkable happens.</p>
<p>First, the model learns to be a bit more accommodating of Kiptum-like performances. In effect, he becomes a bit less extraordinary, tracking closer to the updated “1 in 4” likelihood line.</p>
<p>Second, if we follow this line – that is, we assume that a Kiptum-like runner is at the start line in future official marathons – then we find that the arrival of a sub-2 marathon has been brought forward by <em>five years</em> to March 2027.</p>
<p>In effect, Kiptum (and to some extent Kipchoge in 2022) have been able to nudge all of marathon world-record history just enough to make the sub-2 moment a likely reality in the next few years.</p>
<h2>Will we see more records beyond sub-2?</h2>
<p>These curves tell us something else. If we run them out to the far distant future, they eventually settle on the very fastest time anyone might ever run in the marathon. The “limits”, if you will, of human performance.</p>
<p>If we follow the “Kiptum line” (“1 in 4” likelihood) we find that it settles at 1h 55m 40s. Around 2 minutes faster than my <a href="https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2019/07000/a_statistical_timetable_for_the_sub_2_hour.14.aspx">prediction</a> for the same four years ago. Again, Kiptum has made his mark.</p>
<p>If there’s anything reassuring about this analysis, especially for those who love the marathon and this period of amazing running by men and women alike, even <em>when</em> (not if) the sub-2 mark is done, the limit is still over 4 minutes ahead!</p>
<p>In high performance terms, even after someone goes sub-2, there’s still a lot to play for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215377/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon D Angus has received funding from the Paul Ramsay Foundation, the Judith Neilson Institute, the Scanlon Foundation, and the Public Interest Journalism Initiative and the Defence, Science & Technology Group (Department of Defence). He is a co-founder of SoDa Laboratories, Monash Business School, and co-founder and the Director of the Monash IP Observatory, Monash University, and co-founder and director of KASPR Datahaus Pty Ltd.</span></em></p>Kiptum – and to some extent Kipchoge – have done just enough to make the ‘sub-2’ moment a likely reality in the next few years.Simon D. Angus, Associate Professor, Department of Economics & SoDa Laboratories, Monash Business School, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067002023-07-23T19:58:45Z2023-07-23T19:58:45ZDoes a woman’s menstrual cycle affect her athletic performance? Here’s what the science says<p>During the Women’s FIFA World Cup, it has been wonderful to see the spotlight turn to female athletes. </p>
<p>There’s always been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24766579/">more research on male athletes</a> compared to female athletes, but the gap is narrowing. </p>
<p>One thing we still don’t know enough about is the effect of the menstrual cycle on athletic performance. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-do-women-menstruate-13744">Explainer: why do women menstruate?</a>
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<h2>What does the menstrual cycle do to a woman’s body?</h2>
<p>The menstrual cycle is a complex cascade of events typically lasting 28 days. The primary female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone rise and fall as the body cycles through four phases, beginning at menstruation, maturation and releasing of an egg (ovulation), preparation for pregnancy, and restarting the cycle if the egg is not fertilised.</p>
<p>Fluctuations in female sex hormones have been associated with changes in inflammation, metabolism, muscle activation and body composition, which <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33572406/">can influence athletic performance</a>. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22306563/">inflammation decreases</a> when the body is preparing to ovulate, reaching its lowest point around ovulation. It then increases following ovulation and peaks during menstruation. </p>
<p>This peak coincides with lower perceived performance among many female athletes.</p>
<p>The menstrual cycle can also give rise to symptoms including pain, cramps, weakness, and poor sleep and focus, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35911030/">challenging performance</a> during training and competition. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2021.2020330">research</a> conducted in elite female soccer players found over 87% of players perceived reduced power and increased fatigue during menstruation, while over 66% perceived their reaction time and recovery to be affected.</p>
<p>Considering the approximate maximum career length of soccer players (21 years) and a woman’s fertile life, that adds up to about 250 times throughout a woman’s soccer career that performance may be compromised. </p>
<p>Trends observed among female soccer players closely mirror the experiences of other female athletes, with over <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37389782/#:%7E:text=Results%3A%20Sixty%20studies%20involving%206380,the%20most%20prevalent%20MC%20disorder">74% reporting</a> negative effects mainly during the first days of menstruation. </p>
<p>For some, this may lead to reduced training participation, potentially compromising skill development, fitness levels, and even their chances of being selected for competition. </p>
<p>But the menstrual cycle is complex, and its effects can vary between athletes and sports. Consequently there is disagreement regarding whether the menstrual cycle universally affects athletic performance, with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10076834/#:%7E:text=Findings%20suggest%20that%20strength%2Drelated,cause%20variations%20in%20strength%20performance">some research</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32661839/">indicating</a> no influence of the menstrual cycle on certain performance measures. But these studies are few and had various logistical limitations, including a small number of participants.</p>
<p>Also important to note is that most studies to-date have excluded women using hormonal contraceptives, which is about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29283683/">50% of female athletes</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35475746/#:%7E:text=Conclusion%3A%20Most%20WSL%20players%20do,minimise%20discomfort%20and%20maximise%20performance.">28% of female soccer players</a>. The use of hormonal contraceptives suppresses natural hormonal fluctuations and replaces them with external synthetic versions of female sex hormones, affecting the athlete differently. </p>
<p>Clearly the extent and severity to which the menstrual cycle impacts athletic performance is highly variable and complex, with more research needed. So for now it’s sensible to consider the effects of the menstrual cycle on an individual basis.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/supporting-menstrual-health-in-australia-means-more-than-just-throwing-pads-at-the-problem-161194">Supporting menstrual health in Australia means more than just throwing pads at the problem</a>
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<h2>How to support athletic performance at all cycle stages</h2>
<p>It’s essential for players to familiarise themselves with their own cycles to understand how they’re affected throughout, as well as communicate any menstrual cycle-related issues to support staff (physicians and coaches). This awareness can guide adjustments in training and nutrition when required.</p>
<p>For example, oestrogen has an important influence on iron levels in females, such as chronic oestrogen deficiency is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23041085/">linked to iron deficiency</a>. Iron status can also be compromised by blood loss during menstruation, depending on the heaviness and duration of bleeding.</p>
<p>Iron is essential for human function, facilitating energy production and the transportation of oxygen around the body. In soccer, about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16521852/#:%7E:text=Of%20the%20investigated%20female%20soccer,at%20the%20top%20international%20level">60% of elite female players</a> present as iron deficient, compared to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18384395/">less than 12% of their male counterparts</a>. For an iron deficient midfielder, this might translate into covering less distance at lower speeds. </p>
<p>It’s therefore important female athletes have their iron levels regularly checked by qualified practitioners. Addressing deficiencies through diet, supplementation, or iron transfusions, will ensure athletic performance during training and competition is not compromised.</p>
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<p>Individual athletes’ training loads can also be strategically managed to accommodate severe menstrual symptoms. </p>
<p>Football clubs around the world have been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24733938.2020.1828615">experimenting with this strategy</a> since it gained popularity during the 2019 Women’s FIFA World Cup. But how does it look in practice? </p>
<p>For team sport athletes, such as soccer players, this can be a demanding logistical task. It’s not easy to track the menstrual cycles of more than 25 players concurrently, and hold training sessions at convenient times for all of them. The complexities are heightened when training and game days cannot be avoided. </p>
<p>But performance coaches must consider athletes’ needs and ensure they’re prepared for competition, while minimising the risk of injury and menstrual discomfort. Coaches should also ensure athletes maintain adequate nutrition for both competition and to support their menstrual cycle. </p>
<p>For an athlete who reports severe menstrual symptoms during the first days of menstruation (such as increased pain and weakness), this might translate into reduced training intensity, additional recovery days, and an anti-inflammatory diet that also supports the restoration of iron levels (increased intake of nuts, seeds, berries, lean red meats, and fibre and Omega-3 rich foods). </p>
<p>And it’s important to keep in mind some athletes might experience menstrual cycle issues in phases other than menstruation. So, training and nutrition should be flexible and individualised across the cycle. </p>
<p>Using this approach, athletes can mitigate the influence of the menstrual cycle on their performance, giving them the best opportunity to achieve their athletic potential and success during competition.</p>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206700/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Chica-Latorre receives funding from the Australian Department of Education</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Pengelly and Michelle Minehan 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>Fluctuations in sex hormones are associated with inflammation peaks and troughs. These could potentially influence athletic performance.Sara Chica-Latorre, Phd Candidate and Research Assistant, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of CanberraMichael Pengelly, PhD Candidate, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2032262023-04-07T12:13:16Z2023-04-07T12:13:16ZMLB home run counts are rising – and global warming is playing a role<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519633/original/file-20230405-20-qoakrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C3000%2C1989&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Another homer off the bat of Aaron Judge.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/1afab4defa934a1db3455fc35f5fe688">AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Home runs are exhilarating – those lofting moments when everyone looks skyward, baseball players and fans alike, anxiously awaiting the outcome: run or out, win or loss, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KIAT6saGZA">elation or despair</a>.</p>
<p>Over the past several Major League Baseball seasons, home run numbers have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkeNJqqKX5I">climbed dramatically</a>, including Aaron Judge’s <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/aaron-judge-breaks-roger-maris-home-run-record-with-62">record-breaking 62 homers</a> for the New York Yankees in 2022.</p>
<p>Baseball analysts have pointed to many different factors for this surge, from changes in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/sports/baseball/mlb-change-baseball-rawlings.html">baseball construction</a> to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/sports/mlb-launch-angles-story/">advances in game analytics</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0235.1">Our study</a>, published April 7, 2023, offers solid evidence for another cause – rising global temperatures.</p>
<h2>What we learned from 100,000 baseball games</h2>
<p>The physics tell a simple and compelling story: Warm air is less dense than cool air. As air heats up and molecules move faster, the air expands, leaving more space between molecules. As a result, a batted ball should fly farther on a warmer day than it would on a cooler day owing to less air resistance.</p>
<p>This simple physical link has prompted <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-warming-more-baseball-home-runs/">speculation</a> from the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/tim-mccarver-may-not-be-crazy-the-home-run-and-global-warming-connection/2012/04/30/gIQA1hI1rT_blog.html">media</a> about the connection between climate change and home runs. </p>
<p>But while scientists like <a href="http://baseball.physics.illinois.edu/nathan-papers.html">Alan Nathan</a> have shown that balls <a href="http://baseball.physics.illinois.edu/Effect%20of%20Temperature%20on%20Home%20Run%20Production.pdf">go farther in higher temperatures</a>, no formal scientific investigation had been performed to prove that global warming is helping fuel baseball’s home run spree – until now.</p>
<p><iframe id="T7XOY" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/T7XOY/9/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jpm35hwAAAAJ&hl=en">In</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QrmlrE0AAAAJ&hl=en">our</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0235.1">study</a>, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in collaboration with anthropologists (and baseball fans) <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZGD7vx8AAAAJ&hl=en">Nathaniel J. Dominy</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jkr2M6kAAAAJ&hl=en">Jeremy M. DeSilva</a>, we used data from over 100,000 Major League Baseball games and 200,000 individual batted balls, alongside observed game day temperatures, to show that warming temperatures have, in fact, increased the number of home runs.</p>
<p>Based on data between 1962 – when <a href="https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/mantle-mickey">Mickey Mantle was American League MVP</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/history/season/_/year/1962">Willie Mays topped the home run chart</a> – and 2019, we found that a game that is 10 degrees Celsius (18 degree Fahrenheit) warmer than the average game would have nearly 20% more home runs than average. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A ball player raises one finger in the air as he runs the bases, with bright stadium lights behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519637/original/file-20230405-26-6emh2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519637/original/file-20230405-26-6emh2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519637/original/file-20230405-26-6emh2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519637/original/file-20230405-26-6emh2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519637/original/file-20230405-26-6emh2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519637/original/file-20230405-26-6emh2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519637/original/file-20230405-26-6emh2v.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">The San Diego Padres’ Ha-Seong Kim celebrates a game-ending home run on April 3, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/1afab4defa934a1db3455fc35f5fe688">AP Photo/Gregory Bull</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, what about everything else that drives home runs? </p>
<p>We can’t run a controlled experiment where we replay each pitch cast since the 1960s and vary only the temperature to assess its effect on home runs. But we can use the trove of data on home runs and temperature to statistically estimate its effect. Whether a game is hotter or cooler than average is not likely to be related to other factors driving home runs, like <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/juiced-baseballs/">ball construction</a>, <a href="https://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/rjmorgan/mba211/Steroids%20and%20Major%20League%20Baseball.pdf">steroid abuse</a>, game analytics or <a href="https://sabr.org/journal/article/high-altitude-offense-an-empirical-examination-of-the-relationship-between-runs-scored-and-stadium-elevation/">elevation differences among ballparks</a>. This fact allows us to statistically isolate the <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures">role of temperature</a>. </p>
<p>To verify our game-level model, we use data from <a href="https://technology.mlblogs.com/introducing-statcast-2023-high-frame-rate-bat-and-biomechanics-tracking-3844890264a6">high-speed cameras</a> that ballparks have had since 2015. The cameras provide the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68V-MTm7nUk">launch angle</a> and launch velocity of each hit – 200,000 of them were included in our study. This means we can compare a ball coming off a bat at the same angle and velocity on a warm day and a cool day – near-perfect experimental conditions. </p>
<p>The high-speed camera model nearly exactly replicated the effect of temperature on home runs that we estimated with the game-level data. With this observed relationship between game day temperatures and home runs in hand, we were able to use experiments from climate models to estimate how many home runs have occurred because of climate change so far. </p>
<p>We found that more than 500 home runs since 2010 could be directly linked to reduced air densities driven by human-caused global warming.</p>
<h2>More homers in a warming future</h2>
<p>We can use the same approach to make estimates about home runs in the future. </p>
<p>For example, if the world continues to pump out greenhouse gas emissions <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-the-high-emissions-rcp8-5-global-warming-scenario/">at a high rate</a>, the temperature will continue to climb, and that could soon yield several hundred additional home runs per year. It could add up to several thousand home runs cumulatively over the 21st century.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519147/original/file-20230403-14-5kqu35.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=324&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Increase in average number of home runs per year for each U.S. major league ballpark with every 1-degree Celsius (1.8 F) increase in global average temperature. Domed parks control the temperature on the field, so warming is less of a factor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/980110">Christopher W. Callahan</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Teams have ways to counter the heat. They can shift day games to be played at night, for example, or build domes over ballparks. In Denver, where the air is less dense because of its higher elevation, the Rockies <a href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/13057/baseball-proguestus-home-runs-and-humidors-is-there-a-connection/">started storing game balls in a humidor</a> in 2002 to make them “<a href="https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/13057/baseball-proguestus-home-runs-and-humidors-is-there-a-connection/a">mushier</a>,” increasing their weight and giving pitchers more of a sporting chance. </p>
<h2>It’s not all high-fives</h2>
<p>More home runs might sound exciting, but that boost in homers is also a visible sign of the much larger problems facing sports and people worldwide as the planet warms.</p>
<p><iframe id="A7Tnn" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/A7Tnn/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Rising temperatures will <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/">threaten the health and safety</a> of baseball players, fans in ballparks and people around the world. <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-report-climate-solutions-exist-but-humanity-has-to-break-from-the-status-quo-and-embrace-innovation-202134">Without serious efforts</a> to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, rising temperatures will transform <a href="https://theconversation.com/transformational-change-is-coming-to-how-people-live-on-earth-un-climate-adaptation-report-warns-which-path-will-humanity-choose-177604">nearly all aspects of society</a>, from cultural touchstones like baseball to basic human well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203226/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 organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Scientists analyzed 100,000 baseball games, from the days of Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays to Aaron Judge. Here’s what they learned about the climate’s growing role.Christopher W. Callahan, Ph.D. Student in Climate Science, Dartmouth CollegeJustin S. Mankin, Assistant Professor of Geography, Dartmouth CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2021882023-03-21T20:04:42Z2023-03-21T20:04:42ZHow world sport got into a mess over trans athletes – and how it can get out of it<p>World sport has been convulsed over the past few months – indeed years – by questions about trans athletes, especially trans women, competing in their acquired gender. </p>
<p>Most recently, World Athletics announced <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/64373487">its “preferred option”</a> of a reduced 2.5nmol testosterone limit for trans women to compete, with a final decision due on March 23. </p>
<p>Other sporting bodies have proposed stricter eligibility rules, including Rugby Football Union, the Rugby Football League, <a href="https://www.eurosport.co.uk/triathlon/british-triathlon-creates-open-category-for-transgender-athletes-to-compete-after-fina-swimming-and-_sto9021687/story.shtml">British Triathlon</a> and <a href="https://www.skysports.com/athletics/news/12040/12802213/uk-athletics-urges-government-to-change-legislation-on-transgender-athletes">British Athletics</a>, based on excluding male advantage gained through puberty or “androgenisation” (the process leading to irreversible musculoskeletal and cardiovascular changes at puberty) from female competition. </p>
<p>Like British Athletics, British Triathlon <a href="https://www.eurosport.co.uk/triathlon/british-triathlon-creates-open-category-for-transgender-athletes-to-compete-after-fina-swimming-and-_sto9021687/story.shtml">said it wanted</a> an “open” category for “all individuals including male, [male and female] transgender and those non-binary who were male sex at birth”, while World Aquatics will make trans women athletes ineligible from competing in elite women’s swimming and diving, saying “fairness was non-negotiable”. </p>
<p>Tensions are still very apparent, but there are some signs, with these new policies, of a shift on global policy from one based on testosterone levels to one based on male advantage acquired at puberty. And it is clear that the terrain has been shifting from the terrain of science to the terrain of ethics. </p>
<p>One new development has been a sort of quietening on the scientific front. Although you still get the odd piece trying to make the claim that testosterone suppression can remove male advantage, most of the serious people in the debate have given up on this claim. A <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/15/865.abstract">systematic review of studies</a> showed that, even if hormone therapy reduces levels to those seen in women, strength, lean body mass and muscle area remained higher for at least three years. And we always knew that the skeletal advantages remained.</p>
<p>This has led to an attempt to re-engineer the idea of “fair competition” itself. Some tend to argue that, even though <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-020-01389-3">trans women have residual male advantages</a>, it can still be reasonable for them to compete in the female category: something that proponents are now calling “meaningful competition”.</p>
<h2>Fair competition or ‘meaningful’ competition?</h2>
<p>Setting the new terrain here is the International Olympic Committee, which, following the researchers Joanna Harper and Yannis Pitsiladis, has given its blessing <a href="https://stillmed.olympics.com/media/Documents/Athletes/Medical-Scientific/Consensus-Statements/2023_BJSM-Framework-commentary.pdf">to the twin ideas</a> of “meaningful competition” and “disproportionate advantage” in its policy documents. The general idea is that, if the advantage held by trans women is sufficiently small, so that they won’t win all the time, then it is permissible - and “meaningful” - for them to compete in the female category.</p>
<p>But there are at least three big things wrong with this approach, or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00948705.2023.2167720">so I’ve argued</a>. The first is that what matters about male advantage is not just its size but <em>the kind</em> of advantage it is. </p>
<p>There are two types of advantage in sport: <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2021.1943715?journalCode=tejs20#:%7E:text=In%20sport%2C%20this%20process%20has,the%20basis%20of%20eligibility%20rules.">competition advantages and category advantages</a>. Competition advantages are the sorts of things that we let play out in sport: who is the most skilful, or fastest, or the best tactician? And, yes, sometimes, we are interested in who has the biggest genetic gifts, like the lung capacity of cyclist Miguel Indurain or the wingspan of swimmer Michael Phelps – and what they can do with it.</p>
<p>Category advantages, on the other hand, are those that we control for, through categories. Some of these are between sports – like between e-bikes, motor bikes and road bikes, or between different formulae in motor sport. The more obvious ones are age, weight and sex categories. These categories exclude certain sorts of advantages by definition. If you want to allow these advantages, you must do away with the category itself. You can change how you categorise. We could shift male advantage from being a category advantage, for example, to a competition advantage.</p>
<p>But, since few people want to do away with female sport (at least explicitly), male advantage must be excluded from it. The so-called “Phelps gambit” – the idea that Phelps’ natural body shape gave him “unfair” advantages within his category, and therefore we should accept the male advantages of trans women in the same way – doesn’t work, because we don’t classify for Phelps advantages; they are competition advantages. But male sex advantages are category advantages.</p>
<p>The second big mistake is that the IOC misunderstands fair competition. Fair competition doesn’t mean that no one ever dominates – think Indurain, Phelps, Martina Navratilova, and Usain Bolt. Of course, we could organise a handicap version of every sport to allow, as near as possible, everyone to cross the line at the same time, so that who wins turns out to be arbitrary and at the whim of the handicapper. But our standard understanding of fairness in sport is a matter of processes (a “level playing field”) not outcomes (a “photo-finish”).</p>
<p>The third mistake is about the place of self-identity in categorisation. The IOC’s medical and scientific director, Richard Budgett, has endorsed the slogan “trans women are women”. But you don’t need, for now, to make your mind up on whether the slogan is true or not, because, either way, the logic of the IOC approach is wrong. If the slogan is true, then trans women should be eligible for women’s sport without having to pass any further tests. But if the slogan is false, then it’s difficult to see what motivates testosterone limits and tests, whether 10nmol or 5nmol or 2.5nmol, for two years, or three years or more, because women’s sport should only be for women.</p>
<p>Having looked at the science – and worried about the logic – World Aquatics, World Rugby, British Triathlon and British Athletics have come to more or less the same conclusion. </p>
<p>Everyone should be welcome into sport, of course, and everyone must have a fair category in which to compete. This can be done with a female category – which excludes anyone with male advantage - and an inclusive, open category for anyone who wants to compete in it. With a few details to sort out, this is a solution for almost all athletic sports, which is maximally inclusive and fair to everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202188/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jon Pike is on part of the advisory group for Sex Matters.</span></em></p>Why some now talk about ‘meaningful’ rather than fair competition in elite sport.Jon Pike, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2006122023-02-23T20:20:19Z2023-02-23T20:20:19ZMac McClung may have ‘saved’ the slam dunk contest, but scoring methods could still be improved, a dunkologist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512040/original/file-20230223-19-vc40ce.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C76%2C5684%2C3707&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mac McClung of the Philadelphia 76ers dunks the ball during the 2023 NBA All Star AT&T Slam Dunk Contest on Feb. 18, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mac-mcclung-of-the-philadelphia-76ers-dunks-the-ball-during-news-photo/1468043000?phrase=Mac%20McClung&adppopup=true">Alex Goodlett / Stringer via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I grew up watching some of the greatest slam dunk artists in the world.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.legendsofbasketball.com/alumni/shawn-kemp/">Shawn Kemp</a> was one of my favorites because he was freaky athletic and dunked so powerfully. Plus, he seemed so nonchalant about everything. It made <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfDmNdN-8FA">his dunks</a> look effortless. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nba.com/news/history-legend-dominique-wilkins">Dominique Wilkins</a> just jumped <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKYhNbslDh8">so high on every dunk</a>. His limbs are long and he would <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ja4Cb7I9h4">windmill the ball</a> so far around and then dunk hard on the rim like a sledgehammer.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/walkeke01.html">Kenny “Sky” Walker</a> was my biggest inspiration, because I felt as if we jumped alike, and he did a lot of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7PaSXpy8kQ">360s</a>. He swung and whirled the ball about, kicking his legs and dunking aggressively. That’s why I liked doing those 360s on a 6-foot-high rim back in the 1990s when I was in elementary school.</p>
<p>I also drew inspiration from my dad. One day my dad and I were shooting baskets with a volleyball. I begged him to dunk it. Even though he was exhausted from a day of construction work, he dunked it hard, all his limbs outstretched. The impact ripped open his finger and he began to bleed. Despite the injury, I was just in awe that he had dunked the ball. I thought the whole thing was so cool.</p>
<p>Today, my fondness for dunking remains, but on a much higher plane. I study dunks, so that makes me a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=u37g8KEAAAAJ&hl=en">dunk scientist</a>. Or you might say I’m a dunkologist.</p>
<p>So whenever I watch the NBA’s annual slam dunk contest – like the one that <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/who-is-mac-mcclung-former-high-school-phenom-breaks-out-as-2023-slam-dunk-champion-at-nba-all-star-weekend/">Philadelphia 76ers’ Mac McClung won</a> with a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-mac-mcclung-viral-540-dunk-gets-brutally-honest-take-from-evan-fournier">turnaround slam on Feb. 18, 2023</a> – I don’t watch just to be entertained. As chairman of the technical committee for the <a href="https://wda.do/">World Dunk Association</a> – a group formed in 2020 to build more appreciation for the slam dunk – I also look to improve upon a <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">new system</a> we have developed offering a more scientific approach toward how judges score slam dunks. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H854e_GFV_U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A basketball player breaks down the science of how he does a slam dunk.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Growing up, I remember seeing “style, athleticism and creativity” mentioned during NBA broadcasts as factors for slam dunk judges to consider. But it wasn’t until I embarked upon my journey to become a researcher that I began to wonder if the slam dunk judges might be using more sophisticated criteria. </p>
<p>As my colleague Evan Rollins and I wrote in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3233/JSA-190242">peer-reviewed paper</a> published in 2019 in the <a href="https://journalofsportsanalytics.com/">Journal of Sports Analytics</a>, dunk scores – <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2022-att-slam-dunk">now given on a scale of 6 to 10</a> – are not always awarded as fairly and consistently as you might hope or expect.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An image of a screen that depicts Slam-Dunk Champions Guidelines" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Image captured from the NBATV broadcast of 1987 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Source: NBA.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How dunks get scored</h2>
<p>I created a database to capture data from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWv5aFyC0z2v0bV1DpOD5XLAIU-a45BB1">every dunk I could find</a> for contests going all the way back to 1984. As of February 2022, the database contains information on more than 700 dunks.</p>
<p>Only about 45% of a player’s dunk score is based on what they do with their body or the ball, our analysis found. We found about 28% of a dunker’s score is based on factors that have nothing to do with the actual dunk, such as whether or not the contest took place in the hometown of the dunker or the dunker’s team. When a dunker’s team or hometown hosted the contest, their dunks were often scored higher than they would have been if the contest were held somewhere else.</p>
<p>Other factors included the player’s popularity – as measured by the number of mentions in the media. But a player’s popularity is often based on the player’s skill, so we don’t know if player popularity is a cause of – or simply correlated with – scoring high on a slam dunk.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A basketball player does a slam dunk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Slam dunks are an impressive feat in basketball.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/antonius-cleveland-of-the-hawks-dunk-the-ball-during-the-news-photo/1371250899?adppopup=true">Jenny Evans/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The influence of non-dunk-related factors made me want to discover new methods to judge and score slam dunks. My pursuit led me to the World Dunk Association, which was started in 2020 by <a href="https://www.zianimalacademy.com/en/kadour-ziani/">Kadour Ziani</a>, a retired professional dunker, and <a href="https://damln.com/">Damian Le Nouaille-Diez</a>, a software engineer, author and entrepreneur. Turns out Kadour and Damian had devised a <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">system to classify dunks</a> that was very much like the one Evans and I published in 2019. </p>
<p>As our association continues to work on <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">new and better ways</a> to enable judges – and the general public – to score dunks, here are five things to keep in mind whenever you watch a slam dunk contest.</p>
<h2>1. Disregard things that are not part of the actual dunk</h2>
<p>Be careful of theatrics such as <a href="https://youtu.be/0WUeB6oXlZs?t=447">singing choirs</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/x0t_zZGrf1Y?t=37">clever passes from a teammate</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/lpxA0woG-Ow?t=13">changing</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/3P4syCF4D2A?t=372">jerseys</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/gzR01hZc4pI?t=14">other features</a> that do not meaningfully alter how the dunker executes ball movements and body actions. </p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/QKJtHJBFUdw?t=27">Jumping over a</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/hzZq1QOOeNY">celebrity</a> is no different from jumping over an ordinary person of the same height. All these activities are exciting and entertaining, but they do not reflect what the dunker actually does. </p>
<h2>2. Flight: Elevation, distance and obstacles</h2>
<p>Flight involves how high the dunker jumps, how far they jump and – if they jump over something – the size of an obstacle they jump over.</p>
<p>A simple way to check how high the dunker jumps is by looking for the highest point of their head relative to the bottom of the net and basket. This is easier than checking distance between the hips and the floor, because the dunk happens so quickly and jerseys can make it hard to visually locate the hip.</p>
<p>Distance is simply how far the point of takeoff is from the basket.</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/1EfYwBb2iho?t=100">Jumping over obstacles is impressive</a> because it makes all other parts of the dunk more difficult. However, always check whether the dunker <a href="https://youtu.be/DqNaPewELqc?t=4">pushes off</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/ahmWFI8lKLQ?t=36">the obstacle</a> while jumping over it because pushing up increases the upward force and, when done properly, will allow them to elevate higher than they are truly able to jump. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two judges hold up score cards amid a crowd of people." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sometimes players will perform tricks while in the air.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-george-w-bush-holds-up-a-10-as-he-judges-a-slam-news-photo/51725075?adppopup=true">Mike Theiler/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Style: Watching what is done in the air</h2>
<p>Once airborne, dunkers perform tricks with the ball and gymnastics with their bodies.</p>
<p>Watch for whether their overall bodily movements are smooth and extended or jerky and abbreviated. Fully outstretching arms and extended, smoother movements demand greater strength and flexibility to maintain control of the ball and body while airborne. If a dunker has trouble maintaining control of the ball and their body in the air, the arms and legs will be less extended and movements will be abbreviated.</p>
<h2>4. Power: Watching the finish</h2>
<p>Watch for a powerful and clean finish in which the ball is dunked at a high velocity without bumping the rim. On more <a href="https://youtu.be/-OJMLCF5oK4?t=10">powerful dunks</a> there will also be greater movement of the net side to side or upward out of the basket.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-OJMLCF5oK4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Vince Carter performing a powerful 360 windmill dunk in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Innovation: Enjoy it</h2>
<p>Dunkers can invent new <a href="https://youtu.be/FTOUnB27pVE">ball movements</a> and introduce never-before-seen <a href="https://youtu.be/e4Au8Y_0ZN0">variations</a>. Sometimes they dream up entertaining ways to showcase their abilities, such as <a href="https://youtu.be/HnBCN53rO2g?t=78">slapping a sticker high on the backboard</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/fBYLPU_DxX8?t=159">grabbing a stuffed animal hanging</a> from the rim with their mouth or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHSdvLILMFY&t=59s">blowing out a lit birthday candle</a> that is on the rim as part of the dunk.</p>
<p>Whereas the 2022 slam dunk contest has been called “<a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/nba/nba-all-star-game/social-media-rips-nba-dunk-contest/95-f045e947-1a3f-4014-bf64-c923e33cd1f2">the weakest ever</a>,” some, such as Shaquille O'Neal, are saying that Mac McClung may have “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/02/20/1158357296/mac-mcclung-nba-all-star-slam-dunk-contest-shaq-highlights">saved the contest</a>” in 2023.</p>
<p>Indeed, McClung dazzled – but he was not alone. The other contestants – Trey Murphy III, Jericho Sims and Kenyon Martin Jr. — put on a show as well, performing athletically demanding dunks. Notably, 10 of the 12 total dunks in 2023 were made on the first try, far greater than four of 12 in 2022. Although McClung won with an <a href="https://youtu.be/-gD4iASNf9k">array of amazing dunks</a>, Murphy’s <a href="https://youtu.be/OlPStUoWXeY">180 two-handed tomahawk-to-windmill</a> with a reverse finish should not be overlooked.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GN2OCU8Si-k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights for Trey Murphy from the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>My favorite dunks are the ones – just like the ones I used to watch as a kid – that inspire me to go to the court and create my own.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article <a href="https://theconversation.com/dunkology-176688">originally published on Feb. 18, 2022</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200612/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Barber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NBA player Mac McClung may have just ‘saved’ the annual dunk contest, but scoring methods could still be improved, a dunking expert says.Justin Barber, Clinical Research Manager, University of KentuckyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1930522022-11-07T13:34:54Z2022-11-07T13:34:54ZPickleball’s uphill climb to mainstream success<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492796/original/file-20221101-25191-t2wwl3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C11%2C3892%2C2595&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For every headline about pickleball’s miraculous growth, you can also find stories about conflicts and infighting.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jorja-johnson-of-the-hard-eights-holds-her-franklin-paddle-news-photo/1434128821?phrase=pickleball&adppopup=true">Emilee Chinn/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most newer sports are hybrids of older ones, and pickleball is no exception. The progeny of tennis, badminton and pingpong, pickleball is played by singles or doubles teams who hit a ball back and forth over a 3-foot-high net until one opponent commits a fault.</p>
<p>In 1965, the <a href="https://usapickleball.org/what-is-pickleball/history-of-the-game/">inventors of pickleball</a> played with what they had – a repurposed badminton setup, pingpong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. </p>
<p>Today’s <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">4.8 million</a> American pickleballers have much more to play with: In the U.S. there are <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">38,140</a> courts, <a href="https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2022/05/24/pickleball-fastest-growing-sport-daily-cover">300</a> manufacturers of pickleball equipment and
<a href="https://usapickleball.org/get-involved/pickleball-clubs/">hundreds</a> of grassroots clubs.</p>
<p>There’s been a good amount of speculation about the explosion of pickleball’s popularity. But now the sport seems poised to burst into the mainstream, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/sports/major-league-pickleball.html">Lebron James</a> and other luminaries of the NBA and NFL recently announcing large investments in the professional circuit.</p>
<p>Still, the young sport is not immune to growing pains. As I argue in my book “<a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">Emerging Sports as Social Movements</a>,” the popularity of some fledgling sports may seem self-evident in splashy headlines. But their less visible social undercurrents ultimately shape whether they’ll continue to attract new players and fans. </p>
<h2>Pickleball’s feudal period</h2>
<p>For an organized sport to grow, it needs structure – a common set of rules, rankings, equipment standards, scheduled events and a sense of identity that can unite players and fans.</p>
<p>At present, pickleball’s social fabric is spread thin and woven together by a network of competing interests. For every headline about pickleball’s miraculous growth you can also find stories about conflicts and infighting among various leagues and governing bodies, as well as between pickleballers and tennis players.</p>
<p>The sport has three professional leagues battling for control of the pickleball kingdom. It has two international governing bodies: the International Federation of Pickleball and the World Pickleball Federation. The lesser lords of pickleball also <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/25/can-pickleball-save-america">feud with tennis players</a> over dual-use courts and plans for expansion in public parks, with reports of “<a href="https://jezebel.com/pickleball-turf-wars-are-the-niche-drama-ravaging-the-c-1849678697">turf wars</a>” and “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/20/pickleball-growth-tennis/">a tug-of-war</a>” between the two racket sports.</p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.si.com/sports-illustrated/2022/05/24/pickleball-fastest-growing-sport-daily-cover">Picklebalkanization</a>,” anyone?</p>
<p>Internal squabbles are common in emerging sports movements. Cornhole, disc golf and esports, for instance, have faced <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-76457-9">similar challenges</a>. In some cases, conflict can be a good thing. It may spur innovation. But it can also leave some would-be fans, sponsors and players wondering whom they should watch, invest in or play for.</p>
<p>Compared with traditional racket sports, pickleball is less expensive, requires less space and may be more compatible with the aches and pains that come with age. And unlike other emerging sports, pickleball’s future seems bright. But for now it has more in common with <a href="https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-03781-3.html">French feudalism</a> of the ninth century – when territorial disputes were commonplace – than a modern unified sport movement headed for the Olympics.</p>
<h2>Birds of a feather dink together</h2>
<p>If two strangers meet in a bar and happen to share an interest in pickleball, they won’t be strangers for long. Shared passion is the glue and fuel of emerging sports communities. But the human tendency to bond with those who are like us also poses a problem for sports seeking to achieve widespread popularity.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.415">Sociological studies</a> show that our love of sameness partly explains why our groups and social networks tend to be homogeneous, such as male-dominated occupations, predominantly white community groups, and friendship circles united by a single religion. For grassroots sports, which spread through social networks, the sameness problem can limit growth by narrowing the flock to those with similar feathers.</p>
<p>Pickleball insiders like to talk about the sport’s relatively balanced <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">gender ratio</a>, which stands at roughly 60% to 70% men and 30% to 40% women. The newest professional league, Major League Pickleball, is promoting the sport through <a href="https://www.majorleaguepickleball.net/mlp-descriptions">mixed-gender competitions</a>, with teams comprising two men and two women – a unique format in the male-dominated world of pro sports.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Female pickleball player lunges toward a ball to return a shot." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492797/original/file-20221101-23-ykkbxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pickleball seems to have more gender parity than other sports.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/melanie-beckstrand-returns-a-shot-against-kelly-mceniry-news-photo/1421105751?phrase=pickleball&adppopup=true">Ronald Martinez/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But grassroots sports sprout from the ground up, and long-term growth depends partly on the demographic diversity of core players. Pickleball may be trending younger, but one-third of its avid players are of <a href="https://usapickleball.org/about-us/organizational-docs/pickleball-fact-sheet/">retirement age</a>. Roughly half the population of pickleball players probably saw the Apollo 11 moon landing. Calculating accurate statistics on niche communities is difficult, but based on my review of multiple academic and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/19/1081257674/americas-fastest-growing-sport-pickleball">journalistic sources</a>, pickleballers are predominantly older, white, affluent and suburban. For instance, two survey-based studies with large samples estimated the proportion of white players at <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31629346/">93.5%</a> and <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/japa/27/1/article-p28.xml">94.1%</a>.</p>
<p>Demographic homogeneity is a tough trend to buck. Of course, some sports, like golf and NASCAR, have expanded their reach <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/which-sports-have-the-whitest-richest-oldest-fans/283626/">without solving the sameness problem</a>. But given the nation’s reckoning around race and gender, a successful push for greater diversity could be the one thing that separates pickleball from the crowd of dreamer upstarts.</p>
<h2>Will the revolution even need to be televised?</h2>
<p>That sports grow when mainstream media pay attention to them seems obvious. Increased media coverage from ESPN or CBS attracts more participants and consumers, enticing sponsors and fostering stronger sport institutions.</p>
<p>Yet, as a growth strategy, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744775904/cornhole-and-other-less-traditional-sports-gather-more-attention">buying airtime</a> on ESPN – which sports like cornhole and ax throwing are doing – may provide little more than airy hope. As pickleball strives to expand its audience, it faces stiff competition from traditional sports brands like the NFL and NBA, as well as emerging brands like esports, mixed martial arts, disc golf, cornhole, drone racing, round net, darts and ax throwing.</p>
<p>With so many options, some sports just won’t make it big. The history of emerging sports is filled with booms and busts. Interest in gambling sports like jai alai and horse racing has <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/longform/2013/2/28/4036934/jai-alai-sport-in-america-miami">declined tremendously</a> since the late 20th century. ESPN’s X Games popularized alternative sports like <a href="https://www.goskate.com/top/47-facts-about-x-games-skateboarding/">skateboarding</a> in the late 1990s, but some disciplines, like <a href="https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/x-games">street luge</a>, were left behind. Drop “poker” in a <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends">Google Trends</a> search box and you’ll see that the Texas hold ‘em boom lasted for about three years, from 2004 to 2006.</p>
<p>The next big thing in sports may not boom at all. Given that younger consumers are <a href="https://www.theringer.com/sports/2021/4/15/22385705/live-sports-streaming-wars-future-industry">migrating to streaming services</a>, the revolution may not be televised to a mass audience but instead will be streamed to die-hard fans. </p>
<p>Niche sports like pickleball may have an advantage as sports spectatorship fragments. For small sports, a modest audience with slow but steady growth could be a recipe for sustainable success. There are numerous options for watching pickleball matches, such as YouTube channels, livestreams via Facebook, fuboTV, and some coverage on broadcast and cable channels, but demand for live coverage <a href="https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/zane-explains-3/">remains modest</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, with so many shiny new sports to choose from, the winners will be determined not by flashy media exposure or top-down commercial forces but rather by bottom-up community development. No matter how hot the publicity gets around pickleball, the consumer base for watching the sport will draw heavily on people who already love playing it. The love of any sport has roots in culture – not commerce.</p>
<p>If pickleball lives up to the hype, it will do so on the backs of volunteers and grassroots organizers who can transform a loose network of casual players into an international community of pickleball fanatics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josh Woods does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Headlines about pickleball’s exploding popularity abound. But the less visible social undercurrents of an emerging sport ultimately shape its long-term future.Josh Woods, Professor of Sociology, West Virginia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1766882022-02-18T19:59:14Z2022-02-18T19:59:14ZDunkology 101: How the NBA could take a more scientific approach to scoring the slam dunk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447422/original/file-20220220-140284-8fwcs4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The New York Knicks' Obi Toppin goes up for a slam during the NBA dunk contest on Saturday, February 19, 2022, in Cleveland, Ohio.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/NBAAll-StarSkillsChallengeBasketball/fe666ea50b6945218e7f2273fa88b9de/photo?Query=obi%20toppin&mediaType=photo,video,graphic,audio&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=546&currentItemNo=11">AP Photo/Charles Krupa</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>An updated version of this article was published on February 23, 2022. <a href="https://theconversation.com/dunkology-101-how-the-nba-could-take-a-more-scientific-approach-to-scoring-the-slam-dunk-200612">Read it here</a>.</em></p>
<p>I grew up watching some of the greatest slam dunk artists in the world.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.legendsofbasketball.com/alumni/shawn-kemp/">Shawn Kemp</a> was one of my favorites, because he was freaky athletic and dunked so powerfully. Plus, he seemed so nonchalant about everything. It made <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfDmNdN-8FA">his dunks</a> look effortless. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nba.com/news/history-legend-dominique-wilkins">Dominique Wilkins</a> just jumped <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKYhNbslDh8">so high on every dunk</a>. His limbs are long and he would <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ja4Cb7I9h4">windmill the ball</a> so far around and then dunk hard on the rim like a sledgehammer.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/walkeke01.html">Kenny “Sky” Walker</a> was my biggest inspiration, because I felt as if we jumped alike, and he did a lot of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7PaSXpy8kQ">360s</a>. He swung and whirled the ball about, kicking his legs and dunking aggressively. That’s why I liked doing those 360s on a 6-foot-high rim back in the 1990s when I was in elementary school.</p>
<p>I also drew inspiration from my dad. One day my dad and I were shooting baskets with a volleyball. I begged him to dunk it. Even though he was exhausted from a day of construction work, he dunked it hard, all his limbs outstretched. The impact ripped open his finger and he began to bleed. Despite the injury, I was just in awe that he had dunked the ball. I thought the whole thing was so cool.</p>
<p>Today, my fondness for dunking remains, but on a much higher plane. I study dunks, so that makes me a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=u37g8KEAAAAJ&hl=en">dunk scientist</a>. Or you might say I’m a dunkologist.</p>
<p>So whenever I watch the NBA’s annual slam dunk contest – like the one that the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33332767/new-york-knicks-obi-toppin-wins-dunk-contest-one-handed-slam">New York Knicks’ Obi Toppin won with a one-handed slam</a> <a href="https://en.as.com/en/2022/02/15/nba/1644898202_448125.html">on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022</a> – I dont watch just to be entertained. As chair of the technical committee for the <a href="https://wda.do/">World Dunk Association</a> – a group formed in 2020 to build more appreciation for the slam dunk – I also look to improve upon a <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">new system</a> we have developed offering a more scientific approach toward how judges score slam dunks. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H854e_GFV_U?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A basketball player breaks down the science of how he does a slam dunk.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Growing up, I remember seeing “style, athleticism and creativity” mentioned during NBA broadcasts as factors for slam dunk judges to consider. But it wasn’t until I embarked upon my journey to become a researcher that I began to wonder if the slam dunk judges might be using more sophisticated criteria. As my colleague Evan Rollins and I wrote in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3233/JSA-190242">peer-reviewed paper</a> published in 2019 in the <a href="https://journalofsportsanalytics.com/">Journal of Sports Analytics</a>, dunk scores – <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/2022-att-slam-dunk">now given on a scale of 6 to 10</a> – are not always awarded as fairly and consistently as you might hope or expect.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An image of a screen that depicts Slam-Dunk Champions Guidelines" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/445314/original/file-20220209-21-k0afz5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Image captured from the NBATV broadcast of 1987 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How dunks get scored</h2>
<p>I created a database to capture data from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWv5aFyC0z2v0bV1DpOD5XLAIU-a45BB1">every dunk I could find</a> for contests going all the way back to 1984. As of February 2022, the database contains information on more than 700 dunks.</p>
<p>Only about 45% of a player’s dunk score is based on what they do with their body or the ball, our analysis found. We found about 28% of a dunker’s score is based on factors that have nothing to do with the actual dunk, such as whether or not the contest took place in the hometown of the dunker or the dunker’s team. When a dunker’s team or hometown hosted the contest, their dunks were often scored higher than they would have been if the contest were held somewhere else.</p>
<p>Other factors included the player’s popularity – as measured by how many mentions they got in the media. But a player’s popularity is often based on the player’s skill, so we don’t know if player popularity is a cause of – or simply correlated with – scoring high on a slam dunk.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A basketball player does a slam dunk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447323/original/file-20220218-47068-hzhzeb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Slam dunks are an impressive feat in basketball.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/antonius-cleveland-of-the-hawks-dunk-the-ball-during-the-news-photo/1371250899?adppopup=true">Jenny Evans/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The influence of non-dunk-related factors made me want to discover new methods to judge and score slam dunks. My pursuit led me to the World Dunk Association, which was started in 2020 by <a href="https://www.zianimalacademy.com/en/kadour-ziani/">Kadour Ziani</a> a retired professional dunker, and <a href="https://damln.com/">Damian Le Nouaille-Diez</a>, a software engineer, author and entrepreneur. Turns out Kadour and Damian had devised a <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">system to classify dunks</a> that was very much like the one Evan and I published in 2019. </p>
<p>As our association continues to work on <a href="https://wda.do/dunks">new and better ways</a> to enable judges – and the general public – to score dunks, here are five things to keep in mind whenever you watch a slam dunk contest.</p>
<h2>1. Disregard things that are not part of the actual dunk</h2>
<p>Be careful of theatrics such as <a href="https://youtu.be/0WUeB6oXlZs?t=447">singing choirs</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/x0t_zZGrf1Y?t=37">clever passes from a teammate</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/lpxA0woG-Ow?t=13">changing</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/3P4syCF4D2A?t=372">jerseys</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/gzR01hZc4pI?t=14">other</a> features that do not meaningfully alter how the dunker executes ball movements and body actions. Jumping <a href="https://youtu.be/QKJtHJBFUdw?t=27">over a</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/hzZq1QOOeNY">celebrity</a> is no different from jumping over an ordinary person of the same height. All these activities are exciting and entertaining, but they do not reflect what the dunker actually does. </p>
<h2>2. Flight: Elevation, distance and obstacles</h2>
<p>Flight involves how high the dunker jumps, how far they jump and – if they jump over something – the size of an obstacle they jump over.</p>
<p>A simple way to check how high the dunker jumps is by looking for the highest point of their head relative to the bottom of the net and basket. This is easier than checking distance between the hips and the floor, because the dunk happens so quickly and jerseys can make it hard to visually locate the hip.</p>
<p>Distance is simply how far the point of takeoff is from the basket.</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/1EfYwBb2iho?t=100">Jumping over obstacles is impressive</a>, because it makes all other parts of the dunk more difficult. However, always check whether the dunker <a href="https://youtu.be/DqNaPewELqc?t=4">pushes off</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/ahmWFI8lKLQ?t=36">the obstacle</a> while jumping over it, because pushing up increases the upward force and, when done properly, will allow them to elevate higher than they are truly able to jump. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two judges hold up score cards amid a crowd of people." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447316/original/file-20220218-48814-f9c2s3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sometimes players will perform tricks while in the air.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-george-w-bush-holds-up-a-10-as-he-judges-a-slam-news-photo/51725075?adppopup=true">Mike Theiler/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Style: Watching what is done in the air</h2>
<p>Once airborne, dunkers perform tricks with the ball and gymnastics with their bodies. Watch for whether their overall bodily movements are smooth and extended or jerky and abbreviated. Fully outstretching arms and extended, smoother movements demand greater strength and flexibility to maintain control of the ball and body while airborne. If a dunker has trouble maintaining control of the ball and their body in the air, the arms and legs will be less extended and movements will be abbreviated.</p>
<h2>4. Power: Watching the finish</h2>
<p>Watch for a powerful and clean finish in which the ball is dunked at a high velocity without bumping the rim. On more <a href="https://youtu.be/-OJMLCF5oK4?t=10">powerful dunks</a> there will also be greater movement of the net side to side or upward out of the basket.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-OJMLCF5oK4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Vince Carter performing a powerful 360 windmill dunk in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>5. Innovation: Enjoy it</h2>
<p>Dunkers can invent new <a href="https://youtu.be/FTOUnB27pVE">ball movements</a> and introduce never-before-seen <a href="https://youtu.be/e4Au8Y_0ZN0">variations</a>. Sometimes they dream up entertaining ways to showcase their abilities, such as <a href="https://youtu.be/HnBCN53rO2g?t=78">slapping a sticker high on the backboard</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/fBYLPU_DxX8?t=159">grabbing a stuffed animal hanging from the rim with their mouth</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHSdvLILMFY&t=59s">blowing out a lit birthday candle that is on the rim</a> as part of the dunk.</p>
<p>Although the 2022 slam dunk contest has been criticized as <a href="https://www.wkyc.com/article/sports/nba/nba-all-star-game/social-media-rips-nba-dunk-contest/95-f045e947-1a3f-4014-bf64-c923e33cd1f2">“the weakest ever,”</a> the competitors did introduce new dunks. Cole Anthony <a href="https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2022/2/20/22943206/orlando-magic-cole-anthony-nba-slam-dunk-contest">dunked in Timberland boots</a>, which are significantly heavier than standard basketball shoes. Toppin, the contest winner, appears to have created a new combination. While in the air, Toppin transferred the ball from one hand to the other under one leg, then moved the ball upwards, touching the backboard with the ball before before he slammed it.</p>
<p>My favorite dunks are the ones – just like the ones I used to watch as a kid – that inspire me to go to the court and create my own.</p>
<p><em>This article has been updated with new information and a photo from the NBA’s 2022 slam dunk contest.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin Barber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new database could pave the way for a more fair and consistent way to score slam dunks, a self-described ‘dunk scientist’ says.Justin Barber, Clinical Research Manager, University of KentuckyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1729412022-02-02T13:07:37Z2022-02-02T13:07:37Z50-year-old muscles just can’t grow big like they used to – the biology of how muscles change with age<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443851/original/file-20220201-17-1pp1t44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=86%2C0%2C7971%2C5376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Why is it harder to build muscle as you age?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-male-bodybuilder-flexing-his-biceps-royalty-free-image/1310652763?adppopup=true"> DjelicS/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is perhaps no better way to see the absolute pinnacle of human athletic abilities than by watching the Olympics. But at the Olympics – and at almost all professional sporting events – you rarely see a competitor over 40 years old and almost never see a single athlete over 50. This is because with every additional year spent on Earth, bodies age and muscles don’t respond to exercise the same as they used to. </p>
<p>I lead a team of scientists who study the health benefits of <a href="https://hnrca.tufts.edu/mission/">exercise, strength training and diet in older people</a>. We investigate how older people respond to exercise and try to understand the underlying biological mechanisms that cause muscles to increase in size and strength after resistance or strength training.</p>
<p>Old and young people build muscle in the same way. But as you age, many of the biological processes that turn exercise into muscle become less effective. This makes it harder for older people to build strength but also makes it that much more important for everyone to continue exercising as they age.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman spotting someone doing a bench press." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443854/original/file-20220201-17-1ljwx0x.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">Lifting weights and doing pushups and other strength training exercises cause muscles to grow in size and strength.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/wide-shot-of-woman-spotting-friend-bench-pressing-royalty-free-image/1346267080?adppopup=true">Thomas Barwick/Digital Vision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How the body builds muscle</h2>
<p>The exercise I study is the type that makes you stronger. Strength training includes exercises like pushups and situps, but also weightlifting and resistance training using bands or workout machines.</p>
<p>When you do strength training, over time, exercises that at first felt difficult become easier as your muscles increase in strength and size – a process called hypertrophy. Bigger muscles simply have larger muscle fibers and cells, and this allows you to lift heavier weights. As you keep working out, you can continue to increase the difficulty or weight of the exercises as your muscles get bigger and stronger.</p>
<p>It is easy to see that working out makes muscles bigger, but what is actually happening to the cells as muscles increase in strength and size in response to resistance training?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram showing how muscle contraction can move an arm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443857/original/file-20220201-27-l8le9c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Muscles move your limbs and body by contracting or releasing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/preface">J. Gordon Betts, Kelly A. Young, James A. Wise, Eddie Johnson, Brandon Poe, Dean H. Kruse, Oksana Korol, Jody E. Johnson, Mark Womble, Peter DeSaix via OpenStax</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Any time you move your body, you are doing so by shortening and pulling with your muscles – a process called contraction. This is how muscles spend energy to generate force and produce movement. Every time you contract a muscle – especially when you have to work hard to do the contraction, like when lifting weights – the action causes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-020-00290-7">changes to the levels of various chemicals in your muscles</a>. In addition to the chemical changes, there are also specialized receptors on the surface of muscle cells that detect when you move a muscle, generate force or otherwise <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-014-9921-0">alter the biochemical machinery within a muscle</a>. </p>
<p>In a healthy young person, when these chemical and mechanical sensory systems detect muscle movement, they turn on a number of specialized chemical pathways within the muscle. These pathways in turn trigger the production of more proteins that get incorporated into the muscle fibers and cause the muscle to increase in size.</p>
<p>These cellular pathways also turn on genes that code for specific proteins in cells that make up the muscles contracting machinery. This activation of gene expression is a longer-term process, with genes being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.011">turned on or off for several hours</a> after a single session of resistance exercise. </p>
<p>The overall effect of these many exercise-induced changes is to cause your muscles to get bigger.</p>
<h2>How older muscles change</h2>
<p>While the basic biology of all people, young or old, is more or less the same, something is behind the lack of senior citizens in professional sports. So what changes in a person’s muscles as they age?</p>
<p>What my colleagues and I have found in our research is that in young muscle, a little bit of exercise produces a strong signal for the many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00324.2003">processes that trigger muscle growth</a>. In older people’s muscles, by comparison, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01383.2003">signal telling muscles to grow is much weaker</a> for a given amount of exercise. These changes begin to occur when a person reaches around 50 years old and become more pronounced as time goes on.</p>
<p>In a recent study, we wanted to see if the changes in signaling were accompanied by any changes in which genes – and how many of them – respond to exercise. Using a technique that allowed us to measure changes in thousands of genes in response to resistance exercise, we found that when younger men exercise, there are changes in the expression of more than 150 genes. When we looked at older men, we found <a href="https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.14-254490">changes in the expression of only 42 genes</a>. This difference in gene expression seems to explain, at least partly, the more visible variation between how young and old people respond to strength training.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An older woman in a swimsuit flexing and showing off muscles." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443859/original/file-20220201-28-r1wl98.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">Strength training can help maintain overall fitness and allow you to keep doing other things you love as you age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/older-caucasian-woman-flexing-her-muscles-on-beach-royalty-free-image/526298515">Peathegee Inc via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Staying fit as you age</h2>
<p>When you put together all of the various molecular differences in how older adults respond to strength training, the result is that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glp146">older people do not gain muscle mass as well as young people</a>.</p>
<p>But this reality should not discourage older people from exercising. If anything, it should encourage you to exercise more as you age. </p>
<p>Exercise still remains one of the <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/exercise-physical-activity">most important activities older adults can do for their health</a>. The work my colleagues and I have done clearly shows that although the responses to training lessen with age, they are by no means reduced to zero.</p>
<p>We showed that older adults with mobility problems who participate in a regular program of aerobic and resistance exercise can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.5616">reduce their risk of becoming disabled by about 20%</a>. We also found a similar 20% reduction in risk of becoming disabled among <a href="https://doi.org/10.7326/M16-2011">people who are already physically frail</a> if they did the same workout program.</p>
<p>While younger people may get stronger and build bigger muscles much faster than their older counterparts, older people still get incredibly valuable health benefits from exercise, including improved strength, physical function and reduced disability. So the next time you are sweating during a workout session, remember that you are building muscle strength that is vital to maintaining mobility and good health throughout a long life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172941/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Fielding receives funding from USDA, NIH, Biophytis, Nestle', Lonza. </span></em></p>As people age, the chemical signaling pathways in muscles become less potent, and it gets harder to build muscle and maintain strength. But the health benefits of strength training only increase with age.Roger Fielding, Senior Scientist Team Lead Nutrition Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Team Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Professor of Medicine, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1679082021-09-15T14:03:14Z2021-09-15T14:03:14ZPasha 125: Nigeria can regain its lost athletics glory. Here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421047/original/file-20210914-17-1jwdu1c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">GettyImages</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria used to be a great force in global athletics but that has changed. The country’s fortunes have plummeted in track and field events. The downward trend continued in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics, where Nigeria <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/478171-nigeria-finishes-74th-at-tokyo-olympics-8th-best-from-africa.html">won</a> only two medals: bronze in long jump and silver in wrestling. </p>
<p>Oladele Oladipo, a professor of sports and exercise physiology at the University of Ibadan, offers insight into what has gone wrong and what Nigeria should do to regain its former competitive position. He also suggests athletics competitions in schools should be revived across the country. </p>
<p><strong>Photo:</strong><br>
“Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Emmanuel Ojelli (rear) and Imaobong Nse Uko compete in the mixed 4x400m relay heats during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on 30 July 2021. Photo by
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP found on <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nigerias-emmanuel-ifeanyi-ojelli-and-nse-imaobong-uko-news-photo/1234318377?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a> <a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/Corporate/LicenseAgreements.aspx#RM">Rights-managed</a> </p>
<p><strong>Music:</strong>
"Happy African Village” by John Bartmann, found on <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/happy-african-village">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1</a>.</p>
<p>“African Moon” by John Bartmann, found on <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/african-moon">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1.0 Universal License.</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Greater focus on grassroots sports to identify and nurture talent is a sure path to regaining Nigeria's lost glory in athletics.Wale Fatade, Commissioning Editor: NigeriaUsifo Omozokpea, Audience Development ManagerLicensed 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.
`</p>
<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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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<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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</em>
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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>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
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/1654582021-08-02T05:20:30Z2021-08-02T05:20:30ZMuscles are important, but stiff tendons are the secret ingredient for high-speed performance<p>The fastest sprinter is the world right now is Lamont Marcell Jacobs, who <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-01/tokyo-olympics-lamont-marcell-jacobs-wins-100m-gold/100341502">won</a> Olympic gold in the men’s 100-metre sprint with a time of 9.80 seconds. You might be surprised to learn that most of the explosive power displayed by Jacobs and other elite athletes doesn’t come from their muscles, or even from their minds – it comes from somewhere else. </p>
<p>Muscles are important, but the real secret is using training and technique to store and reuse elastic energy in the best way possible – and that means making the most of your tendons. By understanding how this power is produced, we can help people walk, run and jump into older age and how to walk again after injury or illness.</p>
<p>Muscles are remarkably powerful. The average human calf muscle weighs less than 1 kilogram, but can lift a load of 500kg. In some cases, our calf muscles have even been shown to handle loads <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2081741/">approaching a tonne</a> (1,000kg)!</p>
<p>But muscles have a major performance issue: they can’t produce much force when they’re shortening at high speed. In fact, when we move at our fastest, muscles can’t theoretically shorten fast enough to help us at all - so how is it that we can move so quickly? </p>
<h2>Muscles are strong, but slow</h2>
<p>Muscles produce most of their force through the interactions of two proteins: actin and myosin. The rotating, globular “head” region of the long myosin filament attaches to the rod-like actin to pull it along in a sweeping motion, like an oar producing force to pull a boat along the water. So actin and myosin filaments form powerful mini motors. </p>
<p>Trillions of these mini motors together the large forces we need every day to walk upstairs, carry our shopping bags, or take the lid off a jar. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zQocsLRm7_A?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trillions of actin and myosin proteins work together to make your muscles contract and your body move.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The head region of myosin is only 20 nanometres long. It’s so small that there’s no point comparing its size to a human hair, because it would barely even cross a handful of DNA molecules laid side by side. </p>
<p>Because it’s so short and only pulls actin a small distance in each stroke, a large number of strokes are needed to shorten a muscle by any distance. It’s like using first gear to get up a hill in a car or on a bike – good for force, but not for speed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414058/original/file-20210802-79497-1ni8h4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414058/original/file-20210802-79497-1ni8h4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414058/original/file-20210802-79497-1ni8h4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414058/original/file-20210802-79497-1ni8h4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414058/original/file-20210802-79497-1ni8h4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414058/original/file-20210802-79497-1ni8h4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414058/original/file-20210802-79497-1ni8h4p.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">At the molecular level, your muscles are a bit like first gear on a bike: great for force, not so good for speed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ljupco Smokovski / Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And the faster the muscle shortens, the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18022371/">less time</a> each myosin is attached to actin, which reduces force even further. At a certain shortening speed, muscles can’t produce any force at all.</p>
<p>We can measure the power athletes produce during running and jumping, and we can estimate the power a muscle should produce by its size and the type of fibres it contains. When we compare these two values, we find that muscles can’t even produce half the power generated in sprinting or vertical jumping. And in overarm throwing, muscles can produce only <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23803849/">15% of the total power</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-why-do-my-muscles-ache-the-day-after-exercise-41820">Health Check: why do my muscles ache the day after exercise?</a>
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<h2>Energy return systems</h2>
<p>So if the muscles aren’t producing the power to move a body at high speed, where is it coming from? Humans, like most other animals on Earth, make use of an “energy return system”: something that can store energy and release it rapidly when needed.</p>
<p>Our energy return systems are made of a relatively long, stretchy tendon attached to a strong muscle. When the muscle produces force it stretches the tendon, storing elastic energy. The subsequent recoil of the tendon then generates a power far superior to our muscles. Our tendons are power amplifiers.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Tendons store energy when they stretch and quickly release it when they contract again.</span></figcaption>
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<p>There are several techniques we can use to increase energy storage. The most important is to first move in the opposite direction to the desired movement (a “countermovement”) so the muscle force is already high when the proper movement begins. Most of us learn this strategy when we’re young, when we first dip down before we jump upwards, or we draw our bat or racquet backwards before swinging it forwards.</p>
<p>The technique we use is key to maximising our elastic potential, and Olympic athletes spend years trying to optimise it. </p>
<p>Tendons that are stiffer or stretched further will store more energy and then recoil with greater power. During running, the greatest power is produced at <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10200378/">the ankle joint</a>, so it makes sense that sprint runners and the best endurance runners have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17101142/">stiffer Achilles’ tendons</a> than us mere mortals. </p>
<p>They also have the muscle strength to stretch them. We haven’t yet accurately measured the stiffness of shoulder tendons in athletes, but we might assume they are built similarly.</p>
<h2>Can we improve our energy return system?</h2>
<p>The capacity to store and release elastic energy is partly determined by genetics, but it’s also something we can improve through training. Not only can training improve your technique, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25563908/">heavy strength training</a> and other methods can also make your tendons stiffer.</p>
<p>As we develop from childhood to adulthood, we learn to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28108669/">make better use</a> of elastic energy to produce more power and use it more efficiently. As we age further, our tendon stiffness and power output decrease, and it costs us more energy to move. </p>
<p>People with less stiffness in their Achilles’ tendon (and the accompanying lower strength in the calf muscles) have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25733719/">slower walking speeds</a>. As walking speed is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22174324/">strongly associated</a> with mortality and morbidity in the elderly, maintaining tendon stiffness may be important to our health and longevity.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-in-terms-of-exercise-is-walking-enough-78604">Health Check: in terms of exercise, is walking enough?</a>
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<p>The greatest power during walking, running and jumping is produced at the ankle joint. This is an important target for athletes, but also for anyone who wants to maintain their walking capacity as they age.</p>
<p>Good ways to keep your ankle muscles conditioned include <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwLzBJYoWlI">calf raises on a step</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYoudIsKIIQ">squat to calf raise exercises</a>, and walking up and down hills whenever you get the chance.</p>
<p>If you feel game, you might even join a gym and enjoy the numerous ways to strengthen your calf and Achilles’ tendon, and lots of other muscles too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165458/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Blazevich 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>Muscles alone can’t produce the power for Olympic success. The elastic propulsion for fast movement comes from the tendons.Anthony Blazevich, Professor of Biomechanics, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1644882021-07-26T06:05:04Z2021-07-26T06:05:04ZHow do Olympic athletes stack up against invertebrates? Not very well<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413009/original/file-20210726-13-1gowoxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5455%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andreas Karyadi / Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Olympians spend years training to be the best of the best. Scientists and sportspeople have spent decades researching the mechanics of the human body to ensure our elite athletes are always reaching higher, faster and stronger. </p>
<p>But how do human athletic skills compare with those of insects and arachnids? Once you take the relative sizes into account, it’s clear invertebrates have the winning edge.</p>
<h2>Strength</h2>
<p>Weightlifting is a common measure for human strength. Weightlifters can compete in two events at the Olympics: the snatch and the clean and jerk. </p>
<p>The men’s snatch world record of 222 kilograms is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l78Ih0ZI58M">held by</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l78Ih0ZI58M">Lasha Talakhadze</a> from Georgia. Talakhadze weighs around 175kg himself, so he is lifting about 1.25 times his own weight. He is considered the greatest (human) super-heavyweight weightlifter of all time.</p>
<p>If we compare his achievement to what invertebrates do every day, it looks a little less impressive. The tiny moss mite <em><a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/210/17/3036/17060/Small-but-powerful-the-oribatid-mite-Archegozetes">Archegozetes longisetosus</a></em>, a soil-dwelling arachnid, can produce a gripping force 1,180 times its body weight. The green weaver ant can lift more than <a href="http://popsci.com/science/article/2010-02/load-bearing-ant-carries-100-times-its-body-weight-well-photo-competition/">100 times its body weight</a>. Mound ants are even more powerful: engineers have established they have the neck strength to hold up to <a href="https://entomologytoday.org/2014/02/11/ants-can-lift-up-to-5000-times-their-own-body-weight-new-study-suggests/">5,000 times their body weight</a>.</p>
<p>The formidable strength of ants and other small critters is largely due to the physics of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ae/article/64/2/83/5037074">scale</a>. Smaller animals have a higher proportion of muscle than larger animals. Their small bodies present only a small load for the muscles to move, freeing up strength to move much heavier objects. </p>
<p>Larger animals have much more volume and mass, meaning their muscles must be much stronger to maintain the same level of strength relative to body weight. If you scaled an insect up to human size, it would be stronger than a human – but it would also be so heavy it would be unable to hold itself up!</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413010/original/file-20210726-15-1m3na7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413010/original/file-20210726-15-1m3na7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413010/original/file-20210726-15-1m3na7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413010/original/file-20210726-15-1m3na7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413010/original/file-20210726-15-1m3na7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413010/original/file-20210726-15-1m3na7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413010/original/file-20210726-15-1m3na7z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The average dung beetle can shift an astonishing 1141 times its own weight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Potter / Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The strength competition isn’t a complete washout for humans, though. When it comes to pulling heavy things, there’s at least one human who can give the insects a bit of competition. Kevin Fast, a Canadian priest, holds the world record for the <a href="https://youtu.be/1ocD8iao7lY">heaviest vehicle pull</a>: in 2009 he single-handedly moved <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/canadian-pulls-plane-to-achieve-guinness-world-record-538569121.html">a 188-tonne jet plane</a>, a remarkable 1,000 times his own weight. </p>
<p>That’s almost as much as the average dung beetle (<em>Onthophagus taurus</em>), which can move 1,141 times its body weight.</p>
<h2>Swimming</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.swimming.org.au/athletes/cate-campbell">Cate Campbell</a> broke the women’s 100-metre freestyle world record in 2017. She was one of the Australian flag-bearers at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony and has just taken gold as part of the 100m freestyle relay team. Campbell’s swimming speed is just faster than one body length per second. </p>
<p>In water, as on land, insects have a considerable edge. The fastest swimming insect is the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002792">whirligig beetle</a>, which moves at 44.5 body lengths per second. </p>
<p>Whirligig beetles are made for fast swimming, with their egg-shaped stiff bodies that reduce drag, and the greater power-to-weight ratio that small insects have.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413014/original/file-20210726-21-14jpnh0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413014/original/file-20210726-21-14jpnh0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413014/original/file-20210726-21-14jpnh0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413014/original/file-20210726-21-14jpnh0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413014/original/file-20210726-21-14jpnh0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413014/original/file-20210726-21-14jpnh0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413014/original/file-20210726-21-14jpnh0.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">The egg-shaped body of the whirligig beetle cuts down on drag for speedy swimming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Agami Photo Agency / Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Human swimmers go to great lengths to reduce their own drag and move faster. Campbell and her fellow Olympians will wear <a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-suits-and-olympic-swimming-a-tale-of-reduced-drag-and-broken-records-7960">high-tech drag-minimising swimsuits</a>. Manufacturer Speedo <a href="https://speedo.com.au/blog-article/?cid=blog-speedo-tokyo-olympic-swimwear-range">took inspiration</a> from the most efficient vertebrate swimmers (sharks and other fish) to design its swimsuits. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-suits-and-olympic-swimming-a-tale-of-reduced-drag-and-broken-records-7960">'Fast suits' and Olympic swimming: a tale of reduced drag and broken records</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Running</h2>
<p>Running is the original Olympic sport, and today’s runners cover distances from the 100-metre sprint to the 42-kilometre haul of the marathon. </p>
<p>The men’s 100m record is held by Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, with a time of 9.58 seconds and a top speed of <a href="https://olympics.com/en/featured-news/usain-bolt-record-world-champion-athlete-fastest-man-olympics-sprinter-100m-200m">44.72km per hour</a>. Bolt is 1.95m tall, so his top speed is almost 6.4 body lengths per second.</p>
<p>The fastest invertebrate puts him to shame. The mite <em>Paratarsotomus macropalpis</em> can cover <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140427191124.htm#:%7E:text=04%2F140427191124.htm-,A%20Southern%20California%20mite%20far%20outpaces%20the%20Australian%20tiger%20beetle,running%201300%20miles%20per%20hour.">322 body lengths per second</a>, which is the equivalent of Bolt running at 2,090km per hour. </p>
<p>The reduced mass of insects is key to their efficient running. They also have the advantage of having <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14494">six legs</a>, allowing them to be particularly efficient over rough terrain as they can consistently keep three legs on the ground to increase stability.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413015/original/file-20210726-14570-1ckppvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413015/original/file-20210726-14570-1ckppvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413015/original/file-20210726-14570-1ckppvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413015/original/file-20210726-14570-1ckppvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413015/original/file-20210726-14570-1ckppvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413015/original/file-20210726-14570-1ckppvy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413015/original/file-20210726-14570-1ckppvy.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">The Saharan silver ant (<em>Cataglyphis bombycina</em>) zooms along by taking 47 steps per second.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pavel Krasensky / Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Taking a lot of steps is also important to allow for fast movement in many insects. The fastest ant, <em><a href="https://cob.silverchair-cdn.com/cob/content_public/journal/jeb/222/20/10.1242_jeb.213660/3/jeb213660.pdf">Cataglyphis bombycina</a></em>, takes <a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2019/11/worlds-fastest-ant-gallops-into-the-record-books-clocking-20-times-usain-bolts-598152">47 steps per second</a>, in comparison to Usain Bolt’s four. </p>
<h2>High jump</h2>
<p>Many invertebrates are also great jumpers. Fleas can jump to a height of 150 times their own body length, and locusts up to 10 times theirs. A human high-jumper matching the flea’s achievement could clear the Eiffel Tower. </p>
<p>Even if a human could jump over the Eiffel Tower, they wouldn’t survive the landing. How is this possible for insects? Once again, it’s mainly due to their small size. Because insects have a much lower mass than humans, they hit the ground with far less force. </p>
<p>The current women’s world record for the high jump is held by Italy’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCwdeA5QQo4">Stefka Kostadinova</a>, who jumped 2.09m in 1987. The current world number one, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvoBVf2p6vE">Mariya Lasitskene</a>, has a personal best of 2.06m, and Olympic hopeful <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-18/nicola-mcdermott-breaks-two-metre-barrier-in-high-jump/100077512">Nicola McDermott</a> became the first Australian woman to clear 2 metres earlier this year.</p>
<p>Jumping ability is complex, involving muscle properties, leg design, and jumping technique. As animals get bigger, the <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/210/6/923/17313/How-important-are-skeletal-muscle-mechanics-in"><em>absolute</em> size of their jumps tends to increase</a>. This makes sense: the longer your legs, the higher you can jump. An insect could never clear 2.09m, but in relation to their body size, they are clear winners.</p>
<p>How are insects such great jumpers? To combat drag and the effects of <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/210/6/923/17313/How-important-are-skeletal-muscle-mechanics-in">reduced size on muscle shortening velocity</a>, many insects have evolved neat adaptations to use stored energy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413035/original/file-20210726-17-9mmqr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413035/original/file-20210726-17-9mmqr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413035/original/file-20210726-17-9mmqr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413035/original/file-20210726-17-9mmqr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413035/original/file-20210726-17-9mmqr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413035/original/file-20210726-17-9mmqr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413035/original/file-20210726-17-9mmqr8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The hind legs of fleas act as multi-jointed levers to catapult them up to 150 times their own body length.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Vera Larina / Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/214/5/836/33598/Biomechanics-of-jumping-in-the-flea">Fleas</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep35219">locusts</a> have evolved mechanisms to catapult themselves into the air using their <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9391000/9391478.stm">hind legs as multi-jointed levers</a>. Their muscles store energy in a special protein and when the energy is released it acts as a coiled spring to fling them upwards. <a href="https://youtu.be/Qu01EUeE5PM">Springtails</a> have even evolved their own catapulting body part, the furcula. Its sole purpose is to spring them into the air to avoid predators.</p>
<p>Humans, on the other hand, do not rely on energy stored this way to jump. And without that extra energy boost, we can never reach those heights.</p>
<p>While we won’t see an invertebrate on the podium anytime soon, and a human could never run as fast as a mite, our Olympians are incredible examples of the extremes our bodies can achieve. We look forward to watching the amazing feats of humans at Tokyo.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164488/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caitlyn Forster receives funding from The Australian Research Council. She is affiliated with The Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eliza Middleton receives funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Usain Bolt can run at about 6 body lengths a second. An arachnid in California can do 322.Caitlyn Forster, PhD Candidate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of SydneyEliza Middleton, Laboratory Manager, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1628322021-07-21T19:27:14Z2021-07-21T19:27:14ZAre middle lanes fastest in track and field? Data from 8,000 racers shows not so much<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411575/original/file-20210715-32740-t68wyj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C123%2C5150%2C3299&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The fastest runners are usually rewarded with the middle lanes. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/male-athltes-starting-from-blocks-on-track-royalty-free-image/457893067?adppopup=true"> Michael H/Stone vie Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a short-distance track and field runner in high school and college, I often found myself wondering which of the eight or sometimes nine lanes on the track was the fastest. It was conventional wisdom that the middle lanes – lanes three through six – were the best.</p>
<p>This idea, in a way, is baked into the rules of track and field. In events with multiple heats – from the <a href="http://www.ncaapublications.com/p-4623-2021-2022-cross-country-and-track-and-field-rules.aspx">college level</a> all the way to the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/book-of-rules">Olympics</a> – the people who run faster times in earlier heats are assigned to middle lanes in later heats. In other words, the fastest runners are rewarded with what are, supposedly, better lane assignments. </p>
<p>My short-lived track career is long behind me, but in my <a href="http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/econ/faculty_staff_officehours/node/538091">professional life as an economist</a>, I think a great deal about using statistics to extract meaning from data. With the Olympics on my mind, I decided to examine the validity of lane assignment folklore from my days as a sprinter. </p>
<p>Using 20 years of track and field data from the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/">International Association of Athletics Federations</a>, I found that the long-held beliefs about lane advantages are not supported by the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3801883">data</a>. And in fact, for the 200-meter sprint, the evidence suggests that lanes often perceived as the least desirable are actually the fastest.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Runners in a staggered spacing coming around a turn." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=358&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411576/original/file-20210715-15-137tynv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tighter turns and staggered starting positions supposedly make inside and outside lanes slower.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crawford,_Dzingai_200_m_Berlin_2009.jpg#/media/File:Crawford,_Dzingai_200_m_Berlin_2009.jpg">André Zehetbauer/WikimediaCommons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Myth of the middle lane</h2>
<p>If lane assignments do matter, their impact would be most noticeable for events where the runners have to stay in their lanes for all of, or at least a large part of, the race, like 100-meter, 200-meter, 400-meter and 800-meter events. </p>
<p>In my experience, the myth of the middle lane being the fastest is most commonly associated with fast-paced races that also include corners, so the 200 and 400. There are two rationales behind this point of view, and they have to do with why the inside and outside lanes are bad, more than why middle lanes are better. </p>
<p>The reasoning for why inside lanes are bad is that in races with turns, the inside lanes are slower because the corners are too tight. Indeed, researchers who study the biomechanics of running find that tighter corners do <a href="https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.133488">slow runners down</a>.</p>
<p>The rationale behind slow outside lanes has to do with the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2016/8/15/12486250/rio-2106-track-athletics-lane-staggered-start-400-record-wayde-van-niekerk">staggered starts</a> required to make sure each racer runs the same distance. Due to this staggering, runners in the outside lanes cannot see their competitors for the majority of the race. The thinking goes that outside runners may have <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2016/8/15/12486250/rio-2106-track-athletics-lane-staggered-start-400-record-wayde-van-niekerk">less motivation to chase competitors</a> or have <a href="https://www.livescience.com/55768-track-outside-lanes-olympic-running-swimming.html">difficulty gauging their speed</a> compared to the pack if they can’t see other racers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Racers at the starting blocks of a 200m sprint." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411577/original/file-20210715-32887-6l8zkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the 200-meter sprint, where racers have a staggered start and go around one turn, the outside lane seems to be the fastest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickwebb/7734445082/in/set-72157630789298326">Nick Webb/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Not all lanes are the same</h2>
<p>In most races, the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/book-of-rules">fastest runners are assigned to the middle lanes</a> in accordance with the competition rules. Not surprisingly, the fastest runners – who are in the middle lanes – often win. Are these racers winning because those lanes are the fastest or because those runners tend to be the fastest? </p>
<p>Similar to the idea behind clinical trials for a drug, the ideal way to test lane advantages would be to randomly assign runners to lanes and see how they do on average. Thankfully, there is a subset of race data that does this: Typically, runners are randomly assigned to lanes in the first heats of events. By using data only from first heats of elite track and field events, I was able eliminate the bias from faster runners being assigned to certain lanes. </p>
<p>Using roughly 8,000 individual race results, I found that the “middle is best” belief is not well supported by the data.</p>
<p>For the 100 – which is run on a straightaway – I found no evidence of lane advantages. The myth is less prevalent here, though, so this lack of difference isn’t surprising.</p>
<p>The most striking counterpoint to the “middle is best” assumption is the 200. I found that it is in fact outside lanes that are associated with faster race times – on average lane eight is roughly 0.2 seconds faster than lane two. This is sizable for a race in which the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/by-discipline/sprints/200-metres/outdoor/men">world record is 19.19 seconds</a>. Faster outside lanes make sense biomechanically as tighter corners produce slower race times. But the result seems to disprove the idea that not seeing competitors can slow a runner down.</p>
<p>In the 400, I found no evidence that middle lanes are fastest. All lanes seem to be roughly equal. It is worth noting that there is more variability in 400-meter times, so it is harder to detect small effects, if they exist. But even this nondifference between lanes in the 400 is striking. </p>
<p>In the 2016 Olympics, people <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-37083059">marveled when Wayde Van Niekerk won the 400 final from lane eight</a>, the farthest outside lane. The astonishment stemmed from the belief that lane eight puts runners at a disadvantage. The data doesn’t support this. But what is impressive about Van Niekerk’s win is that he was one of the slower runners to qualify for the final – that’s why he was assigned to one of the “least desirable” lanes. </p>
<p>The last event I looked at, the 800, is distinct from the other events above. It has what is called a “lane break,” which is where runners must remain in their assigned lanes for the first 100 meters but are then free to run in any lane they wish. Since the inside lane of a track covers the shortest distance, runners in outside lanes move inward after the break. As they do this, they may have to run a tiny bit farther than their competitors and jockey for position with runners who are already in the inside lanes. I found that racers who start at the very inside lanes ran the fastest times. While outside lanes might have a small advantage over the first 100 meters, runners who have an established position on the inside of the track seem to have an overall advantage. </p>
<p>Next time you’re watching any of the shorter track and field events at the Olympics, listen to see if anyone repeats the old adage that the middle lanes are fastest. The data says this isn’t true, so if someone in the outside lanes takes a surprise gold, you’ll know to be surprised not because of their lane assignment, but because they were a slow qualifier.</p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David R. Munro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In track and field, it’s a common belief that middle lanes are the fastest. But according to the data, middle lanes aren’t better, and in the 200-meter sprint, outside lanes might even be faster.David R. Munro, Assistant Professor of Economics, MiddleburyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1600092021-05-13T19:55:30Z2021-05-13T19:55:30ZDo naturally high testosterone levels equal stronger female athletic performance? Not necessarily<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407613/original/file-20210622-19-q2w22h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5472%2C3637&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-strong-girl-doing-pushups-on-617483096">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Testosterone is the major androgenic (male) hormone and one of <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2017_anti-doping_testing_figures_en_0.pdf">the most common doping agents</a>. Athletes who participate in strength and power-based sports, including bodybuilding, athletics, wrestling and cycling, have used testosterone for decades for its muscle-building properties.</p>
<p>Contemporary anti-doping tests can detect and distinguish between the presence of pharmaceutical (“exogenous”) testosterone and natural (“endogenous”) testosterone <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19117813/">with a high level of certainty</a>. The presence of exogenous testosterone is essential to return a positive result. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, some people, males and females, present with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25587808/">high levels of natural testosterone</a> without having ever taken androgenic hormones. These people are called “hyperandrogenic”.</p>
<p>The common perception is that total testosterone levels directly determine athletic performance. But our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-89232-1">new research</a> challenges the assumption that naturally high testosterone levels are associated with stronger athletic performance in females.</p>
<h2>How does testosterone enhance performance?</h2>
<p>Testosterone acts on muscle cells by binding to a specific receptor protein, the androgen receptor. Upon testosterone binding, the androgen receptor signals to the muscle cell to activate the pathways that trigger an <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19650790/">increase in muscle mass</a>, called muscle hypertrophy. As a result, the muscle grows and becomes stronger.</p>
<p>But let’s look at what happens when testosterone can’t perform its job in the muscle. “Androgen receptor knockout mice” are genetically modified mice that do not produce this receptor. When compared to normal male mice, male androgen receptor knockout mice lose <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18390925/">up to 20%</a> of their muscle mass and strength. This makes sense since testosterone doesn’t have a receptor to bind to anymore. </p>
<p>Surprisingly though, this doesn’t happen in female mice. Female androgen receptor knockout mice are as strong and muscular as their control counterparts. This suggests testosterone may not be necessary to reach peak muscle mass and strength in females. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man lifts a weight in the gym." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400453/original/file-20210513-15-15zxcnt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400453/original/file-20210513-15-15zxcnt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400453/original/file-20210513-15-15zxcnt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400453/original/file-20210513-15-15zxcnt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400453/original/file-20210513-15-15zxcnt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400453/original/file-20210513-15-15zxcnt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400453/original/file-20210513-15-15zxcnt.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">Testosterone acts on muscle cells by binding to a specific receptor protein called the androgen receptor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anastase Maragos/Unsplash</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our new <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-89232-1">human data</a> align with this hypothesis. We used a large, publicly available database and showed total testosterone levels were not associated with muscle mass or strength in 716 pre-menopausal females. </p>
<p>This is in contrast to males, where higher testosterone concentrations <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27543675/">are associated with</a> increased muscle mass and strength. </p>
<p>We’re also doing experimental research on this topic. We’ve recruited 14 young female volunteers with natural testosterone levels along a spectrum from low to hyperandrogenic. </p>
<p>Although this part of our research is not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, our results so far appear to confirm the findings from the epidemiological data. We’ve found testosterone levels don’t correlate with thigh muscle size, strength and power even after 12 weeks of resistance training aimed at maximising muscle mass and building strength.</p>
<p>Our laboratory-based study allows us to tightly control for external factors that may influence muscle mass and strength, such as diet, sleep, training status and menstrual cycle.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-and-sport-how-to-create-a-level-playing-field-112219">Sex and sport: how to create a level playing field</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why mightn’t testosterone enhance athletic performance in females?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2021.1921854">Previous research suggests</a> the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone may take over some of the muscle-building role of testosterone in young females. </p>
<p>Another important consideration is natural testosterone exists in two forms: “free” within the bloodstream, or “bound” to a protein that reduces its capacity to signal to the muscle. Our <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-89232-1">research</a> suggests “free” testosterone has the greater role in regulating female muscle mass and performance. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman in athletic gear standing in parkland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400457/original/file-20210513-17-1heo1dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400457/original/file-20210513-17-1heo1dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400457/original/file-20210513-17-1heo1dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400457/original/file-20210513-17-1heo1dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400457/original/file-20210513-17-1heo1dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400457/original/file-20210513-17-1heo1dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400457/original/file-20210513-17-1heo1dn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We found higher natural testosterone levels weren’t associated with increased muscle mass or strength in more than 700 pre-menopausal females.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-shot-female-athlete-wearing-earphones-739058032">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s important to acknowledge that past a certain threshold, testosterone may have a different effect on female muscle physiology. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31615775/">recent study</a> measuring the effects of pharmaceutical testosterone on physical performance in females found after ten weeks the volunteers receiving testosterone had gained more muscle mass and could run for longer on a treadmill before becoming exhausted compared to the volunteers who didn’t receive testosterone.</p>
<p>Surprisingly though, there was no between-group difference in muscle power, muscle strength, explosive power (sprinting) and the maximum rate of oxygen consumption measured during exercise, which is the best indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness. </p>
<p>These findings support our hypothesis that total testosterone isn’t a direct determinant of muscle strength and performance in females.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-testosterone-31687">Here's what you need to know about testosterone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this article previously discussed the World Athletics eligibility regulations for female athletes. In correspondence to The Conversation, World Athletics has said its regulations relate to females with 46-XY chromosomes. The subjects of the author’s research are females with 46-XX chromosomes. To account for this, all references to World Athletics regulations have been removed from this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Severine Lamon receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). </span></em></p>Our research indicates the relationship between testosterone levels and athletic performance in females is not so simple.Severine Lamon, Associate professor, Nutrition and Exercise Physiology, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1311892021-03-26T12:24:27Z2021-03-26T12:24:27ZHow humans became the best throwers on the planet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391246/original/file-20210323-13-1dlrzok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C20%2C3407%2C2312&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman routinely tops 100 mph with his fastball.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/aroldis-chapman-of-the-new-york-yankees-in-action-against-news-photo/1278868402?adppopup=true">Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Sport via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pitchers’ fastballs are getting better and better.</p>
<p>From 2008 to 2020, the average speeds of all major league baseball pitches combined <a href="https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2021/3/15/22331075/pitching-mound-move-distance">rose by between 1.5 mph and 2 mph</a>. In the 2019 season, nearly 90% of the 281 pitchers who threw more than 1,000 pitches <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/pitch-arsenals?year=2019&min=1000&type=avg_speed&hand=">threw fastballs that averaged over 90 mph</a>. The 100 mph fastball – once a newsworthy event – <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2017/03/30/with-all-the-100-mph-pitchers-how-long-will-the-arms-last/99813546/">is now relatively common</a>.</p>
<p>But MLB pitchers aren’t the only expert throwers; most healthy people can throw faster than our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12267">much stronger chimpanzee relatives</a>, who max out at around 30 mph. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/036354659602400506">A study of boys</a> from the ages of 8 to 14 who were only moderately trained in throwing could still throw two times faster than chimps.</p>
<p>So how and why did humans evolve to become expert throwers? </p>
<p>In two papers in The Quarterly Review of Biology, we explored the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/696721">ecological causes</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/698225">evolutionary consequences</a> of throwing in humans. </p>
<h2>Sticks and stones that break bones</h2>
<p>Humans are the only species that can throw well enough to kill rivals and prey. Because throwing requires the highly coordinated and extraordinarily rapid movements of multiple body parts, there was likely a long history of selection favoring the evolution of expert throwing in our ancestors.</p>
<p>Most people probably don’t think throwing is important outside of sports because they’ve forgotten its usefulness. Part of that has to do with the fact that people have been using weapons like bows and firearms <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Technology-and-War/Martin-Van-Creveld/9780029331538#">for centuries</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Throwing_Fire.html?id=vyFxldb2GJQC">But before the invention of these weapons</a>, our hunter-gatherer ancestors threw darts, knives, spears, sticks and stones at rivals and prey. Even today, stones remain effective weapons; <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-india/migrant-workers-throw-stones-at-police-in-india-in-protest-against-lockdown-idUSKBN22L0JZ">you’ll see protesters heave stones at police</a> and <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-rights-group-investigates-video-of-woman-being-stoned-to-death/30414665.html">stoning used as a form of punishment</a> in some places.</p>
<p>Darwin considered the evolution of throwing to be critical to the success of our ancestors. As he wrote in “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Na9LAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=darwin+1871+descent+of+man&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiZuKzpwu3nAhVOip4KHWVTDF0Q6AEwAXoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q=darwin%201871%20descent%20of%20man&f=false">The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex</a>,” it allowed “the progenitors of man” to better “defend themselves with stones or clubs, to attack their prey, or otherwise to obtain food.”</p>
<p>The development of the skill begins with the evolution of bipedal locomotion, or walking on two feet. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27800-6_48-3">This happened about 4 million years ago</a>, and it freed the arms and hands to learn new abilities like making tools, carrying goods and throwing.</p>
<p>The Australopithecines, the relatively small-brained, bipedal ancestors of our genus that lived in Africa <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802652-6.00010-4">somewhere between 1 million and 4 million years ago</a>, probably threw projectiles as well, since <a href="https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-7580.2003.00144.x">their hand bones</a> hint at their ability to grip objects and throw them. </p>
<p>But just because you can throw doesn’t mean you can throw well. Anatomical adaptations like a tall mobile waist that decoupled the hips and thorax allowed for more torso rotation. A laterally oriented shoulder joint that better aligned the main axis of the upper arm with the action of chest muscles allowed for a greater range of motion. Both are necessary for high-speed throwing, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12267">and these first appeared together in <em>Homo erectus</em></a> – the first member of our genus – about 2 million years ago. </p>
<p>The two main theories for why selection favored throwing are fighting and hunting. Most scholars have favored the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(82)90010-3">hunting hypothesis</a>. However, <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/animal-tool-behavior">monkeys and apes</a> – especially chimpanzees, our closest relatives – frequently throw sticks, stones and vegetation during combat with each other and potential predators. Only rarely do they do so while hunting. Because throwing at other members of the same species is an ancestral trait in primates, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/696721">we argue that our throwing abilities evolved first in the context of combat and only later became a hunting tactic</a>.</p>
<h2>A skill that diverges by sex</h2>
<p>Once the ability to throw quickly and accurately became critical to success in combat and hunting, our male ancestors would have been more likely than females to develop, through natural selection, these skills, since anthropologists have shown that males <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/war-in-human-civilization-9780199236633?cc=us&lang=en&">tended to fight</a> and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3773347">hunt big game</a>.</p>
<p>Over time, men who were better throwers became better warriors and hunters. This further accelerated the evolution of throwing ability in men because success in <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/239/4843/985">war</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-004-1013-9">hunting</a> increases male status within groups and influenced female mate choice.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while all modern humans can throw well relative to other primates, sex differences in throwing are among the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.581">largest behavioral differences between the sexes</a>. These differences emerge early in life and are not strongly influenced by experience or practice. </p>
<p>Anthropologists and biologists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.260">have extensively documented</a> this advantage in throwing velocity, distance and targeting ability, although a recent study <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00212">suggests training may eliminate differences in throwing accuracy</a>.</p>
<p>Sex differences in throwing do not exist just because males are, on average, larger and stronger. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/698225">The relative size, shape and orientation of the shoulders of men</a> increase the range of motion of the arm during the cocking phase, which facilitates better throwing. Some of these differences begin early in life and exist even when taking into account sex differences in body size and the fact that males, from a young age, tend to throw more often than females.</p>
<p>Even among men, large size and strength do not always result in faster throwing. Throwing speed is influenced by a variety of factors including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2006.10599378">the range of motion of the throwing arm</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2006.10599377">stride length</a>. That’s why relatively svelte pitchers like <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/linceti01.shtml">Tim Lincecum</a> and <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/martipe02.shtml">Pedro Martinez</a> were able to throw faster than most of their taller, stronger and bulkier counterparts.</p>
<p>Their bodies are the paragons of an evolutionary adaptation that has made humans the best throwers on the planet. If rising pitch speeds are any indication, the skill continues to develop. There are even some who argue that pitchers have become too good – and that <a href="https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2021/3/15/22331075/pitching-mound-move-distance">it’s high time to move back the mound</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131189/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 organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We’re the only species that can throw at speeds that kill.Michael P. Lombardo, Professor of Biology, Grand Valley State University Robert Deaner, Associate Professor of Psychology, Grand Valley State University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1489652021-03-03T13:26:43Z2021-03-03T13:26:43ZColleges are eliminating sports teams – and runners and golfers are paying more of a price than football or basketball players<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386178/original/file-20210224-17-p7jmc1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C5%2C3624%2C2417&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Over 5,000 student-athletes were directly affected by a recent wave of shutdowns of intercollegiate sports teams.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/alyssa-chen-of-northwestern-and-madeline-liao-of-stanford-news-photo/1132302138?adppopup=true">Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>North Carolina Central University, a historically Black college, <a href="https://twitter.com/NCCUAthletics/status/1359956563667128320">announced</a> in February that its men’s baseball team – which formed in 1911 – would cease to exist after this season. The school’s <a href="https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article249187170.html">athletic director called it</a> “one of the most disappointing days in my career.” University leaders concluded that financial shortfalls due to COVID-19 were too much to support the team going forward.</p>
<p>Since COVID-19 emerged, dozens of colleges and universities have announced the elimination of different <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/sports/college-sports-cuts.html">intercollegiate athletics teams</a>. The vast majority of these cuts are at schools and teams that never show up on <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/sportscenter">ESPN’s SportsCenter</a>. </p>
<p>As professors who study higher education, we took a closer look at the <a href="https://sites.google.com/asu.edu/covid-19-cuts">300 teams</a> that were dropped between March and October 2020 by 78 colleges and universities. </p>
<p>It’s a diverse group of institutions. Some – like <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2020/07/08/athletics-faq/">Stanford</a> and Brown – have multibillion-dollar endowments. They compete in the NCAA’s Division I, which is the top level of college sports. </p>
<p>But the majority of closures came at regional and local campuses that participate in the NCAA’s Division II and Division III, or the <a href="https://www.naia.org/">National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics</a>. Also, around 30 teams were eliminated by community colleges. </p>
<p>Regardless of campus differences, COVID-19’s financial consequences are a shared rationale cited by university leaders for the recent closures. The 78 schools we examined spend around $87 million a year to keep all those teams going. </p>
<p>The impact of shutting down college sports teams goes beyond an athletic department’s bottom line. Many in the sports world have focused on what it means for <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/college-sports-cuts-wake-covid-19-are-clouding-future-certain-n1243803">U.S. participation in the Olympics</a>. </p>
<p>But there are other implications – positive as well as negative – for campuses themselves and how schools attract prospective students. </p>
<h2>Entertainment and cultural value</h2>
<p>Last season was also the final one for the University of Alaska-Anchorage’s men’s hockey and women’s gymnastics programs. In September, UAA’s Board of Regents <a href="https://www.adn.com/sports/uaa-athletics/2020/09/10/regents-eliminate-uaa-hockey-gymnastics-and-alpine-skiing-but-offer-each-chance-at-reinstatement/">voted to shut down</a> both teams as well as alpine skiing. A last-minute fundraising drive raised <a href="https://skiracing.com/university-of-alaska-ski-team-reinstated-after-successful-628k-fundraising-campaign/">over US$600,000 to save the latter</a>.</p>
<p><iframe id="ddZdf" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ddZdf/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Most university administrators don’t expect their athletics programs to make a lot of money. Only about <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/finances-intercollegiate-athletics">25 of the 1,100 NCAA member schools’</a> athletics departments generate a profit. Institutions often spend far more money than their teams will earn from ticket sales, broadcasting contracts and the like. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00948705.2006.9714687">Higher ed leaders say</a> sports provide entertainment and cultural value for students and the local community. Along with civic and performing arts activities, they liven up a campus. </p>
<h2>Funding and donors</h2>
<p>Certain sports, like football, are also useful for cultivating donor and political relationships. A 2003 study found that public universities with NCAA Division I football teams received about <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brad_Humphreys/publication/5142723_The_Relationship_Between_Big-Time_College_Football_and_State_Appropriations_for_Higher_Education/links/0c96052556639c21dc000000/The-Relationship-Between-Big-Time-College-Football-and-State-Appropriations-for-Higher-Education.pdf">6% more in state funding</a> annually than other institutions. And when those football teams win – especially against in-state rivals – state financial support goes up even more the next year. </p>
<p>Research also shows that having a varsity football program increases a school’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040714533353">national visibility and status</a>. Given this, we weren’t surprised that only four of the 300 teams eliminated between March and October were football.</p>
<h2>A changing student body</h2>
<p>Many colleges and universities depend on varsity sports – like rowing, track and swimming – to attract more students to attend. Athletes make up a sizable proportion of the general undergraduate population, especially at smaller schools. For example, NCAA Division III campuses enroll an average of 2,600 students, and <a href="https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/about/d3/D3_FactandFigures.pdf">one out of every four</a> is a varsity athlete. </p>
<p>Approximately <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/ncaa-sports-sponsorship-and-participation-rates-database">500,000 athletes</a> compete across the three NCAA divisions each year. Research shows <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/GOALS_convention_slidebank_jan2016_public.pdf">sports is the top factor</a> in athletes’ college choice decision – outweighing academics, the campus social scene or proximity to home.</p>
<p>For the 300 teams in our analysis that were recently cut, 2018-19 <a href="https://ope.ed.gov/athletics/#/">federal data</a> for each intercollegiate program indicates more than 5,400 athletes were members of those teams each year. </p>
<p>Most students who play college sports – including all of those at <a href="https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/about/d3/D3_FactandFigures.pdf">Division III</a> and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/10/college-sports-benefits-white-students/573688/">Ivy League</a> programs – are <a href="https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/about/ncaa/101/NCAA101_Our3Divisions.pdf">not on an athletic scholarship</a>. </p>
<p>So with fewer sports, the student body at some of these schools might change. For example, Stanford’s admissions office will no longer need to reserve <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/02/12/stanford-save-cut-sports-movement-ncaa">240 or so spots</a> for accomplished fencers, field hockey and squash players, rowers, sailors, synchronized swimmers, men’s volleyball athletes and wrestlers. </p>
<p>Cutting those sports could open up <a href="https://news.dartmouth.edu/news/2020/07/dartmouth-announces-changes-varsity-athletics-program">new opportunities</a> for applicants with different backgrounds, interests and achievements. </p>
<p>For students themselves, participating in varsity athletics is generally advantageous. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.0.0083">Research</a> shows that athletic talent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.0.0083">improves an applicant’s chances of admission</a> to top schools. </p>
<p>Playing sports can also help with the transition into college. An intercollegiate team provides a ready-made social group that can help the new team member adjust to their new school. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Baseball players celebrate on the field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387335/original/file-20210302-17-1uysbd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Student-athletes often have a built-in social group that helps with their college transition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/chapman-university-celebrates-a-division-iii-mens-baseball-news-photo/1148075109?adppopup=true">Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the demands of big-time programs in men’s basketball and football <a href="https://129.237.36.133/jams/article/view/7731">can cause academic challenges</a> for these students, studies have found that overall, athletes perform <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/B:RIHE.0000040264.76846.e9">just as well in classes</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1536-7150.00219">have a higher likelihood of graduating</a> compared to other students. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2010.12.001">Research</a> also shows that hiring managers value college sports experience. Some studies have found that former athletes have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-08-2012-0149">higher salaries and career success</a>, on average, than other post-secondary graduates. </p>
<p>The full implications of the abrupt, unprecedented stop of intercollegiate athletics – and what it means for athletes, coaches, schools and beyond – is still unclear. </p>
<p>Eventually, “big-time” programs like <a href="https://www.wsmv.com/news/us_world_news/duke-wont-play-in-march-madness-after-university-suspends-sports-competition/article_ab594ba2-45fe-5b70-9d1b-50bd74c5c484.html">Duke men’s basketball</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/insider/story/_/id/30965191/ohio-state-lsu-college-football-teams-fast-start-recruiting-class-2022">Louisiana State University football</a> will be <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2020/12/29/global-pandemic-exposed-ncaa-inc">back to business as usual</a>. For many other schools, COVID-19’s effects will be more expansive and long-lasting. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The financial savings for athletics departments are immediate and obvious. But a longer-term impact will be seen on enrollment, campus life and the communities where colleges are located. </p>
<p>Being a team member in a sport that doesn’t draw thousands of spectators or bring in millions of dollars still builds special connections to campuses that can foster institutional giving and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13250">enhance the health</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11556-010-0076-3">longevity of participants</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148965/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 organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Shutting down sports teams can save schools millions of dollars but create longer-term challenges for enrollment, fundraising and campus life.Molly Ott, Associate Professor of Higher & Postsecondary Education, Arizona State UniversityJanet Lawrence, Professor of Education, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1562652021-03-02T12:47:15Z2021-03-02T12:47:15ZSuper shoes: Explaining athletics’ new technological arms race<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387060/original/file-20210301-15-1vxa1so.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C1827%2C1167&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.alamy.com/photo-taken-during-a-qualifier-of-the-tokyo-olympics-marathon-in-tokyo-on-sept-15-2019-shows-runners-wearing-controversial-nike-shows-world-athletics-the-sports-international-federation-said-on-jan-31-2020-that-nikes-vaporfly-available-on-the-open-market-will-be-allowed-at-the-2020-olympics-but-customized-version-worn-by-kenyan-star-eliud-kipchoge-during-his-sub-2-hour-marathon-in-the-fall-of-2019-will-be-banned-kyodo==kyodo-photo-via-newscom-image341979750.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=2D2DF364-6184-4C8B-99D5-DDC70B422585&p=433731&n=0&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=0&IsFromSearch=1&srch=foo%3dbar%26st%3d0%26pn%3d1%26ps%3d100%26sortby%3d2%26resultview%3dsortbyPopular%26npgs%3d0%26qt%3dvaporfly%26qt_raw%3dvaporfly%26lic%3d3%26mr%3d0%26pr%3d0%26ot%3d0%26creative%3d%26ag%3d0%26hc%3d0%26pc%3d%26blackwhite%3d%26cutout%3d%26tbar%3d1%26et%3d0x000000000000000000000%26vp%3d0%26loc%3d0%26imgt%3d0%26dtfr%3d%26dtto%3d%26size%3d0xFF%26archive%3d1%26groupid%3d%26pseudoid%3d%26a%3d%26cdid%3d%26cdsrt%3d%26name%3d%26qn%3d%26apalib%3d%26apalic%3d%26lightbox%3d%26gname%3d%26gtype%3d%26xstx%3d0%26simid%3d%26saveQry%3d%26editorial%3d%26nu%3d%26t%3d%26edoptin%3d%26customgeoip%3dGB%26cap%3d1%26cbstore%3d1%26vd%3d0%26lb%3d%26fi%3d2%26edrf%3d0%26ispremium%3d1%26flip%3d0%26pl%3d">Newscom/Alamy Stock Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the 1960s, when traditional cinder athletics tracks were replaced by spongy, synthetic surfaces, endurance running experienced a revolution. Long distance runners began clocking far faster times on the synthetic tracks, smashing multiple world records in the process.</p>
<p>Today, another revolution is afoot: the development of the so-called “super shoe”, which is driving another spike of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/53513971">record toppling</a> in endurance running. The new shoe technology was introduced to road running in 2016 and track running in 2019, and since those key dates virtually all endurance running world records, from the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/by-category/world-records">5,000m to the marathon</a>, have been broken.</p>
<p>This has <a href="https://www.podiumrunner.com/gear/a-new-rule-limiting-vaporfly-like-shoes-is-coming-soon-maybe/">divided opinion</a> in the athletics world, with some arguing the shoes are unfair while others argue they’re just like synthetic running tracks: an inevitable technological leap for endurance runners to capitalise upon.</p>
<p>Research in sports biomechanics helps explain exactly what’s happening inside these shoes. While super shoes are clearly disruptive to old records – some of which have stood for decades – this technology should simply be seen as another entry in sports’ long list of performance-enhancing innovations.</p>
<h2>Nike’s new shoes</h2>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/athletics/marathon-men">2016 Olympic marathon</a>, all three male medallists climbed onto the podium in the same shoes. They were a Nike prototype, later released as the “Nike Vaporfly 4%”, which are now almost ubiquitous on the feet of elite road runners. </p>
<p>Then, in 2019, similar super-shoe technology hit the athletics track. A slew of Nike-sponsored <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/news/a26440923/muirs-record-breaking-spikes-cause-controversy/">athletes</a>, wearing Nike’s prototype track spikes, began running some astonishingly fast times.</p>
<p>The performance enhancement afforded by both types of super-shoe – the trainer and the track spike – is generated by enhancing athletes’ <a href="https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-015-0007-y">running economy</a>, which means reducing the energetic cost of running at a given speed. </p>
<p>The original Vaporfly improved the running economy of highly trained runners by <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0811-2?MvBriefArticleId=32183&error=cookies_not_supported&error=cookies_not_supported&code=04597c20-4432-445f-8c00-268c69420fab&code=e09ac8ca-a1fc-40b6-b8cc-3ee6f5ce252a">around 4%</a> when compared to a control marathon shoe – hence the 4% moniker. In practice, this equates to a rough improvement in running performance of between 2% and 3%. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Many runners' legs and shoes running on tarmac" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387202/original/file-20210302-23-8egplr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387202/original/file-20210302-23-8egplr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387202/original/file-20210302-23-8egplr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387202/original/file-20210302-23-8egplr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387202/original/file-20210302-23-8egplr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387202/original/file-20210302-23-8egplr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387202/original/file-20210302-23-8egplr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The new super shoes are a dramatic improvement on all previous running trainers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/many-runners-race-finish-line-marathon-227283232">ChiccoDodiFC/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The shoes have delivered on this claim. In the years since <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2021/01/02/2020.12.26.20248861.full.pdf">the 2016 advent of the Vaporfly</a>, the times of the top 50 male marathon runners have improved by about 2% on average. For the top 50 female marathon runners, that figure was closer to 2.6%. Nike’s track spikes are considered to be delivering significant running economy boosts to athletes, too.</p>
<h2>Fancy footwork</h2>
<p>Several footwear features are behind this performance boost. They include the shoe’s weight, its material composition, the thickness of its heel, and what’s called its “longitudinal bending stiffness”, which in simple terms is how flexible the shoe is from heel to toe.</p>
<p>The inclusion of a carbon fibre plate, running from heel to toe within the Vaporfly’s foam sole, has been the headline-grabbing innovation. These plates aren’t actually a <a href="https://www.biomechanist.net/carbon-fibre-plates-the-science-behind-the-latest-hype-in-running-shoe-technology/">new concept</a> but their specific scoop shape is being credited for the latest performance enhancement. It causes a “<a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/08/06/bjsports-2020-102550">teeter-totter</a>” effect, which effectively helps return energy to the runner each time their foot strikes the ground. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wVXrIaPuP7c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">To understand Nike’s new super shoe, it helps to look within its sole.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Vaporfly also uses <a href="https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2019/10/14/shoes-and-sub-2-hr-marathon/">PEBA foam</a>, which stores far more energy from foot strikes, and returns more energy to the runner, than the TPU and EVA materials that are traditionally used in trainers. PEBA foam is also lighter: the Vaporfly weighs around 50g less than previous competitors. </p>
<p>Finally, the shoe’s heel thickness of up to 40mm is around 10mm thicker than that of other racing shoes. That’s partially to accommodate the other technology in the shoe, and partially to increase the wearer’s leg length, which contributes to their energy saving. The above features have likely formed the basis for Nike’s new track spikes, too.</p>
<h2>Blistering pace</h2>
<p>Nike’s new shoes aren’t the only technological, science-driven interventions delivering “<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/this-coach-improved-everything-by-1-this-is-the-remarkable-difference-it-s-made/">marginal gains</a>” to the world of endurance running. </p>
<p>When Eliud Kipchoge <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/50025543">broke the two-hour marathon barrier</a> in an unofficial race in 2019, beating his own world record time of <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/by-progression/17427?type=1">2:01:39</a>, he was wearing super shoes. But everything else – his race kit, the course design, his pacing and training strategies – all of it was exhaustively researched and scientifically optimised.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/14xZ8iiFPYc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Eliud Kipchoge broke the two hour marathon threshold in 2019 wearing Nike’s super-shoes.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, advanced footwear is certainly helping track athletes run faster. But other innovative tools – such as the <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/feature/wavelight-technology-athletics">wave-light pacing technology</a>, used during the 5,000m and 10,000m world records in 2020 – may also contribute to their increased speed.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/science-of-champion-runners-inside-the-body-of-elite-endurance-athletes-146639">Science of champion runners: inside the body of elite endurance athletes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>World Athletics, the governing body responsible for endurance running, issued updated <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-releases/shoe-technology-rules-tokyo-qualification-roa">guidance</a> on footwear in August 2020, permitting a heel thickness of up to 40mm in road running shoes and 25mm in distance running spikes. Many have called for further restrictions. </p>
<p>There are parallels to other sports. The introduction of full-body, Nasa-designed <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/swimming/8161867.stm">swimsuits to competitive swimming</a> in 2008 was held responsible for the world records that toppled that year. The full-body swimsuit was quickly banned, though <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2016/07/13/tech-behind-those-olympic-swimsuits-rio-michael-phelps">the technology lives on</a> in a reduced form in today’s swimsuits.</p>
<p>The super-shoe arms race will inevitably spread to sprint distances in the <a href="https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/news/a35585698/nike-viperfly-shelved/">near future</a>. New technology will usher in a new cohort of world record holders. During this process of leaderboard recalibration, greater emphasis should be placed on results as opposed to times. After all, regardless of the technology, it’s titles that transcend generations, and medals that last longer than times.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Taylor 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>Endurance running is experiencing its ‘marginal gains’ moment.Jonathan Taylor, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise, Teesside UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1513612020-12-22T13:35:07Z2020-12-22T13:35:07ZHow high school sports became the latest battleground over transgender rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375148/original/file-20201215-21-ylg7gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5734%2C3828&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">High school athletes, including Terry Miller and Andraya Yearwood, both transgender girls, compete in New Haven, Connecticut, in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search?query=Andraya%20yearwood&mediaType=photo&st=keyword">AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year, 20 states proposed to ban <a href="https://transequality.org/issues/resources/understanding-transgender-people-the-basics">transgender girls</a> – meaning those assigned male at birth but who live and identify as girls – from competing on girls interscholastic sports teams. </p>
<p>The only bill to pass was in Idaho. That law <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/sports/transgender-idaho-ban-sports.html?searchResultPosition=3">bars transgender athletes</a> from participating in high school and college sports. It also authorizes “sex testing” of athletes through genital exams and genetic and hormone testing. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://casetext.com/case/hecox-v-little">ACLU is challenging the law</a>, arguing that it violates civil rights, and a federal court has delayed its implementation. On Dec. 21, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1398/ECF-Stamped-Hecox-Amicus-12.21.2020.pdf?1608588131">over 60 women’s and LGBTQ rights groups</a> and <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1399/athletes_in_womens_sports_amicus_brief_hecox_v._little.pdf?1608588187">nearly 200 women athletes</a>, including Billie Jean King, Megan Rapinoe and Candace Parker, filed legal briefs contesting the Idaho law and supporting the full inclusion of transgender athletes.</p>
<p>The right of girls and women to compete on sports teams has endured <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html">50 years</a> of policy debate. With <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520275041/trans-kids">more young people</a> now identifying as transgender, whether transgender girls can compete on girls high school teams has risen to the forefront of these discussions. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21565503.2016.1268178">My research</a> helps explain why sports is a key venue for disputes over transgender equality today. The expansion of competitive sports for girls and women – both internationally and in the U.S. – has heightened scrutiny of who “belongs” on girls and women’s teams.</p>
<h2>A patchwork of rules</h2>
<p>Whether transgender youth can participate in athletics currently depends on <a href="https://www.transathlete.com/k-12">where they live</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://13248aea-16f8-fc0a-cf26-a9339dd2a3f0.filesusr.com/ugd/2bc3fc_447f7b8e8a44c835e855c51087a5a6d9.pdf">Some states</a>, like Minnesota and Massachusetts, allow transgender athletes to compete on the teams that comport with their identity, regardless of medical interventions. Others, like Illinois and Virginia, <a href="https://13248aea-16f8-fc0a-cf26-a9339dd2a3f0.filesusr.com/ugd/2bc3fc_1d32e085305d4e51aad243797a80ea43.pdf">require a documented medical transition</a>, including disclosure of hormone therapies. In states such as Georgia and New Mexico, athletic eligibility is <a href="https://13248aea-16f8-fc0a-cf26-a9339dd2a3f0.filesusr.com/ugd/2bc3fc_32e4906881914e43b3bf20479c6f77bc.pdf">determined only by the sex designated</a> on a student’s birth certificate. Still others, like Pennsylvania, let <a href="https://13248aea-16f8-fc0a-cf26-a9339dd2a3f0.filesusr.com/ugd/2bc3fc_f8142bb6209a401e90a6b6c469ba5f60.pdf">local schools decide</a>. <a href="https://www.transathlete.com/k-12">Ten states</a> offer no statewide guidance for incorporating transgender athletes. </p>
<p>These eligibility rules are typically determined by state athletic associations, not state legislatures. However the recent spate of legislation suggests this could change.</p>
<p><iframe id="ZJpb8" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ZJpb8/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Title IX and same-sex sports</h2>
<p><a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=20+USC+1681%3A+Sex&f=treesort&fq=true&num=10&hl=true&edition=prelim&granuleId=USC-prelim-title20-section1681">Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972</a> is a federal law that bans sex discrimination at all levels of education. Every U.S. school must comply with the mandate. </p>
<p>Title IX has dramatically <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/citizens-by-degree-9780190650957?cc=us&lang=en&">increased women’s access</a> to college education, graduate schools and athletics. Today, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1394/2018-19_participation_survey.pdf?1608515954">43% of high school athletes are girls</a>, as compared with 7% in 1971, the year before the bill became law.</p>
<p>After Title IX passed, policymakers had to decide how to increase women’s access to school-sponsored sports.</p>
<p>The National Organization for Women and other <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21565503.2016.1268178">pro-integration activists argued</a> that coed teams would ultimately help secure women’s equal status and visibility as athletes. At the same time, they worried immediate sex integration might disadvantage women, given the previous lack of training, coaching and athletic competition for girls and women. So, starting in 1979, policymakers <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/t9interp.html">required schools</a> to expand access by creating new teams specifically for women and girls. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Uniformed football player kicks ball in the air" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375727/original/file-20201217-23-3dcwg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375727/original/file-20201217-23-3dcwg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375727/original/file-20201217-23-3dcwg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375727/original/file-20201217-23-3dcwg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375727/original/file-20201217-23-3dcwg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375727/original/file-20201217-23-3dcwg7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375727/original/file-20201217-23-3dcwg7.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">In 2020, Sarah Fuller of the Vanderbilt Commodores became the first woman to play in a Power Five college football game.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sarah-fuller-of-the-vanderbilt-commodores-warms-up-prior-to-news-photo/1229841716?adppopup=true">Missouri Athletics/Collegiate Images/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since then, women have <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/11/28/939716026/sarah-fuller-makes-history-as-1st-woman-to-play-in-a-power-5-football-game">rarely competed</a> on men’s college or high school sports teams. Likewise, in 13 cases between 1971 and 2006, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243211398866">U.S. courts ruled</a> against <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-it-mean-to-be-cisgender-103159">cisgender boys and men</a> – those assigned male at birth and who live as boys and men – who wanted to play on teams for girls and women. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243211398866">Research shows</a> that the legal reasoning in these cases advances the dubious notion that girls are inherently inferior athletes.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/playing-with-the-boys-9780195167566?cc=us&lang=en&">controversy around sex-segregated teams</a>, they remain the <a href="https://nyupress.org/9780814799659/getting-in-the-game/">norm for athletic competition</a> in the U.S.</p>
<p>Currently, transgender athletes are underrepresented at the high school level. One <a href="https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/PlayToWin-FINAL.pdf?_ga=2.28099006.300407420.1582836585-1986322191.1582510625">report from the Human Rights Campaign</a> found that only 12% of transgender girls participate in organized sports, compared with 68% of young people overall.</p>
<p>Among the reasons for this is the lack of clarity in equity policy. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/26/court-yes-transgender-rights-gavin-grimm-bathroom-402532">Court cases establish</a> that public schools must affirm the gender of all students and protect them against exclusion under Title IX. However, the rights of transgender athletes to access high school sports teams are not specifically addressed in federal athletic policy guidelines. </p>
<h2>Transgender visibility and backlash</h2>
<p>Over the past three decades, the movement for transgender rights has made many <a href="https://www.press.umich.edu/9448956/remarkable_rise_of_transgender_rights">legislative and social gains</a>. These include increased public recognition, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/us/gay-transgender-workers-supreme-court.html">legal victories</a> and some <a href="https://www.lgbtmap.org/mapping-trans-equality">state-level protections</a> against discrimination at school. </p>
<p>But increased visibility for transgender people has also produced legislative backlash on issues like <a href="https://contexts.org/articles/bathroom-battlegrounds-and-penis-panics/">access to public restrooms</a>.</p>
<p>These “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/north-carolina-transgender-bathrooms.html">bathroom bills</a>” – which included attempts to deny transgender students access to sex-segregated bathrooms at school – provided a blueprint for current legislative proposals barring transgender athletes. They were premised on the idea that transgender people should not have the right to use sex-segregated spaces, like public restrooms and <a href="https://theconversation.com/better-locker-rooms-its-not-just-a-transgender-thing-74023">locker rooms</a>, that align with their gender identity.</p>
<p>Recent legislative proposals suggest that such bans should also apply to high school sports competition.</p>
<h2>International sports and sex testing</h2>
<p>Ongoing disputes in the international sporting environment are also relevant to the broader debate about who “belongs” in women’s sports. </p>
<p>The case of South African Olympic track star Caster Semenya drew significant attention to this question. Semenya is a cisgender woman – meaning she was assigned female at birth and lives as a woman – and an Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 800-meter event. After her first international championship in 2009, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/sports/20runner.html">several competitors challenged</a> her victory. <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/11/30/eitheror">They suggested</a> that she was too fast, that her physical appearance was not sufficiently feminine, and that she was not “actually a woman.”</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/01/how-caster-semenya-controversy-unfolded-since-2009-timeline">decadelong dispute</a>, the international governing agency for track and field <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/the-humiliating-practice-of-sex-testing-female-athletes.html">fought to enact</a> a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/04/sports/olympics/intersex-athletes-human-rights.html">contested policy</a> that requires Semenya – and any other woman athlete whose gender is questioned – to submit to bodily and hormonal evaluations and possible medical treatments in order to remain eligible for particular running events. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://undocs.org/en/A/HRC/44/26">United Nations</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/12/04/theyre-chasing-us-away-sport/human-rights-violations-sex-testing-elite-women">Human Rights Watch</a> argue the policy has lasting negative impacts on the targeted athletes. Semenya <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/sports/olympics/caster-semenya-court-ruling.html">refuses</a> to comply. </p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/85fcr3nh9780252040221.html">sex testing</a> policies, also known as gender verification, have long policed the elite women’s category and particularly <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/702853/pdf">harm women of color</a>, who have been disproportionately scrutinized.</p>
<p>Idaho lawmakers envision enforcing their transgender ban on high school athletes in similarly invasive ways.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://issues.org/science-sport-sex/">scientists are divided</a> on whether <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674725324">monitoring testosterone</a> – as both <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-release/eligibility-regulations-for-female-classifica">international policy</a> and Idaho law now advocate – can identify any consistent athletic advantage. They <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674063518&content=reviews">continue to debate</a> <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/anne-fausto-sterling/sexing-the-body/9781541672895/">the meanings of gender</a> and the <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/Delusions-of-Gender">impacts of sex difference</a>.</p>
<p>Yet as the 2021 legislative season begins, <a href="https://legiscan.com/TN/bill/HB0003/2021">some states</a> have already proposed additional transgender athlete bans. U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Democrat of Hawaii, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8932/text">introduced a bill</a> in Congress that would limit Title IX’s athletic equity protections only to girls and women assigned female at birth. A court case involving transgender athletes’ rights in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/02/12/conn-high-school-girls-file-federal-suit-prevent-transgender-athletes-competing/">Connecticut</a> and the <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/idaho/iddce/1:2020cv00184/45676/63/">Idaho case</a> remain ongoing.</p>
<p>As policymakers and elected officials debate the future of sports for girls and women, the rights of transgender athletes hang in the balance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth A. Sharrow has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the American Association of University Women, the Gerald Ford Presidential Foundation, the Myra Sadker Foundation, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the American Political Science Association, and the Massachusetts Historical Society. </span></em></p>New legislative proposals want to allow ‘sex testing’ of girl athletes through genital exams and genetic and hormone testing.Elizabeth A. Sharrow, Associate Professor of Public Policy and History, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1512072020-12-10T14:28:24Z2020-12-10T14:28:24ZThe year sports got canned: lessons from the Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372522/original/file-20201202-21-aiaqgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashraf Hendricks/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The global impact of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/africa/covid-19">COVID-19</a> pandemic has been particularly apparent in sports events. In an attempt to limit the spread of the virus, the world has witnessed the cancellation, postponement or rescheduling of major events: <a href="https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2020-04-01/cancellation_of_the_championships_2020.html">Wimbledon</a> tennis, <a href="https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/025b-0ef35fa07210-adb80b5eb2e7-1000--uefa-postpones-euro-2020/">Euro 2020</a> football, the <a href="https://www.letour.fr/en/news/2020/tour-de-france-2020-29th-august-29th-to-20th-september/1283443">Tour De France</a> cycling and the 2020 Tokyo <a href="https://tokyo2020.org/en/news/joint-statement-from-international-olympic-committee-and-tokyo2020">Olympic Games</a> to mention a few.</p>
<p>In a recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17430437.2020.1805900">study</a> I conducted with David Maralack of the University of Cape Town, we looked at the 2020 cancellation of the popular <a href="https://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za">Two Oceans Marathon</a> in Cape Town, on the south-western coast of South Africa. We wanted to see what lessons about risk and reputational management could be learned from this and the consequent impacts on its many stakeholders.</p>
<p>With a focus on sports management, we interviewed the race director, previous board members and other stakeholders, including members of regional and provincial athletics bodies and provincial government. </p>
<p>The cancellation was managed well under the circumstances, but it also highlighted some areas that could be improved on. It became clear that events that communicate effectively with their community of participants and audiences stand the best chance of weathering a storm.</p>
<h2>The marathon</h2>
<p>Marathon running is very popular in South Africa and people from all walks of life participate in the many <a href="https://worldsmarathons.com/s/running/africa/south_africa">races</a> on offer. An ultramarathon is longer than a traditional 42km marathon. In the case of the Two Oceans, it is 56km. It’s considered one of the most scenic ultramarathons in the world, taking in Table Mountain and the Indian and Atlantic oceans.</p>
<p>What started out in 1970 as a training run for the country’s other premier ultramarathon, the 90km <a href="https://www.comrades.com">Comrades Marathon</a>, the Two Oceans is now a festival Easter weekend of races. In 2019, the event turned 50 and hosted 34,000 participants, from ultra-marathon to family fun run.</p>
<p>The value of the event to the Cape Town and Western Cape economy is estimated at <a href="https://www.westerncape.gov.za/events/sites/events.westerncape.gov.za/files/attachments/Conference%202016_11%20-%20Event%20Impact%20Assessment%20Study_Current%20progress_Kamilla%20Swart.pdf">R672 million</a>. Before the races, a running <a href="https://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/events/expo/">expo</a> at the Cape Town International Convention Centre receives more than 55,000 visitors over three days. The race costs R30 million to stage and attracts significant media coverage. </p>
<p>However, the 51st Two Oceans, to be held from 8-11 April 2020 was the first marathon to be cancelled in South Africa due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 worldwide. It was also one of the first marathons to be impacted on the global marathon stage.</p>
<h2>The cancellation</h2>
<p>The decision to cancel an event is not an easy one. This was also not a popular one as it was made by the marathon’s board just three weeks before the event was to start. Significant funding was already spent as the bulk of the planning, logistics and preparation were complete.</p>
<p>The board had to weigh up costs and economic benefits versus massive health-related risks. Also at stake was the event’s reputation, concerns about its sustainability, as well as the athletes not getting refunded.</p>
<p>With 3,000 international participants expected and half the participants coming from outside Cape Town, a key concern was the negative economic impact from the loss of these sports tourists.</p>
<p>Friends and relatives who come to support the runners <a href="https://www.westerncape.gov.za/events/sites/events.westerncape.gov.za/files/attachments/Conference%202016_11%20-%20Event%20Impact%20Assessment%20Study_Current%20progress_Kamilla%20Swart.pdf">spend</a>
between three and six days in the region – and some up to three weeks in the country. A sport tourism event like this is a key economic driver that also serves to market Cape Town as a destination. </p>
<h2>Many stakeholders</h2>
<p>Data was analysed for key themes emerging from our interviews. There were many lessons to be learned. The decision to cancel was complex, given all the stakeholders involved.</p>
<p>Organisers monitored global advisories and engaged with other events in a similar situation. They consulted with government departments, approvals agencies, health institutions and universities. Particularly important stakeholders included the race medical team, the city’s events office and the provincial authorities. Sponsors and event partners were consulted ahead of the decision to cancel.</p>
<p>The medical team strongly advised that the marathon couldn’t guarantee the safety of participants. The University of Cape Town, hosting the race finish village, advised they would be closed and not accessible for the event. The university provides professional services as the official race medical team and had a critical voice in responding to the crisis.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A gleeful woman in running vest and shorts beams as she holds her fists up in victory, a race assistant standing by with a white towel at the finish line." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372524/original/file-20201202-22-eq9542.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">South Africa’s Gerda Steyn wins the 2019 Two Oceans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://wpa.org.za">Western Province Athletics</a> also played an important role through the national athletics body, <a href="https://athletics.org.za">Athletics South Africa</a>, liaising with the sports ministry. The sports minister formed part of a national COVID-19 command council. And consideration had to be given to the tourism and investment agencies, sponsors and service providers who had much to lose. These inputs were vital for the board to make the dreaded decision to cancel.</p>
<p>Even before South Africa <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/disaster-management-act-declaration-national-state-disaster-covid-19-coronavirus-16-mar">declared</a> a COVID-19-related state of disaster, Two Oceans felt the risk of continuing far outweighed the benefits. The race was <a href="https://www.twooceansmarathon.org.za/2020-two-oceans-marathon-cancelled-amid-covid-19-pandemic/">cancelled</a> on 15 March, 12 days after the first case was detected in South Africa.</p>
<p>From an organisational perspective, the cancellation underscores the significance of brand reputation and that the event is only as good as it is because of the support of stakeholders such as runners, clubs, sponsors, suppliers and approvals agencies. </p>
<h2>Lessons learned</h2>
<p>Management of the cancellation was largely successful in its main aims of protecting people’s health, honouring legal obligations and protecting the brand. Although the final decision was accepted, the organisation recognised that its decision-making and communication needs to be more responsive and agile. </p>
<p>The cancellation drew significant levels of criticism on social media platforms, with runners demanding refunds or that entry fees be deferred. This was not possible as funding had been contractually committed to suppliers. Stakeholders underscored the importance of the marathon being more runner-centric in its communication.</p>
<p>One of the most significant organisational impacts was recognising that the race was not sufficiently safeguarded against disasters, beyond financial considerations only. These would include general advisories on travel and health that could supplement security and race operations. </p>
<p>Due to global health and safety concerns, cancelling was inevitable and the outcomes the best that could have been reached under the circumstances. However, race managers and stakeholders deliberated on what could’ve been done differently.</p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>Of particular importance is consideration of its primary stakeholder, the runner, and strategic partnership with provincial government and sponsors. Refunds were not possible, but a more reflexive and flexible budgetary process may be necessary to limit negative impacts.</p>
<p>The pandemic has also confronted organisers to consider alternatives, such as virtual races – and consequently to review their traditional approaches to marketing and sponsorships. Consideration of the digital space beyond COVID-19 opens huge possibilities for brands to engage with 35,000 runners over the course of a year instead of just race weekend.</p>
<p>Enhanced health protocols accompanied by effective communication plans will be required from stakeholders. It is also critical that the event works closely with the governing body to enhance information flow and decision-making.</p>
<p>The timeframe for planning the 2021 event is already counting down. In this post-COVID-19 period of uncertainty, various contingencies and permutations need to be considered – driven by a consultative process where all stakeholders have mutual responsibility to ensure the event’s sustainability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151207/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kamilla Swart is affiliated with the Division of Engineering Management and Decision Sciences, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar and the School of Tourism and Hospitality, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
</span></em></p>The event, worth R672 million to the country’s Western Cape economy, was one of the first to be impacted by COVID-19 on the global marathon stage.Kamilla Swart, Associate professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1220802020-11-17T12:48:10Z2020-11-17T12:48:10ZHow the contraceptive pill could help female athletes stay cool<p>If all goes to plan, athletes will compete in hot conditions at the rescheduled <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-54956149">2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics</a>. Indeed, summers in Japan can be quite intense – with <a href="https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/japan">hot and humid weather</a> and temperatures reaching up to 35°C. </p>
<p>But our <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2019.01458">recent research</a> indicates that taking the oral contraceptive pill may help women in sport to better cope with this kind of heat. There is limited research about the consequences of extreme heat on the health and wellbeing of female athletes. But we know that women are at a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26101907">higher risk</a> of succumbing to heat-related illness and can reach hyperthermic levels – with an abnormally high body temperature – in a shorter period of time. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3529284">majority of research</a> on how female athletes should train for the heat is based on what works for men, and this comes with obvious problems. Not only are men and women built differently, but women also have a monthly cycle of hormones – and this has a powerful effect on the body.</p>
<p>Menstruation can cause muscle aches, joint pains and tender breasts. Then there’s the headaches, cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation. So it stands to reason then that periods may have a <a href="https://uk.lunette.com/blogs/news/professional-athletes-and-menstrual-cycles-the-reality-as-told-by-real-athletes">detrimental impact</a> on a woman’s sports performance. </p>
<p>There’s also the fact that, just before and during a period, many women experience an <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/05/12/3-things-that-happen-to-a-womans-body-when-she-gets-her-period_a_21375776/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADqryKXWKkHLpfwJglkWifinx_7tCpdck5khLrdCyt8JobM6YTxqyfHiBYSzwmC6Bjir8ygoegZczJebmcqoOk20fVuKfIqtcFGe2Jsvc4feyNw-2dXfUV_WKH0qMRCERRmZZYzqsvA628zaAdFkSma5ys1bor_QdTOJ2SKjzUkN">increase in body temperature</a>, making them hotter and sweatier than usual. So when it comes to training for hot conditions, female athletes certainly have their work cut out.</p>
<h2>Handling the heat</h2>
<p>It’s well established that repeatedly exposing a person <a href="https://theconversation.com/marathon-des-sables-how-we-rapidly-acclimatised-five-runners-for-the-gruelling-race-113973">to high temperatures</a> results in adaptations to the body, such as lower <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24469986">body temperature and heart rate during exercise</a>. But almost all research in this area has exclusively used male participants. </p>
<p>A previous study has shown how the use of the oral contraceptive pill can help to control female hormones and maintain women’s body temperatures in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23312929">temperate conditions</a>. So we wanted to find out if the oral contraceptive pill could help to control body temperature in women in hot conditions. Our study looked at how young females who do physical activity a minimum of three times a week respond to and adapt to hot conditions when taking the oral contraceptive pill.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290080/original/file-20190829-106480-qioibp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290080/original/file-20190829-106480-qioibp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290080/original/file-20190829-106480-qioibp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290080/original/file-20190829-106480-qioibp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290080/original/file-20190829-106480-qioibp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290080/original/file-20190829-106480-qioibp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/290080/original/file-20190829-106480-qioibp.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">Peru’s Yoci Yoana Caballero Huaman cools off at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We used a short-term heat acclimation regime that has previously been <a href="http://theconversation.com/elite-training-in-hot-conditions-for-competition-in-cooler-climates-a-hot-topic-45012">successful with male participants</a>. This involved using a state-of-art environmental chamber as part of a short-term (five-day) heat acclimation programme, which saw participants undertaking intermittent exercise in hot environments.</p>
<p>The participants underwent 90 minutes of heat exposure with no fluid intake for five consecutive days at 39.5°C (60% humidity). Each acclimatisation session involved a roughly 30-minute cycling exercise, controlled by maintaining core body temperature at 38.5°C, measured using a rectal probe. </p>
<p>And we found that, by using oral contraceptive pills, the women in our study were able to adapt as effectively – and to the same magnitude – as male participants of a similar level of physical conditioning. </p>
<p>This may mean that female athletes who take the contraceptive pill are more likely to acclimatise better and quicker in hot conditions compared with female athletes who don’t take the pill. This is because taking the pill helps to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11512029">control body temperature</a> during the menstrual cycle.</p>
<p>That said, women who are less fit and don’t partake in regular exercise may not respond so effectively. This is because they are likely to have a lower aerobic capacity, less efficient sweat response and increased insulation due to higher amounts of body fat.</p>
<h2>Healthy hormonal balance</h2>
<p>There are of course, many elite competitors who will not want to use the oral contraceptive pill. So a “one size fits all” approach cannot be taken when female athletes are preparing for hot conditions. But our research may well have implications for the heat acclimation procedures used for female competitors preparing for future events.</p>
<p>Ultimately though, our findings show how tracking a woman’s menstrual cycle can be an important part of training and competition preparation, a strategy that has already been adopted by the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49426349">US women’s football team</a>. Of course, to women, this may sound like an obvious conclusion. But given that the sporting world is still largely dominated by men, perhaps it’s not surprising the research is still playing catch-up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Garrett received funding from the João Havelange Research Scholarship, FIFA.. </span></em></p>The majority of research on how female athletes should train for the heat is based purely on what works for men.Andrew Garrett, Senior Lecturer in Exercise and Environmental Physiology, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1444752020-08-28T12:21:46Z2020-08-28T12:21:46ZCool touch shirts can make you feel cool on hot days, but which materials work best?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355151/original/file-20200827-14-1rxkril.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=65%2C106%2C5127%2C3530&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The material that your shirt is made of plays a big role in how hot you feel.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-wiping-sweat-with-towel-royalty-free-image/891340950?adppopup=true"> RUNSTUDIO/Photodisc via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s another hot and sweaty summer day, and you see an ad for a sports T-shirt claiming it is made out of a material that will instantly make your skin feel cool. Intriguing, but does it work, and if so, how?</p>
<p>Companies have embraced what are called <a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/shopping/best-cooling-breathable-clothing-for-summer">cool touch materials</a> for all sorts of products. Bed sheets that will ease hot flashes, facial tissues that will calm a sore nose, or a business suit that will keep you comfortable during a tough interview - these are just some ways companies have turned to cool touch technologies. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://artdesign.uoregon.edu/product-design/susan-sokolowski">professor of sports product design</a> and my research looks at how apparel materials can help <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=VxlyNJEAAAAJ">keep athletes cooler in hot environments</a>. Staying cool is important because it can affect performance psychologically and physiologically and cool touch materials are one way designers like me can enhance performance. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A hand touching a dark blue fabric." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355154/original/file-20200827-16-noigaq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thermal effusivity can measure how any material – a fabric, a rock or air – feels to the human touch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cropped-hand-touching-fabric-royalty-free-image/940658542?adppopup=true">Madhav Gajjar/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Measuring material heat transfer</h2>
<p><a href="https://ctherm.com/resources/glossary/">Effusivity is a heat transfer property present in all materials</a> that incorporates the thermal conductivity, density and heat capacity of a material. Thermal effusivity describes how fast and how much heat can be transferred from one material to another. If you touch something that has high effusivity, the transfer of heat from your skin into the material produces the sensation of coolness</p>
<p>The higher the thermal effusivity value a material has, the cooler it will feel to the touch. The lower that value, the warmer a material will feel. For example, air has an effusivity value of 6, natural rubber is 518, human skin is 1360 and <a href="http://thermalanalysislabs.com/thermal-properties-of-common-materials/">silver is 23688</a>. Even when a piece of natural rubber and silver are the same room temperature, the silver will still feel colder because it has a higher effusivity value. </p>
<p>On a winter morning, differences in thermal effusivity are what make stepping onto a cold hardwood floor with your bare feet so much less comfortable compared to when you’re wearing wool slippers. This happens because the wood has a higher effusivity value, so it feels much colder. On the other hand, if you got out of bed and put on some woolly slippers - your bare feet and slippers have effusivity values that are closer together, therefore your toes will feel super cozy. </p>
<p>This same principle can apply to athletic T-shirts. My colleagues and I wanted to identify materials that have high effusivity values so that the next time you are getting ready for a pick-up game of basketball in the grueling heat, you could choose a T-shirt that will give you a cool feeling next to your skin.</p>
<h2>It’s in the material</h2>
<p>So, what T-shirt material provides athletes the best cool touch feel? </p>
<p>To get to the bottom of this question, our research team collected effusivity data from seven sport T-shirt materials made of polyester, recycled polyester, rayon, wool, nylon, cotton and spandex fibers. To keep the competition fair, we made sure all of the fabrics were made the same way – with a common <a href="https://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-jersey-knit.htm">jersey knit</a> construction.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Side-by-side photos showing vertical rows of stitching on the left and horizontal rows of stitching on the right." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/353066/original/file-20200817-18-1n128t8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=351&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The face (left) and back (right) sides of a jersey knit material have different effusivity properties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jeremy Stangeland</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jersey knits have distinct face and back side aesthetics. The face side has vertical rows of knit stitches and is the outside of a T-shirt. The back side of a jersey knit has stitches assembled horizontally and is usually on the inside of a T-shirt. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<h2>And the winner is…</h2>
<p>If you are a connoisseur of sports apparel, you probably expected that a shirt made of <a href="https://www.palmgear.com/why-is-sportswear-made-of-polyester/">100% recycled polyester</a> fiber-based materials would have performed the best, and cotton ones the worst. But in our upcoming paper to be published, we found the exact opposite. Materials composed of recycled polyester fibers had the lowest effusivity and would therefore feel the warmest next to your skin on a hot day. The winner and the material with the highest effusivity in our study was a fabric made of 95% cotton and 5% spandex. If you want something to feel cool on your skin on a hot day, this is the best choice. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A chart showing average thermal effusivity values of a number of common materials and T-shirt material blends." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=210&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355193/original/file-20200827-24-on4a7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=264&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The higher the thermal effusivity of a material, the cooler it feels to the touch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Susan Sokolowski</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the types of fibers were not the only thing that affected effusivity. Our team found that the back side of the material that touches your skin had higher thermal effusivity than the face side. As most T-shirts are made from jersey knit materials, if you ever find yourself a bit chilly, simply turning your shirt inside out might help.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A young girl sits on a basketball while wearing a sports jersey." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355155/original/file-20200827-16-yqaj23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In addition to the thermal effusivity, sweat management, airflow, reduction of cling and many other attributes go into making a piece of apparel that keeps you cool.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/girl-sitting-on-basketball-royalty-free-image/136192841?adppopup=true">Krista Long/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Effusivity alone does not make a cool shirt</h2>
<p>While the thermal effusivity of a material is one important design attribute for a cool T-shirt, it is not the only thing to consider.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.shirtspace.com/blog/what-are-wicking-t-shirts">Wicking</a> – the ability for a material to transport sweat from the skin to the environment to promote evaporation – is also incredibly important. As the sweat evaporates from the shirt’s material, it <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/06/the-physics-of-keeping-cool/">cools you down</a>. </p>
<p>Air moving through a T-shirt material can also help cool you down, and that can be achieved with ventilation holes or mesh. Materials can also be engineered to be less clingy and insulative. Clingy shirts not only feel uncomfortable and sticky, they also reduce airflow and make you feel hotter. Materials that are too insulative just keep you warmer, and who needs that in hot weather?</p>
<p>Cool, high-tech T-shirts can be quite complex to design, but when the details are carefully considered and balanced, you can get a shirt that will make you feel cool through effusivity, wicking, ventilation and reduction of insulation and cling – and of course, probably the most important factor, make you look cool too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144475/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan L. Sokolowski receives funding from sensor maker C-Therm Technologies.</span></em></p>More companies are selling products that claim to keep you cool on hot days. But it turns out that common materials used in sports clothing may not always be the best.Susan L. Sokolowski, Director & Associate Professor of Sports Product Design, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1444002020-08-21T12:35:43Z2020-08-21T12:35:43ZIs NCAA football too big to fail?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/353494/original/file-20200818-14-qb7xfr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5879%2C3910&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nebraska, a member of the Big Ten conference, won't be playing football this fall.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Virus-Outbreak-College-Sports-Football/be925652604d4bd6b01c21d0185b8c19/48/0">AP Photo/Nati Harnik</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The coronavirus continues to jeopardize college sports.</p>
<p>The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/ncaa-cancels-remaining-winter-and-spring-championships">were canceled back in the spring</a>. In early August, smaller conferences like the <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29621025/source-mac-cancels-fall-football-season-eyes-move-spring">Mid-American Conference</a> and the <a href="https://themw.com/news/2020/8/10/general-mountain-west-postpones-2020-fall-sports.aspx">Mountain West Conference</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/08/12/college-football-canceled-faq/">postponed all fall sports, including football</a>.</p>
<p>But the big news came when the Big 10 and PAC 12 <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29640578/big-ten-pac-12-postpone-fall-college-football-need-know">postponed all fall 2020 sports</a> until the spring. These comprise two of the Power Five conferences, which control the college football playoffs and earn the lion’s share of revenue from the sport. The other Power Five conferences – the SEC, ACC and Big 12 – are holding out hope that they can still play football in the fall.</p>
<p>The schools weighing whether to postpone are taking into account the health of staff and student athletes. But top of mind has to also be the financial implications of canceling a season, with Power Five conference schools facing the biggest repercussions.</p>
<h2>Football: A financial pillar</h2>
<p>Since many Power Five athletic programs are funded by football and basketball revenue, not having a football season would be a huge financial setback. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/29198526/college-football-return-key-athletic-departments-deal-financial-wreckage-due-coronavirus-pandemic">According to Patrick Rishe</a>, director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis, each Power Five school would see an average loss of at least US$62 million in football revenue. This money is primarily generated from existing television contracts and sponsorships, in addition to football ticket sales. So even a season with empty or partially filled stadiums can earn a school a big paycheck. </p>
<p>On average, Power Five athletic departments – many with $100 million-plus budgets – make nearly half of their total operating revenue from football, with some schools deriving over <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/research/finances-intercollegiate-athletics">80% of department revenue</a> from the sport. Typically this revenue funds the bulk of department operations <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/05/05/does-football-fund-other-sports-at-college-level/#62546c5871c2">including other sports programs</a> and, in rare cases, even provides additional revenue to the academic side of the university. </p>
<p>The amount of money at stake explains why some Power Five conferences are desperately trying to figure out a way to make the season work. Before the PAC 12 and Big 10 bowed out, all the schools had altered their football schedules so that they would primarily play only conference games, <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/06/mlb-players-restart-2020-baseball-season-schedule-rules-changes-spring-training.html">similar to the amended Major League Baseball schedule</a>. The idea was to reduce travel – and potential exposure to COVID-19 – while still being able to have a season. </p>
<h2>Not all funding models are the same</h2>
<p>Where does the elimination of non-conference games among Power Five schools leave smaller schools? Is there a financial ripple effect? </p>
<p>Every year, mid-major programs – like those in the Group of Five conferences – play what are called “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2020/07/11/if-more-conferences-cancel-guarantee-games-coronavirus-138-million-could-stake/5420850002/">money games</a>.” In exchange for a large paycheck that sometimes exceeds $1 million, these schools will play a game against a Power Five school. Although there’s <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=302540259">the occasional upset</a> of a Power Five team by a smaller school, these games are usually lopsided and only serve the purpose of earning extra money for the smaller school. </p>
<p>When several Group of Five conferences <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-mac-becomes-first-fbs-conference-to-cancel-football-in-the-fall-145217793.html">postponed fall sports</a>, some in the media <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/mac/2020/08/08/mac-cancels-football-season-first-fbs-conference-financial-covid-19/3326228001/">wondered</a> whether it was motivated by finances, arguing that the schools couldn’t afford to play a season without these guaranteed, non-conference money games. </p>
<p>While this money can certainly buttress an athletic department’s budget, it doesn’t mean that without them, a Group of Five program would cease to exist. Overall revenue from these games rarely exceeds 5% of the overall athletic budget of any Group of Five school. So the budget impact of money games is overstated.</p>
<p>We can see this in <a href="https://cafidatabase.knightcommission.org/fbs">a database</a> provided by The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics that breaks down the college athletic budgets at all NCAA Division I schools. Most Group of Five conference schools are subsidized somewhere between 60% and 90% from institutional support and student fees. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Using the Mid-American Conference as an example, the database shows for all schools in the conference that football games only represent 5% of overall athletic revenue. In the 2018-2019 season, no school derived more than 8% of its yearly take from these games, while for one school, The University of Toledo, it only amounted to 2%. </p>
<p>In other words, these departments don’t need football to compete financially. While revenue loss can hurt, better budgeting can mitigate any shortfall. </p>
<p>So for many big conference schools, the cancellation of a football season can decimate an athletic department’s budget, dragging down other sports in its wake. But for smaller conferences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-actually-funds-intercollegiate-athletic-programs-35241">student fees</a>, not football, foot the bill – with enrollment drops presenting the real financial threat to athletic budgets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Ridpath does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Football forms the financial backbone of many athletic programs, with some schools deriving over 80% of their department revenue from the sport.David Ridpath, Associate Professor and Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Administration, Ohio UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1334262020-04-22T12:04:51Z2020-04-22T12:04:51ZCan an intelligence test forecast which quarterback draft prospects will have NFL success?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329537/original/file-20200421-82699-1vj7ooj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=264%2C11%2C3500%2C2144&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former University of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Tennessee-Alabama-Football/3c60b7ca34c74ac2add00a8fe63b3fd0/91/0">AP Photo/Vasha Hunt</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Miami Dolphins selected Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2020/story/_/id/29011670/2020-nfl-draft-live-updates-pros-cons-every-first-round-pick">with the fifth overall pick</a> in the 2020 NFL Draft.</p>
<p>Like all top prospects, Tagovailoa had been subjected to months of evaluation, with teams’ scouting departments measuring his athletic abilities, interviewing his college coaches and researching his personal life.</p>
<p>He also took the Wonderlic Personnel Test, which, for about 50 years, teams have administered to prospects. This 12-minute intelligence test consists of 50 multiple choice questions measuring cognitive ability, with the score reflecting the number of correct answers. While all prospects take the test, the scores of quarterbacks – due to the belief that the position requires more brainpower – tend to generate the most media interest. The scores are nominally private, but every year they’re leaked and publicly reported on <a href="https://nflcombineresults.com">online databases</a>.</p>
<p>Tagovailoa <a href="https://247sports.com/Article/Richard-Sherman-says-Tua-Tagovailoa-Wonderlic-test-score-doesnt-matter-Alabama-football-San-Francisco-49ers-146238476/">scored a 19</a> out of 50. Should that have been a cause for concern? Clearly, the Dolphins didn’t think so, and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/comments/bg4zpg/does_the_wonderlic_test_actually_matter/">fans</a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/5/8/5694518/why-the-nfls-wonderlic-aptitude-test-is-totally-worthless">analysts</a>, <a href="https://247sports.com/Article/Richard-Sherman-says-Tua-Tagovailoa-Wonderlic-test-score-doesnt-matter-Alabama-football-San-Francisco-49ers-146238476/">players</a> and <a href="https://ramblinfan.com/2013/02/20/the-wonderlic-test-why-it-is-useless-in-the-nfl/">pundits</a> have long debated the test’s usefulness as an evaluation tool.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1251294985632182272"}"></div></p>
<p>But there’s very little actual research on its effectiveness. So my colleague, Brent Evans, and I recently conducted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2017.1412081">a study</a> examining the relationship between a quarterback’s Wonderlic score and his NFL success.</p>
<h2>The great debate</h2>
<p>During World War II, the United States Navy famously used the Wonderlic test, which was developed in 1936 by psychologist <a href="https://wonderlic.com/about/history/">Eldon F. Wonderlic</a>, to select fighter pilots. Scores were seen as a good indicator of how pilots would perform under pressure. </p>
<p>Like pilots, NFL quarterbacks must routinely make quick decisions under pressure. They also need to relay complex play calls, read opponents’ defenses and, in response, adjust offensive formations. That’s why quarterbacks are often referred to as “<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Field_Generals_50_Greatest_Quarterbacks/m2L5vQAACAAJ?hl=en">field generals</a>.”</p>
<p>For these reasons, Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry was drawn to the Wonderlic. <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/02/15/nfl-combine-wonderlic-test-explained">Widely credited</a> with introducing the test as an evaluation tool for NFL prospects, Landry <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/index.htm">won two Super Bowls and appeared in three others</a> in the 1970s. During that same period, the league, following Landry’s lead, began administering the test at the NFL Combine, which is a <a href="http://www.nflcombine.net/players/schedule/">nine-day annual event</a> in Indianapolis that gives teams the chance to scout over 300 potential draftees.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329486/original/file-20200421-82654-plh0un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329486/original/file-20200421-82654-plh0un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329486/original/file-20200421-82654-plh0un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329486/original/file-20200421-82654-plh0un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329486/original/file-20200421-82654-plh0un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329486/original/file-20200421-82654-plh0un.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/329486/original/file-20200421-82654-plh0un.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">Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry pioneered the use of the Wonderlic Test on NFL prospects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Watchf-AP-S-TX-USA-APHS273574-Dallas-Cowboys-co-/275564bbd6cf42ccb12e5a2f3068b705/102/0">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yet even though the test continues to be given today, many argue that a quarterback’s score doesn’t reveal much about his likelihood of NFL success. Even Eldon F. Wonderlic’s daughter <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/why-daughter-of-wonderlic-test-creator-isnt-happy-with-the-nfl/">holds this view</a>. </p>
<p>Those who believe the Wonderlic test is a poor assessment tool for NFL quarterbacks often point to players like <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MariDa00.htm">Dan Marino</a>, who only scored a 15 on the test but went on to become a Hall of Famer. Then there’s <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FitzRy00.htm">Ryan Fitzpatrick</a>, who scored a 48 on the test but has spent his career bouncing from team to team as a journeyman quarterback.</p>
<p>“We’re here to tell you what a growing number of NFL executives already know – the Wonderlic is totally worthless,” Joseph Stromberg <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/5/8/5694518/why-the-nfls-wonderlic-aptitude-test-is-totally-worthless">wrote in Vox</a>. In 2015 commentator NFL analyst Mike Florio <a href="https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/14/prospects-should-refuse-to-take-the-wonderlic/">described the Wonderlic test</a> as “an outdated, irrelevant intelligence exam to which the league clings.”</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the test has its evangelists. Clay Travis, founder and lead writer of Outkick the Coverage, <a href="https://www.outkickthecoverage.com/nfl-quarterback-wonderlic-scores-matter-a-great-deal-042417/">has maintained</a> that Wonderlic scores matter a great deal. He points out that <a href="https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/nwe/index.htm">the New England Patriots</a> – the NFL’s most successful team of the 21st century – consistently draft players that score highly on the Wonderlic test. Travis also notes that many star quarterbacks, from Tom Brady to Aaron Rodgers, received excellent scores.</p>
<h2>Digging into the data</h2>
<p>So which camp is correct?</p>
<p>Using a statistical tool known as regression analysis, we were able to control for a large number of variables that might influence a quarterback’s performance in the NFL, from his college football statistics, to whether his college coach had experience as an NFL coach, to whether he was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, the annual award given to the most outstanding player in college football. We also controlled for a player’s Wonderlic score.</p>
<p>To quantify NFL success, we considered several measures, including – but not limited to – career passing yards, wins and games started in the NFL. Of all the variables included in our regression models, only two were significantly and consistently associated with a quarterback’s NFL success: whether he was a Heisman Trophy finalist and his Wonderlic score. This is overwhelming evidence that, all else equal, quarterbacks with better Wonderlic scores enjoy more successful careers in the NFL. </p>
<p>Interestingly, we found that a quarterback’s Wonderlic score doesn’t have a significant impact on his draft position. This indicates that – despite the fact that test scores are a good predictor of NFL success and receive a fair amount of media attention – teams, by and large, don’t give them a lot of weight when deciding whether to draft a quarterback. Rather, our research indicates that teams mostly focus on variables such as a quarterback’s completion percentage in college, and physical attributes such as his body mass index, height and speed.</p>
<p>This doesn’t mean that teams should automatically draft quarterbacks with higher Wonderlic scores ahead of quarterbacks with lower ones. The “all else equal” element of the analysis is key. In other words, if two quarterbacks are extremely similar in most aspects, but one has a higher Wonderlic score, our research does suggest that the quarterback with the higher score will enjoy more success in the NFL. </p>
<p>This might sound obvious. But with everything else being equal, other measures you would think might forecast NFL success, such as the quarterback’s college statistics and his university’s reputation for producing successful NFL quarterbacks, don’t have the same predictive abilities about his future NFL success. To further cement the importance of the Wonderlic, after holding other factors constant, a quarterback’s actual draft position is not significantly related to his NFL success. But his Wonderlic score is.</p>
<p>So teams looking for a slight edge on draft day should take their cues from Tom Landry, the Patriots and Clay Travis. A quarterback’s Wonderlic score is revealing something important, and the stakes are high: Over half of all Super Bowl MVPs <a href="https://athlonsports.com/nfl/super-bowl-mvps-complete-list">have been quarterbacks</a>, and choosing correctly can set a team up for years of success. On the other hand, <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/positional/quarterback/">given quarterbacks’ astronomical salaries</a>, drafting a dud in the first round is a mistake most teams can’t afford to make.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article originally published on April 22, 2020.</em></p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua D. Pitts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For nearly 50 years, teams have administered the controversial Wonderlic test to measure cognitive ability. Two researchers decided to study its effectiveness as an evaluation tool.Joshua D. Pitts, Associate Professor of Sport Management and Economics, Kennesaw State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1352732020-04-14T12:22:26Z2020-04-14T12:22:26ZCoronavirus: why self-isolation brings mental health strain for elite athletes<p>The spread of COVID-19 is changing life for billions of people around the world. Many are adapting to periods of self-isolation and finding <a href="https://www.winchester.ac.uk/news-and-events/press-centre/media-articles/how-to-keep-exercising-during-social-isolation.php">creative ways to stay fit</a>, but the enforced changes may also result in increased sedentary behaviours – which can <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-the-commonwealth-games-come-with-a-health-warning-94579">contribute to anxiety and depression</a>.</p>
<p>This may be especially the case for athletes, who are already <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029218300153">more likely than the general population</a> to experience a mental health disorder during interruptions to their career – usually due to injuries or retirement. So given that most sport has now been cancelled or postponed and athletes are having to train by themselves – <a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/espn/story/_/id/28913914/here-athletes-doing-globe-amid-coronavirus-outbreak">sometimes using novel methods</a> – the current restrictions may be more difficult for athletes to handle.</p>
<p>Blogs <a href="https://appliedsportpsych.org/blog/2020/03/the-covid-19-pandemic-tips-for-athletes-coaches-parents-and-the-sport-community/">designed to help athletes</a> cope during these emotionally challenging times have skyrocketed. Specifically, football clubs have been <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/football-clubs-support-players-coronavirus-pandemic-psychological-mental-health-a9409841.html">urged to support their players’ mental health</a> and some national governing bodies – organisations that govern and administer a sport on a national basis – have created videos to help coaches and athletes deal with self-isolation. Sport psychologists in the UK and abroad have also <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/120610100/coronavirus-sports-psychologist-services-inundated-as-athletes-struggle-with-covid19-disruptions">been inundated</a> with athletes contacting them for support.</p>
<p>But so far none of these responses have identified why athletes might be more at risk than the general population during self-isolation. </p>
<h2>Why are athletes vulnerable?</h2>
<p>What all of us are experiencing right now is a transition. <a href="https://www.unthsc.edu/students/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/Schlossberg.pdf">Defined as</a> a critical life event, a transition challenges our assumptions about ourselves and requires us to make changes in our behaviours and relationships. </p>
<p>Elite athletes spend many years forming an “athletic identity”. This is defined as: “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10413200600944090?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=uasp20">the degree to which an individual identifies with the athlete role</a>”. This athletic identity serves athletes when they are fit, healthy and able to pursue their goals and ambitions. But when they are unable to engage in such self-defining activities, this over-identification with the role of athlete can make them vulnerable. </p>
<p>As former England rugby player <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/england/8884794/England-fly-half-Jonny-Wilkinson-reveals-At-last-I-know-who-I-am-now.html">Jonny Wilkinson once explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When you’re not doing what you are known for, not achieving the goals you set for yourself, what value do you have? My whole identity used to be through rugby, so as soon as you cut the rugby, you have no identity left. I didn’t know what I was, who I was. If affirmation comes from points you kick, what are you when you can’t kick? Who are you? </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The athletic self</h2>
<p>This commitment to an athletic self often begins at a young age. Athletes begin to sacrifice other types of identities available to them in their pursuit of sporting success. So, over time, they become what’s known as “<a href="https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1598&context=sportslaw">role engulfed</a>” as other identities, that might have helped to create a more multidimensional self, are sacrificed. </p>
<p>This habit was noted by former footballer turned film star <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8179889/Eric-Cantona-his-best-quotes.html">Eric Cantona, who said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Often there are players who have only football as a way of expressing themselves and never develop other interests. And when they no longer play football, they no longer do anything; they no longer exist, or rather they have the sensation of no longer existing.</p>
</blockquote>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Sports Psychology Support from Swim England.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are currently many thousands of elite athletes worldwide who can no longer use sport to support their athletic identity. These athletes are unable to train to the same intensity and access the same equipment and facilities required for them to maintain elite levels of physical and technical performance. They are unable to achieve their goals.</p>
<p>They are also socially isolated from teammates, staff, entourages, and a fan base who support their sense of athletic identity. And as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660970802601613?scroll=top&needAccess=true">research has identified,</a> it is likely that as a result of becoming “role engulfed” many of them have not spent time developing interests or friendships outside sport. So they may not be as able to adapt as well to online cocktail hour or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/enjoy-birthdays-romantic-dinners-lockdown-social-isolation">birthday parties via Zoom</a>.</p>
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<p>Most athletes spend their time developing physical and technical components of their performance to the exclusion of their mental skills. Though the current enforced isolation may feel difficult it is also the ideal time for athletes to develop mental resilience. </p>
<p>This doesn’t just apply to sport stars though, the same goes for everyone – we should all try to develop our own mental health and resilience right now. So as well as staying in touch with friends, family (and teammates) digitally, it might also be worth taking a course to teach yourself some <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/coronavirus-self-isolation-home-coping-strategies-navy-submariner-twitter-jon-bailey-a9418501.html">coping strategies</a> – for use now and in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135273/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>Why elite athletes may struggle more during self-isolation.Jo Batey, Senior Fellow (Sport & Exercise Psychology), University of WinchesterKeith Parry, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sport, Exercise & Health, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.