tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/tokyo-olympics-19485/articlesTokyo Olympics – The Conversation2021-09-03T15:43:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1673002021-09-03T15:43:07Z2021-09-03T15:43:07ZJapan: why PM Suga unexpectedly stepped down – and what happens next<p><em>Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga has announced he will not seek re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) next month, which will effectively end his tenure in the top job after only one year. What will this mean for Japanese politics with a general election due later in the year?</em></p>
<p><strong>Q: Why has Suga made this decision now and where does this leave the ruling LDP?</strong></p>
<p>Suga’s decision to resign was an <a href="https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQODE027IZ0S1A900C2000000/">abrupt change of course</a>. The previous day he met with the LDP’s leadership to <a href="https://digital.asahi.com/articles/DA3S15031184.html">announce his intention</a> to run for a second term as leader. The fifth COVID wave, triggered by the delta variant and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-japans-olympic-success-has-been-followed-by-covid-failure-166204">poor crisis communication</a>, has been his undoing. This led to declining support both within his party and among the public, jeopardising the LDP’s prospects of winning in the upcoming elections.</p>
<p>It is difficult to characterise Suga’s short reign. An uncharismatic figure, he had no overarching message, few signature policies, and no “vision” for Japan. He never fully emerged from the shadow of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe. Even a year into his rule, he still seemed like a <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/25/national/politics-diplomacy/suga-caretaker-prime-minister/">caretaker leader</a>. </p>
<p>Unable to recover public support for his cabinet, even after Japan’s very strong performance at the Tokyo Olympics, his approval ratings slid throughout the summer, reaching <a href="https://mainichi.jp/premier/politics/articles/20210829/pol/00m/010/003000c">record lows</a>, and this week plunging below 30%. Suga stepped down in order to improve the LDP’s chances of maintaining power. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-japans-olympic-success-has-been-followed-by-covid-failure-166204">How Japan’s Olympic success has been followed by COVID failure</a>
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<p>Though Japan is considered a mature democracy, the LDP has <a href="https://escholarship.org/content/qt5gm0f2jf/qt5gm0f2jf.pdf?t=li5atb">dominated postwar politics</a>. Since its founding in 1955, the party maintained power until 2009 with just a brief interlude in opposition between 1993-94. After 2009, analysts believed Japan would finally develop into a <a href="https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a02301/">Westminister-style democracy</a>, in which power would pass back and forth between the conservative LDP and the progressive Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). </p>
<p>Instead the DPJ ruled for only three years and was unfortunate enough to be running the country when an earthquake and resulting tsunami caused the <a href="https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/fukushima-daiichi-accident.aspx">Fukushima nuclear meltdown</a> in March 2011, leading to a collapse in support. The LDP returned to power under Abe in 2012 and the DPJ collapsed, splintering into smaller less effective parties. Abe went on to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. </p>
<p>In 2009, such an outcome was almost unthinkable. It demonstrates the LDP’s incredible election-winning ability, flexibility and pragmatism. Where other leaders cling to power until the bitter end, Suga’s resignation puts party first. </p>
<p><strong>Q: How will Suga’s decision affect the upcoming elections?</strong></p>
<p>The scheduled election for the LDP’s president post was supposed to be a rubber-stamp for Suga’s leadership. His resignation has obviously changed the stakes, and <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/08/27/national/politics-diplomacy/ldp-presidential-election-candidates/">more and more candidates</a> are announcing their intention to run. Meanwhile, the whole idea of staging the leadership election prior to general elections was to lock public and media attention on the LDP at the expense of the smaller opposition parties – so that mission has been accomplished.</p>
<p>The date of the general election has yet to be announced, but <a href="https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_housei.nsf/html/houritsu/00719500415100.htm">by law</a> it must be held by November 14. The fact that rank and file LDP politicians <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/japan-pm-suga-wont-seek-045904932.html">are cheered</a> by Suga’s resignation tells us that, even before his successor is chosen, the LDP’s chances of retaining power have increased. </p>
<p>At this point it is impossible to say who will win the leadership battle. We think there are two candidates to keep an eye on: <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/09/03/national/taro-kono-ldp-leadership-race/">vaccination minister Taro Kono</a> and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/digitalisation-minister-backs-japan-pms-rival-fight-ruling-party-head-heats-up-2021-09-02/">Fumio Kishida</a>, Japan’s former minister for foreign affairs.</p>
<p><strong>Q: This is widely thought to be connected with the administration’s handling of the COVID pandemic. Where has it gone wrong?</strong></p>
<p>Suga launched his administration in 2020 with a pledge to prioritise the fight against the pandemic – and Japan was initially seen <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/04/28/commentary/japan-commentary/covid-19-strategy-japan-model/">as a model</a> of how to fight COVID while keeping society as open as possible. But as time progressed, Suga’s administration lapsed into mixed messaging and generally poor crisis communication.</p>
<p>His cabinet promoted a nationwide travel campaign, “<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/14/national/suga-go-to-travel-coronavirus/">Go To Travel</a>”, subsidised by the government, encouraging domestic tourism despite the pandemic. This was criticised by the medical community and was eventually suspended, but not before <a href="https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/4/e049069">it contributed</a> to the third COVID wave. </p>
<p>Unable to develop <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2021/07/20/commentary/japan-commentary/japan-last-minute-vaccines/">its own vaccines</a>, Japan then lagged behind other countries in distributing its imported shots. It has since caught up, but too slow to ensure the promised “<a href="https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2021072300731&g=pol">secure and safe</a>” Olympics. </p>
<p>Multiple layers of newly added bureaucracy have further slowed Japan’s crisis response, as the task of fighting the pathogen is divided across various health and economics ministries, with little leadership displayed by Suga to steer a national response. </p>
<p>From an outsider’s perspective, it may still appear puzzling that Suga has resigned while his country’s COVID response has been comparatively good, with fewer infections and much <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/explorers/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&facet=none&pickerSort=asc&pickerMetric=location&Interval=7-day+rolling+average&Relative+to+Population=true&Align+outbreaks=false&country=JPN%7EKOR%7ELUX%7ELTU%7ELVA%7EMEX%7EPOL%7EPRT%7EBEL%7EFRA%7EFIN%7EHUN%7ENOR%7ENZL%7EDEU%7ETUR%7EDNK%7ECHL%7ECZE%7ESVN%7ESVK%7EESP%7ESWE%7ECHE%7ECOL%7ECRI%7EGRC%7ECAN%7EAUT%7EAUS%7ENLD%7EEST%7EITA%7EISR%7EGBR%7EUSA%7EIRL%7EISL&Metric=People+vaccinated+%28by+dose%29">lower death rates</a> than most other wealthy countries. But the public’s perception of Suga’s administration is one of failure: failure to lead and failure to communicate. </p>
<p>Suga rarely spoke directly to the people to explain his goverment’s efforts to address the crisis, instead leaving the task to his cabinet ministers and medical experts. As infections surged and hospitals switched to disaster mode, his low profile proved insufficient in convincing an increasingly reluctant public to follow government measures.</p>
<p>Initiatives such as Go To Travel and, of course, staging the Olympics against the public’s wishes, further muddied the waters. If COVID really is as serious as the government has been telling the Japanese people, why promote tourism and stage a massive sporting event involving thousands of people entering Japan?</p>
<p><strong>Q: What does this mean in terms of political stability in Japan?</strong></p>
<p>The LDP’s core competency is to preserve its power as the ruling party. Suga’s decision serves to avoid internal instability and enables an orderly succession. Lacking his own power base, he came to power only by mobilising support from a range of LDP factions. In light of public frustration with his cabinet and declining approval ratings, the LDP’s internal support for Suga was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japans-suga-danger-becoming-another-revolving-door-premier-2021-07-15/">flagging</a>. </p>
<p>Had Suga stayed on, the LDP would likely have stayed in power but would have lost seats at the election. This would have made governing more difficult and increased political instability. So by resigning, Suga has sent a message that the LDP will take crisis response seriously through renewal at the top while making sure the party does not split further as a result of frustration with his cabinet. Public attention now rests on the LDP’s internal manoeuvring, with little focus on the opposition parties’ policy platforms. </p>
<p>It remains too early to tell what the fallout of this sudden leadership change will be for Japan’s politics. But it seems likely that the party will try to avoid a return to the pattern of [<a href="https://www.cfr.org/interview/japans-revolving-door-elections">revolving-door prime ministers</a>] with one-year tenures, which characterised Japanese politics prior to 2012. </p>
<p>Within the LDP much will depend on the actions of former prime ministers Abe and <a href="https://www.jimin.jp/english/profile/members/114618.html">Taro Aso</a> (2008-2009), who both still control large factions and are thus kingmakers in the leadership election. With memories of 2009 still fresh, the LDP will surely attempt to signal unity and stability. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Suga has caught the opposition by surprise, and even before his announcement they have failed to generate a powerful counter-narrative to challenge the LDP.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167300/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>The Japanese prime minister has announced he will not seek re-election as party leader ahead of a general election later this year.Sebastian Maslow, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Sendai Shirayuri Women’s CollegePaul O'Shea, Senior Lecturer, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1664722021-08-24T17:04:27Z2021-08-24T17:04:27ZSaint Boy’s rebellion spurs debate about ethical treatment of horses at the Olympics — and beyond<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417443/original/file-20210823-19-kyyhre.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C25%2C8575%2C5716&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Annika Schleu of Germany cries when Saint Boy, the horse she was assigned to ride, wouldn't co-operate in the equestrian portion of the modern pentathlon at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the glitter and dust of the Tokyo Olympic games settle, one controversy doesn’t just have legs, it has four legs. This is largely due to an ugly scene in the modern pentathlon, an intense event in which human athletes fence, swim, shoot, run and ride a horse all in the same day. </p>
<p>During the pentathlon, a horse named Saint Boy — ridden by German athlete Annika Schleu — refused to jump multiple obstacles. This <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/olympian-hits-back-over-allegations-of-horse-cruelty-in-tokyo/news-story/1dacc4351ca78a64b9e943b2d71ef6da">resulted in Schleu having a very public meltdown</a>, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/07/sport/modern-pentathlon-germany-disqualification-tokyo-2020-spt-intl/index.html">German coach Kim Raisner being disqualified after she was caught on camera punching the horse</a>. The incident generated so much international attention that actress and horsewoman <a href="https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a37338694/kaley-cuoco-horse-instagram-update/">Kaley Cuoco offered to buy Saint Boy</a>.</p>
<p>Saint Boy, who normally lives and works at the Minakuchi Riding Club in Japan, certainly made his views crystal clear on that day in Tokyo. He did not want to participate, no interpretation or detailed horse knowledge needed. Was he an athlete feeling stress and discomfort? A worker withdrawing his labour? A sentient being saying no? As a researcher of animal protection and labour, I’d say all three.</p>
<h2>Competitive events</h2>
<p>In modern pentathlon events, the humans and horses only meet each other <a href="https://horsesport.com/horse-news/canadians-respond-pentathlon-jumping-olympics/">right before the class starts</a>. The horses are borrowed for the event, normally from a local farm. The horse-rider pairs have a short warm up, and then the competition begins. This is highly unusual.</p>
<p>In the trio of primary equestrian sports at the Olympics — <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/sports/equestrian/">dressage, eventing and show jumping</a> — the horse and human pairs normally train together for many months, more often years. While horses intended for jumping learn to understand a consistent set of commands and aids, the animals are all different. They have <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Equine-Cultures-in-Transition-Ethical-Questions/Bornemark-Andersson-Essen/p/book/9780367582005">personalities and preferences</a>. Horses are not machines. You cannot simply hop onto one and expect to perform challenging tasks in tandem instantaneously.</p>
<h2>Horses are unique individuals</h2>
<p>Horses’ moods, comfort levels and physical well-being <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051347">change over time, and in immediate response to a host of factors</a>, including the rider, their particular style and their level of anxiety — <a href="https://inside.fei.org/media-updates/keeping-cool-tokyo-%E2%80%93-heat-and-humidity-measures-under-microscope">even the weather</a>.</p>
<p>In an Instagram post, Malin Baryard-Johnsson, a member of the gold medal-winning Swedish show jumping team, wrote about her equine partner Indiana. Baryard-Johnsson says that it took “a couple of years of learning to understand each other” and speaks about Indiana as an individual and as a whole being who is “friendly, funny, crazy, positive, sensitive, energetic …”</p>
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<p>Horses are not a uniform group, and neither are horse people. Far from it. There are many subcultures and industries engaging with horses in starkly different ways. Racing has little in common with equine-assisted therapy and pleasure riding, for example. </p>
<p>Plus within each equine culture there are distinct philosophies, methods and ethical priorities, all of which affect the horses’ experiences. From their stabling conditions, including their ability to see and touch other horses, to their feed to their time outdoors (or not) to the length of horses’ careers and what happens to them afterwards — all of these factors affect the animals’ work-lives in a full sense, and differ substantially.</p>
<h2>Crucial debates</h2>
<p>There were other equestrian concerns stemming from the Olympics, including about the <a href="https://www.worldofshowjumping.com/en/Exclusives/WoSJ-Focus/Rodrigo-Pessoa-on-the-Olympic-format-I-hope-the-FEI-will-listen-this-time.html">new structure</a> of the team show jumping and its implications for horse welfare. </p>
<p>A horse named Jet Set was <a href="https://eventingnation.com/robin-godels-jet-set-euthanized-after-injury-on-tokyo-cross-country/">euthanized after an injury in the eventing competition in Tokyo</a>. When you involve other species, the risks and very real effects of our choices are heightened.</p>
<p>Horses hold complex positions in our laws, lives and hearts. Whether it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091513">Thoroughbred racing</a> or <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/new-york-city-carriage-horse-industry-controversy">horse-drawn carriages</a> in tourist centres, when it comes to horse controversies, people tend to split into three camps. </p>
<p>There is always a group that believes the status quo is acceptable and that the horses are fine. These people might support some minor tinkering with equipment or welfare regulations, but insist that the <a href="https://cona.org/the-truth-about-carriage-horses-myths-and-facts/">horses are well cared for overall</a>.</p>
<p>The second and largest group is generally comfortable with horses doing some work and sport with humans as long as it is respectful but will still have concerns about specific practices and horses’ well-being before, during or after the job in question. This group may want to see <a href="https://horseandstylemag.com/2014/09/18/where-do-you-stand-on-the-great-carriage-debate/">modest or even major reforms</a>, and some activities eliminated altogether because they are deemed too unethical or risky for the horses.</p>
<p>The third group argues that people’s use of <a href="https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/horse-drawn-carriages/">horses’ labour</a> is unethical, period, and that horses <a href="https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/how-does-peta-feel-about-horseback-riding/">should be freed from human tasks</a> as a matter of principle.</p>
<p>These debates are not tidy and are unlikely to be resolved soon. But robust, well-informed reflection is critically important. One thing is clear — people love horses. Yet we disagree about what it really means to love horses.</p>
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<h2>Listening to horses</h2>
<p>The International Modern Pentathlon Union — the organizing body that oversees the sport — is <a href="https://www.uipmworld.org/news/uipm-forms-riding-working-group-and-appoints-disciplinary-panel">reviewing the riding portion of its event for horse welfare and safety</a>. A <a href="https://horsesport.com/horse-news/canadians-respond-pentathlon-jumping-olympics/">growing number of people want it reformed</a> or <a href="https://horsesport.com/horse-news/modern-pentathlon-under-fire-after-ugly-scenes-riding-phase/">removed</a> out of respect for horses. </p>
<p>We ask horses to do an extraordinary number of jobs for and with us. Our decisions have significant effects on their bodies, minds and relationships. Horses always have a lot to say about those jobs and about their lives in a full sense. Sometimes their views are obvious, as was the case with Saint Boy on that day in Tokyo, but often their voices are softer. In all cases, we have an ethical duty to not only pay attention but to really listen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166472/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kendra Coulter receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and serves on the Canadian Violence Link Coalition's Coordinating Committee and on the Government of Ontario's Provincial Animal Welfare Services Advisory Table.</span></em></p>The treatment of the horse Saint Boy has ignited fierce discussion about horses in modern pentathlon, and reanimated ethical debates about horses’ jobs beyond the Olympics.Kendra Coulter, Chancellor's Chair for Research Excellence and Associate Professor in the Department of Labour Studies, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1642842021-08-24T10:57:34Z2021-08-24T10:57:34ZTokyo Paralympics: how Paralympians are affected by the heat<p>The heat experts were right. In 2019, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00414/full">historical data</a> suggested that the average daily temperature athletes would have to contend with during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games would be between 28.2°C and 29.7°C, with relative humidity of 65%. These have indeed been the <a href="https://theconversation.com/tokyo-olympics-how-athletes-are-using-ice-vests-parasols-and-slushie-machines-to-cope-at-the-hottest-games-ever-165257">hottest Olympics on record</a>. </p>
<p>Archers have <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/archery/russian-archer-passes-out-under-tokyo-heat-1.6114021#:%7E:text=6-,A%20Russian%20archer%20fainted%20in%20the%20Tokyo%20heat%20during%20a,head%20to%20cool%20her%20down.">collapsed</a>, tennis players have <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/28/sport/tokyo-olympics-heat-humidity-spt-scli-intl/index.html">feared they might die</a> and volleyballers have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/20/tokyo-olympics-fears-athletes-could-face-hottest-games-on-record">scorched their feet</a> on the sand. But for many Paralympians, these conditions present a major additional challenge. </p>
<p>The complexity and severity of a Paralympian’s impairment combined with the demands of their particular discipline – the type, intensity, duration, mode of exercise and environmental conditions – will determine their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23328940.2019.1617030">particular susceptibility</a> to heat-related issues. The extent to which any athlete responds physiologically to the heat will also vary widely within any specific impairment group. </p>
<h2>Specific impairment groups</h2>
<p>Research has shown that those with spinal cord injuries, amputation, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy are likely to suffer the most in the heat. </p>
<p>When we exercise, <a href="https://theconversation.com/benefits-of-extreme-temperature-workouts-not-as-great-as-you-might-think-121668">around 75-80%</a> of the energy consumed by the body is released as heat. The problem for some Paralympic athletes is that they have a reduced ability to sweat or to dissipate sweat. Others potentially produce more heat than an Olympic athlete performing the same activity. </p>
<p>Athletes with spinal cord injuries are unable to sweat or control their skin blood flow below what is known as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4855464/">their injury level</a>. The higher up the spinal cord the injury is, the smaller the body surface that is able to sweat. Core temperatures in wheelchair rugby players with high spinal cord injuries, for example, <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0042-121263">have been shown</a> to increase at a much greater rate than in players with other physical impairments. </p>
<p>This remains true even though wheelchair rugby matches are played indoors in moderate temperatures (18°C-21°C) and players with a high spinal injury <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0042-121263">cover less distance</a> (17% less) and push slower (on average about 10% slower) than teammates with other physical impairments. Less physical effort means they produce less heat than their teammates. However, the difficulty they have in expelling this heat through sweating and skin blood flow sees their core body temperature increase much faster.</p>
<p>Athletes with amputated limbs also have a smaller body surface area through which to get rid of heat. Meanwhile, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25356571/">sweat builds up</a> in the sockets of the prosthesis, which can potentially lead to blisters, skin conditions and heightened discomfort.</p>
<p>Athletes with multiple sclerosis <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28275061/">may also </a> be less able to sweat and more intolerant of the heat in general. Poor muscle coordination and involuntary movements or spasms in athletes with cerebral palsy means they too could get hotter, quicker when exercising. They also have a harder time <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26493357/">pacing their effort</a>, which is even more important in hot conditions. Anecdotal observations have shown that when some of these athletes start out too fast, even in cooler climates, they risk falling over in the closing stages of a race. </p>
<h2>Heat acclimation and cooling strategies</h2>
<p>As with Olympic athletes, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22592455/">heat acclimation</a> may be helpful for Paralympians to prepare their bodies to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244021000190?dgcid=rss_sd_all">cope in the heat</a>. This can include training in heat chambers or greenhouse tents and having post-exercise hot baths.</p>
<p>Research on the benefits for Paralympians in particular, however, is limited. Each individual would need to be carefully monitored to ensure the heat exposure was proving beneficial, not harmful. </p>
<p>One of the main things heat acclimation is intended to help with is to get you sweating more and earlier on. As the sweat evaporates, the skin’s surface and body core cool down. As shown above, athletes with a spinal cord injury must contend with a large surface area of their body that is not able to sweat. They may experience <a href="https://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(21)00019-0/fulltext">cardiovascular benefits</a>, but acclimation won’t induce any beneficial sweating.</p>
<p>Further, travel restrictions during the pandemic have also prevented athletes from working in specialised heat chambers, especially earlier in the pandemic. This may have affected those athletes at an increased risk of COVID, who have had to severely reduce interactions with others.</p>
<p>Once events are underway, there are a lot of things <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-014-0241-3">that can help</a>: fans, misting, ice vests, iced towels, water immersion, ice slushies. Athletes make use of them, often in combination, before and after competition, as well as during cooling breaks scheduled into events. </p>
<p>Each of these strategies need to be practised before use in competition. And the logistics involved for making sure they have what they need must be carefully considered. Cooling a wheelchair athlete’s hands before a race would not be a great idea – numb hands don’t help with dexterity.</p>
<p>Some disability sporting bodies do have clear heat policies. The International Tennis Federation’s regulations for <a href="https://www.itftennis.com/en/about-us/governance/rules-and-regulations/?type=tour-regulations">wheelchair tennis</a> typically works lots of breaks into events and training schedules, as well as rescheduling events for cooler parts of the day where applicable. </p>
<p>Similarly, while teams such as Paralympics GB have spent a lot of time and money preparing their athletes physically and mentally, other national bodies don’t have the same level of access to funds, facilities or expertise. Even within Paralympics GB, <a href="https://www.uksport.gov.uk/our-work/investing-in-sport/current-funding-figures">some sports such as wheelchair rugby are deemed to have less medal potential</a>, which typically means less funding and as a consequence less preparation support for the Games. </p>
<p>Conditions in Tokyo may be overwhelmingly hot and humid. But anyone competing at the 2020 Paralympic Games will have had to overcome many hurdles to even make it to Japan. Take Great Britain’s powerlifter Ali Jawad, a double amputee athlete overcoming setbacks due to Crohn’s disease. These are athletes determined to show the world <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjIP9EFbcWY">that anything is possible</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164284/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katy Griggs 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>As the Summer Games warm up, more research is needed on how heat acclimation can help Paralympians in particular prepare for extreme conditionsKaty Griggs, Senior Lecturer in Sport Engineering, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1658472021-08-11T14:58:00Z2021-08-11T14:58:00ZBlack women athletes ruptured destructive and limiting beliefs at the Tokyo Olympics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415500/original/file-20210810-23-p7m73b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C10%2C6894%2C4599&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Japan's Naomi Osaka lights the cauldron during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approached, fans around the world struggled to balance their excitement with a general uneasiness surrounding the Games. These included <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/olympics-opening-ceremony-creative-director-fired-holocaust-joke-1200587/">high-profile firings</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/03/world/asia/japan-tokyo-olympics-volunteers-covid.html">volunteers quitting</a>, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/21/olympics-face-heat-from-broiling-tokyo-summer">abnormally high temperatures</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/tokyo-olympic-village-unvaccinated-1.6109907">low vaccination rates</a> as well as a declared <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/08/asia/japan-state-of-emergency-olympics-intl-hnk/index.html">state of emergency</a> amidst surging COVID-19 cases.</p>
<p>While there were many engaging story lines and developments worth following over the last 14 days, the prominence of Black women was hard to ignore. </p>
<p>From the outset of the Games’ opening ceremony, where Naomi Osaka <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/23/naomi-osaka-olympic-cauldron-opening-ceremonies/">lit the Olympic cauldron</a>, it quickly became evident that Black women would be of central importance to the games and stories that followed. </p>
<h2>Black women’s participation in sport</h2>
<p>Coming off a tumultuous exit from the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2021/06/17/naomi-osaka-withdraws-wimbledon-play-tokyo-olympics/7592502002/">French Open and Wimbledon</a>, Osaka gleefully stated that lighting the cauldron was her <a href="https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1418602684580438019">biggest athletic achievement</a> to date. </p>
<p>Osaka, of Haitian and Japanese descent, was <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/naomi-osaka-olympic-cauldron_n_60fadcc9e4b00c1de0a12350">the first tennis player to ever light the Olympic cauldron</a>. Despite her <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/sport/20210727-japan-s-naomi-osaka-knocked-out-of-olympics-tennis-in-third-round">early exit in the Olympic tennis</a> tournament, she had already won. </p>
<p>Too often, Black women’s participation in sport is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/us/black-women-athletes-treatment-olympics-spt/index.html">questioned</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/namibian-teens-stoke-new-olympic-testosterone-controversy-1.6126829">negated</a> or <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/canadian-tennis-player-francoise-abanda-blames-racism-for-low-profile-1.4666176">simply</a> <a href="https://www.powerplays.news/p/racisms-central-role-in-wnba-coverage">unnoticed</a>.</p>
<p>Common depictions of Black women athletes are often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720960919">racist and misogynist</a>. Praise for Black women atheletes is often accompanied with what feminist scholar Moya Bailey <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479865109/misogynoir-transformed/">refers to as <em>misogynoir</em>, the ways anti-Black and misogynistic representation shape broader ideas about Black women</a>. </p>
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<img alt="Woman stands wearing silver medal making an X above her forehead" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415504/original/file-20210810-13-1rigm1x.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">
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<span class="caption">Raven Saunders of the United States poses with her silver medal she earned in women’s shot put making an X with her arms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)</span></span>
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<h2>Sacrificing mental health</h2>
<p>Gymnastics typically account for the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2016/08/04/gymnastics-track-and-swimming-will-win-ratings-gold-in-rio/?sh=22fe02925f11">highest TV ratings</a> for women’s sport at the Olympics. The competition was marketed around African American <a href="https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=164887">Simone Biles</a>, the global superstar who is a 32-time Olympic and world medallist.</p>
<p>Biles shocked the world this year by pulling out of the all-around team gymnastics competition. A slew of <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/piers-morgan-goes-simone-biles-131431421.html">demeaning “takes”</a> then flooded both <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmmjltfWfe0">news and social media</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/simone-biles-and-naomi-osaka-put-the-focus-on-the-importance-of-mental-performance-for-olympic-athletes-165219">Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka put the focus on the importance of mental performance for Olympic athletes</a>
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<p>According to sociologist Delia D. Douglas, Black athletes — especially Black women — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934711410880">must show graciousness, gratefulness, obedience, adhere to respectability politics and live up impossible standards</a>, including sacrificing their mental health. </p>
<p>Black women often challenge these narratives and in doing so are (not so) quiet champions for a variety of <a href="https://www.tsn.ca/female-athletes-take-a-central-role-in-u-s-election-through-political-activism-1.1546900">social justice issues both in and outside of sport</a>. As the Black feminist <a href="https://americanstudies.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Keyword%20Coalition_Readings.pdf">Combahee River Collective</a> reminds us, “the only people who care enough about Black women to work consistently for our liberation are Black women.”</p>
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<img alt="Simone Biles smiles excitedly wearing a unitard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415501/original/file-20210810-25-1x3a47i.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">
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<span class="caption">Simone Biles smiles as Tang Xijing of China embraces teammate Guan Chenchen after she won the gold medal on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women’s apparatus final at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)</span></span>
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<p>Following her withdrawal from the team competition, Biles then dropped out of additional events, leaving the beam her only remaining competition. The world <a href="https://www.golfdigest.com/story/simone-biles-team-usa-womens-gymnastics-silver-medal-tokyo-olympics">debated</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/07/simone-biles-doesnt-need-to-look-invincible/619606/">scorned</a> and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-07-27/simone-biles-celebrity-reactions-support">applauded her efforts</a> yet once again, a Black woman cleaved open the conversation about the mental health of athletes. </p>
<h2>Black women at the Olympics</h2>
<p>As the competition carried on, athletes, celebrities and politicians <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-07-27/simone-biles-celebrity-reactions-support">came out in support</a> of Biles and her decision. This compassion started to shift the seemingly impenetrable narrative that a gold medal is the only success worth celebrating at an Olympic competition. </p>
<p>Biles’s journey at the Olympics was framed as an act of rebellion against sporting federations, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which was recently held accountable for the mistreatment of athletes. Athletes are no longer remaining silent about overly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/30/nursing-moms-babies-tokyo-olympics/">restrictive rules</a> including those that limit sociopolitical expression.</p>
<p>African American athlete Raven Saunders deserves credit and celebration over her silver medal in shot put. Rule 50, which states that “<a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/olympics-rule-50-protest">every kind of demonstration or propaganda, whether political, religious, or racial, in the Olympic areas, is forbidden</a>”, was visibly contested by Saunders when she raised her two arms in the air to form an X on the podium. She stated that her medal represented where the “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/raven-saunders-podium-gesture-tokyo-olympics-1.6126142">oppressed meet</a>.” </p>
<p>Saunders went on to say that the IOC will “<a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8079122/raven-saunders-gesture-olympics/">never take her silver away</a>.” Hammer throw teammate Gwen Berry <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/03/sport/gwen-berry-fist-social-justice-tokyo-spt-intl/index.html">raised a fist in protest</a> of the investigation the IOC opened after Saunders’ noncompliance, which was since put on hold <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/08/03/raven-saunders-shot-put-silver-tokyo-olympics-mother-dies/5475666001/">after the death of her mother</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-power-of-no-simone-biles-naomi-osaka-and-black-womens-resistance-165318">The power of no: Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka and Black women's resistance</a>
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<p>In addition to increasing empathy for Black women and their intersectional plights, there was also a recognition of the athletic feats of Black women especially in sports historically dominated by white women.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2021/08/04/tamyra-mensah-stock-becomes-first-united-states-black-woman-win-gold-wrestling">U.S. wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock</a> became the first Black woman to win gold in freestyle wrestling. Dutch runner Sifan Hassan <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-track-and-field-sifan-hassan-sports-europe-7251c910cfad05dfacd504c9f810ca52">defied all odds</a> by winning her 1,500-metre heat, despite falling at the beginning of the final lap. Hassan went on to win gold in the 5,000 metres, bronze in the 1,500 metres and gold in the 10,000 metres.</p>
<p>In athletics’ most popular event, Jamaicans <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/athletics-thompson-herah-leads-jamaican-sweep-womens-100m-2021-07-31/">Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson</a> placed first, second and third respectively in the 100-metre sprint. </p>
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<img alt="Woman wearing unitard runs holding baton" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415503/original/file-20210810-23-18bb3q5.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">
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<span class="caption">Allyson Felix of the United States runs in the women’s 4 x 400-meter relay at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)</span></span>
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<p>Sprinter Allyson Felix, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html">champion of Black maternal health</a>, now dons the title of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/07/allyson-felix-usa-olympic-record-track-most-medals-carl-lewis">most decorated track and field athlete</a> in history. Her bronze medal performance in the 400-metre event signalled a win for motherhood, donning <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-06/track-star-allyson-felix-wins-olympic-medal-in-her-own-shoe-line">her newly designed shoe</a>, after her sponsorship <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/opinion/allyson-felix-pregnancy-nike.html">was slashed by Nike after becoming pregnant</a>.</p>
<p>Namibian runners were <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/opinion-case-of-namibian-runners-further-exposes-half-baked-testosterone-regulation-1.6092033">wrongly denied</a> entry into the Olympic 400-metre competition by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) due to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2012.725488">sexist, antiquated rules that regulate only women’s testosterone levels</a> — they were subsequently allowed to compete in the 200 metres. Christine Mboama captured silver, while Beatrice Masillingi finished fifth. </p>
<p>The IOC and IAAF might have unfairly felt a bit of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/04/sebastian-coe-claims-chrstine-mboma-tokyo-olympics-200m-silver-medal-shows-testosterone-rules-are-working">vindication</a> from this result, and the fight against sex and gender testing that overwhelmingly discriminates against Black and racialized women is consistently <a href="https://vimeo.com/386468558/a9c5f66487">being challenged and led by Black women</a>.</p>
<h2>Beyond the finish line</h2>
<p>Black women were once again trailblazers in Tokyo, shouldering the burden of contesting archaic and unfair rules and lack of accommodations. The Games may be over, but the legacy of the Black women athletes will be the rupture of destructive and limiting beliefs. </p>
<p>This legacy has the potential to permeate long after the medal ceremonies and homecoming celebrations. Compounded with COVID-19, athlete health is beginning to take precedence over any hardware or harmful narratives about pushing through injury, racial trauma or mental health issues. </p>
<p>We must thank the athletes, and particularly Black women, who continue to take risks, sacrifice and endure the pain and emotional turmoil of being game changers in racist and misogynist sport systems. Flourishing, experiencing joy and being supported remain conditional for Black women athletes — these athletes managed to shine brighter than gold, triumphing on their own terms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165847/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Braeden McKenzie receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Sport Canada. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:janelle.joseph@utoronto.ca">janelle.joseph@utoronto.ca</a> receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Sport Canada, and University of Toronto through the Connaught New Researcher Award and School of Cities Anti-Black Racism/Black Lives Fund. She is affiliated with the Black Canadian Coaches Association as the Director of Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sabrina Razack 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>Black women played a central role in the 2021 Olympic Games. And that role was more than just resistance and resilience.Sabrina Razack, Sessional Instructor, Kinesiology & Physical Education, University of TorontoBraeden McKenzie, PhD Candidate; Reseach Assistant @ the IDEAS lab, University of TorontoJanelle Joseph, Assistant Professor, Critical Studies of Race & Indigeneity, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1657372021-08-08T21:05:49Z2021-08-08T21:05:49ZWhat’s behind the spate of super-fast sprints at the Tokyo Olympics? Technology plays a role, but the real answer is training<p>The Tokyo Olympic Games have seen incredible performances in the short-distance track events. We have seen two major world records fall: the men’s and women’s 400-metre hurdles - and numerous personal best times. </p>
<p>In the women’s 400-metre hurdles, five of the eight competitors in the final ran personal bests. Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah set an Olympic record to win the women’s 100-metre event. A European record was set in the men’s 100-metre event, and all medallists in the race were slightly faster than the respective medal-winning times at the 2016 Rio Olympics. </p>
<p>What’s behind these super-fast times? Some have suggested the composition of the track, new “super spike” running shoes, or hot weather are responsible. While these almost certainly contributed to the results, another reason is likely to be more uninterrupted training through reduced international travel and competition in the months leading into the Tokyo Olympic Games. </p>
<p>This better preparation in turn is due to two things: first, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant less competition and more time for training; and second, steady improvements in sports science and applied research are maximising the extremes of human performance.
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<h2>Bouncy tracks, super spikes and heat</h2>
<p>The track surface at the Tokyo Olympic stadium, installed by an Italian company called Mondo, is designed to allow runners to better grip the surface while also providing better shock absorption. The surface contains hexagonal air chambers that can compress and bounce back with each step. </p>
<p>Many athletes are also wearing relatively new spikes containing a stiff and lightweight plate made from carbon fibre. The Nike version of these so-called “super spikes” also features a foam layer under the carbon fibre to provide additional spring.</p>
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<p>These Nike shoes in particular have been criticised as providing an unreasonable advantage, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/aug/03/karsten-warholm-slams-super-spikes-as-threat-to-track-and-field-credibility">including</a> by 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm. Warholm wore Puma carbon-fibre spikes without the additional foam in his world record-setting win, while silver medallist Rai Benjamin wore Nike’s version. </p>
<p>The weather in Tokyo, with temperatures in the 30s and humidity sometimes over 80%, may have also contributed to the fast times in sprint events. Hot conditions means warmer muscles, which can produce force more quickly, making for faster sprinting. </p>
<p>Heat and humidity also put greater strain on athletes over longer distances, which is the main reason we have seen fewer records fall in the track endurance events.</p>
<h2>Uninterrupted training and competition</h2>
<p>However, suggesting these personal best performances and record times in sprint events can be fully attributed to environmental conditions, new shoe technology and the track surface is a little disrespectful to the athletes. Both Warholm and Sydney McLaughlin, who respectively set the new men’s and women’s records for 400m hurdles, broke previous records they had recently set themselves. </p>
<p>On Tuesday Warholm smashed the record he had claimed in July, and on Wednesday McLaughlin beat the time she set in June. Both athletes were in career-best form heading into Tokyo. </p>
<p>All the athletes were aiming to achieve peak performance at Tokyo by precisely timing their training and recovery cycles. This gives them the best chance of maximal performance: personal best times, and for some Olympic or world records. </p>
<p>In addition to manipulating their training programs to peak at Tokyo, at the Olympics the best are racing against the best. This high level of competition raises the standard of each round compared with other international races, and this too contributes to the number of world-class performances in Tokyo. </p>
<p>For example, McLaughlin and her US teammate Dalilah Muhammad have both previously set the 400m hurdles world record when competing against each other. There is no doubt competition with other world-class athletes creates a favourable scenario for achieving more fast times.</p>
<h2>COVID and research</h2>
<p>Perhaps surprisingly, COVID-19 may have also played a role in these intense track performances. The pandemic has meant a reduced racing schedule over the past 18 months, with far less international travel and few races.</p>
<p>This may have allowed for more consistent training with fewer interruptions and peaks and declines organised around races. It is conceivable that this has contributed to some of the world-class performances we have seen.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/record-setting-performances-at-the-tokyo-olympics-come-after-months-of-pandemic-induced-stress-163623">Record-setting performances at the Tokyo Olympics come after months of pandemic-induced stress</a>
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<p>In addition to all of these factors, sports science research and support plays an important role in improving performance. Continued applied sports science research in athletes and the ongoing effort to push human limits to performance means we are likely to see world records being broken at the next Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 and beyond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165737/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phil Bellinger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Super spikes’ and a springy track can’t take all the credit for lightning-fast sprint times at the Tokyo OlympicsPhil Bellinger, Lecturer in exercise science, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1655802021-08-08T14:33:11Z2021-08-08T14:33:11ZFewer viewers, nervous sponsors: The Olympics must rethink efforts to stay relevant<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415108/original/file-20210808-27-oitz0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C5%2C3969%2C2634&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Olympic flag is lowered during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics – the first Games to be held without spectators because of concerns of spreading COVID-19. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> (AP Photo/David Goldman) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the conclusion of every Olympics, there are reflections on the importance and relevance of the Games. There are always a wide range of opinions, from those who praise the movement as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-the-olympics-still-matter-90215">global humanitarian platform</a> to others who criticize the Games due to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics.html">sustainability, environmental and human rights concerns</a>.</p>
<p>International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach called the Tokyo Games the “most challenging Olympic journey” <a href="https://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Mixed-bag-Erratic-Pandemic-Olympics-winds-to-a-16372498.php">during his speech at the closing ceremonies</a>. The Games were postponed a year, held during a pandemic emergency that barred fans from the stands and had reluctant support from the host country. And there are other challenges ahead for the Olympic movement. </p>
<p>Given all of the problems facing the Olympic movement, what is the relevance of the modern Olympic Games from a consumer, marketing, media and economic perspective?</p>
<h2>Eyeballs matter</h2>
<p>Olympic viewership dropped significantly this year, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/why-tv-audiences-are-tuning-out-tokyo-olympic-games-2021-07-30/">with some estimates</a> noting close to a 50-per-cent decline from the 2016 Rio Games — including for the lead television partner NBC Universal, which paid over US$7 billion to extend its U.S. broadcast rights for the Olympics through 2032.</p>
<p>Despite parallel streaming arrangements with all major Olympic network partners, viewers in North America and Europe were considerably fragmented, if not frustrated, with being many time zones away while major events were taking place live. The Canadian rights holder to the Games, the CBC, said it <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/cbc-tokyo-olympics-ratings-1.6135953#">had a record number of views via its digital platforms</a> after initial reports of a <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2021/08/03/with-empty-stands-and-viewership-way-down-olympics-still-gold-for-advertisers-and-broadcasters.html">decline in ratings on traditional broadcast channels</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A beach volleyball game taking place in an empty stadium" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415059/original/file-20210806-19-i6foxb.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">
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<span class="caption">A women’s beach volleyball match in the empty Shiokaze Park at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>More troubling for the International Olympic Committee is growing evidence of a general decline in interest in the Olympics from young people, <a href="https://www.ypulse.com/article/2021/06/10/this-is-how-many-gen-z-millennials-say-theyll-watch-the-olympics-this-summer/">including Generation Z</a>.</p>
<p>Support from key sponsors is also declining. Toyota announced on the eve of the Games that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-2020-tokyo-olympics-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-5eb0e254b9a0cac7ad57005677eebe66">it wouldn’t air any Olympic-themed TV ads in Japan</a>, even though it signed a US$1 billion sponsorship in 2015. Other sponsors are <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/20/1018390493/toyota-and-other-big-olympics-sponsors-are-downplaying-their-ties-to-the-games">minimizing their Olympic commitments</a>, raising questions about the perceived value of the hefty partnership deals.</p>
<h2>Olympic economics</h2>
<p>The Olympic Games are a massive social and financial undertaking. It’s estimated the Tokyo Games will <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tokyo-olympics-staggering-price-tag-and-where-it-stands-in-history-11627049612#:%7E:text=The%20average%20cost%20per%20event,million%3B%20%2439.2%20million%20for%20Winter">cost over US$20 billion</a>.</p>
<p>While cities once competed fiercely for the right to host the Olympics, the steep costs, coupled with waning public sentiment, has resulted in less countries willing to take on the multi-billion-dollar commitment. Case in point: when Brisbane, Australia, was recently <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-brisbane-australia-olympic-team-germany-olympic-team-cbaf0d0e504b8bb3861f35c2876b7bbb">announced as the host of the 2032 Olympics</a>, there were no other rival bids.</p>
<p>The economics and expenses of the Olympic Games has been generally well supported by a highly structured means of revenue, which is led by significant broadcast contracts, followed by the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/roles-and-responsibilities-of-the-ioc-and-its-partners/how-are-the-olympic-games-financed">The Olympic Partners (TOP) program</a> that was established following the highly successful 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. A small group of international partners in the TOP program each pay <a href="https://adage.com/article/special-report-olympics/faq-everything-you-need-know-advertising-marketing-sponsorship-athlete-pay-nbc-olympics-2020-2021/2351056">approximately US$200 million per four-year cycle</a> to be an Olympic partner, including multinational companies like Coca-Cola, Dow and General Electric.</p>
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<img alt="Women holding up sign that says Brisbane 2032" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415058/original/file-20210806-90838-k920qe.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">
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<span class="caption">Australian politician Annastacia Palaszczuk celebrates after Brisbane was announced as the 2032 Summer Olympics host city during the IOC Session at Hotel Okura in Tokyo on July 21.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP)</span></span>
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<p>The core profits from both the media and marketing partnerships are ultimately dependent on the interest and consumption of the Olympics.</p>
<p>Corporate and media investments are based on the premise that consumers around the globe are tuned in to the Games (and are watching key corporate partner messages), that major corporate partners want to be affiliated with the Olympics and all they represent, and that hundreds of thousands of tickets will be sold to people who want to attend the competitions.</p>
<p>Given the recent free-fall of interest and <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2021/07/2021-olympics-controversy-makes-the-games-hard-to-watch.html">global awareness of the Olympics</a>, this traditional Games revenue model will be significantly challenged moving forward.</p>
<p>It was <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-30/olympics-ratings-slump-forces-nbc-to-haggle-with-advertisers">recently reported</a> that Olympic advertisers are renegotiating with NBC given the less-than-promised viewing numbers. The U.S. broadcaster had expected to generate <a href="https://adage.com/article/special-report-olympics/faq-everything-you-need-know-advertising-marketing-sponsorship-athlete-pay-nbc-olympics-2020-2021/2351056">more than US$1 billion in ad sales</a> during these Games. Likewise, sponsors have sought make-good provisions from broadcasters and Games stakeholders to safeguard their expenditures.</p>
<h2>What now for the Olympics’ economic model?</h2>
<p>Given changing consumer, corporate and geopolitical sentiments, the current model of the Olympic Games is outdated. As Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Branch <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/17/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics.html">recently wrote in the <em>New York Times</em></a>: “In some ways — too many ways, critics argue — the Olympics are stuck in time, a 19th-century construct floating through a 21st-century world.” </p>
<p>The Olympic movement, which has been called “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/business/media/nbc-olympics-tv-ratings.html#:%7E:text=The%20Olympics%20coverage%20is%20headed,in%20an%20interview%20on%20Thursday">the most complicated sports event in the world</a>,” will have to dramatically rethink its current strategy and economic model to stay relevant to its partners and fans.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165580/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>The Olympics will have to be adaptable in order to keep up with the rapidly shifting economic landscape and changing interest in the Games if it wants to continue to turn massive profits.Cheri L. Bradish, Professor of Sport Business, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityNicholas Burton, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1656762021-08-06T14:17:26Z2021-08-06T14:17:26ZOlympics: Namibia’s sprinters highlight a flawed testosterone testing system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414774/original/file-20210805-25-ptdwi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beatrice Masilingi (left) celebrates with her Namibian teammate and silver medal winner Christine Mboma at the Tokyo Olympic Games.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ryan Pierse/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Namibian athletes <a href="https://www.namibian.com.na/104053/read/And-still-they-rise--Olympic-final-at-the-age-of-18-for-Mboma-and-Masilingi">Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi</a> began to make headlines in 2021 for their exceptional 400-meter sprint times. In July, it was confirmed that the 18-year-old athletes had been <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/57678741">barred</a> from the 400m event at the <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/">Tokyo Olympics</a> because of too-high natural testosterone levels according to <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-release/eligibility-regulations-for-female-classifica">World Athletics</a>’ track and field <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/olympics/track-and-field-testosterone-rules/507-a0d38a16-1825-42ae-8fe8-afaed2a99053">rules</a>. (The rules don’t apply to the 200-meter sprint and they both qualified for this, with Mboma <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/58069417">finishing second</a>.) This <a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-testing-at-the-olympics-should-be-abolished-once-and-for-all-132956">ongoing ‘sex testing’ controversy</a> also dashed South African star <a href="https://theconversation.com/caster-semenya-the-legal-and-ethical-issues-that-should-concern-us-all-117636">Caster Semenya’s</a> hopes of defending her 800-meter Olympic title. Dr Nana Adom-Aboagye from the Centre for Sport Leadership at Maties Sport (Stellenbosch University) researches African women and gender equity in sport. We asked her what issues the tests raise for African athletes.</em></p>
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<h2>What are the testosterone rules?</h2>
<p>Testosterone testing in sport is about gender verification. Gender verification of female athletes lends itself to the ongoing and rigid framework of socially constructed expectations about physiological sex. </p>
<p>To break it down, testosterone is a naturally occurring hormone, a chemical affecting the body’s growth and development. Testosterone is associated with males, but men and women all have varying levels of testosterone. In recent years, discussions around the perceived advantage of high testosterone levels and their perceived impact on performance has placed the spotlight on female athletes in particular.</p>
<p>World Athletics (formerly the International Amateur Athletics Federation or IAAF) responded by <a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/news/press-release/eligibility-regulations-for-female-classifica">designing rules</a> (updated in 2018) to deal with the dilemma presented by female athletes who were born with testosterone levels higher than the typical female range. These athletes are banned from competing at certain events unless they agree to artificially lower their testosterone through medication or surgery, an option for which there is currently no scientific data on the long-term effects. </p>
<p>The real question is how we got here. The debate and push for testosterone rules started over a decade ago, when a few within the athletics (track and field) fraternity started raising questions as to what it means to be ‘female’ and ‘a woman’ in sport. This has led to a fractious period, seemingly spearheaded by World Athletics, where, based on masculine-seeming features and good performances, women are being singled out and subjected to sex testing in order to verify their sex. Some of these women have naturally high occurring testosterone levels, such as the Namibian athletes. Others, like <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/5/3/18526723/caster-semenya-800-gender-race-intersex-athletes">Caster Semenya</a>, soon learn that they have Differences of Sexual Development – <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/athletics-namibian-sprinters-resurrect-paradox-dsd-rules-2021-08-03/">called DSD</a> – and are considered <a href="https://interactadvocates.org/faq/">intersex</a>. </p>
<h2>How have the rules impacted African women athletes?</h2>
<p>There have been claims that high testosterone occurrence mostly affects women from Africa and South Asia. There is, however, not enough scientific data at present to justify these claims. The appearance of women with high testosterone coming from these areas is likely due to more women from these regions <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59cbf833d55b413ec97ad0ff/t/5bb287b8ec212d53f29f5855/1538426827713/1-30_2+Karkazis+%281-39%29.pdf">being identified for sex testing</a> by athletics officials. </p>
<p>This raises two issues in particular around which there isn’t clarity and that have not been explored in depth. Firstly, why do testosterone levels seemingly differ among women of different racial groups and different geographic regions? Secondly, why does World Athletics refuse to share their identifying criteria for choosing certain female athletes over others when they enforce sex testing? </p>
<p>World Athletics also uses what some scholars and scientists <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/4/3/36">deem to be</a> flawed criteria in identifying which particular events should be included in a ban. This issue becomes even more strained and contentious as scholars and scientists – such as South Africa’s world renowned sports scientist <a href="https://sportsscientists.com/who-are-we/">Ross Tucker</a> – challenge that high testosterone alone cannot justify ‘unfair’ advantage among elite sportswomen. Tucker <a href="https://sportsscientists.com/2019/05/on-dsds-the-theory-of-testosterone-performance-the-cas-ruling-on-caster-semenya/">argues that</a> the current debates around high levels of testosterone in female athletes is a complex issue that will challenge the scientific community with respect to ethical merits versus sound research. There is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/mar/20/testosterone-limits-for-female-athletes-not-backed-by-science-say-academics">insufficient scientific proof</a> supporting current testosterone rules. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-naturally-high-testosterone-levels-equal-stronger-female-athletic-performance-not-necessarily-160009">Do naturally high testosterone levels equal stronger female athletic performance? Not necessarily</a>
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<p>What this has led to, is the appearance of World Athletics ‘targeting’ African women, based on their supposed masculine features, once they start excelling on the global stage. It seems especially true if they are from developing countries or marginalised backgrounds. </p>
<h2>So this is also a human rights issue?</h2>
<p>It is a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/12/04/theyre-chasing-us-away-sport/human-rights-violations-sex-testing-elite-women">human rights violation</a> because many of these women – and, recently, young girls – are being subjected to public scrutiny and often ridiculed by sectors of society that do not know better. These females are either being forced into testing or not told what they are being tested for. This means, ethically, they have not given consent. All of this in order to justify their existence. And once their ‘advantages’ have been publicly shared, they are forced to alter their natural genetic make up, change athletics events or give up on athletics altogether, which many have chosen to do. This not only impacts on their means of earning a living, but on their mental health as well. All of this goes against the United Nation’s <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>.</p>
<p>The perceived infringement on basic human rights and the legal implications and breach by World Athletics’ testosterone rules led Professor <a href="https://www.up.ac.za/private-law/article/1907996/professor-steve-j-cornelius">Steve Cornelius</a> from the University of Pretoria to tender <a href="https://www.teamsa.co.za/tuks-academic-cornelius-resigns-over-caster-issue/">his resignation</a> as a member of the World Athletics (then IAAF) Disciplinary Tribunal. He went on to join Semenya’s legal team in challenging the regulations. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sex-testing-at-the-olympics-should-be-abolished-once-and-for-all-132956">Sex testing at the Olympics should be abolished once and for all</a>
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<h2>What needs to be done about it?</h2>
<p>The case of Beatrice Masilingi and Christine Mboma, the latest and youngest females to be targeted by this issue, just before the greatest moment in their careers, is indicative of a need for changes in sport, especially in World Athletics. Instead of having their performances heralded in the women’s 200-meter final, global headlines are focusing on whether or not they should be allowed to be who they are. </p>
<p>What is needed, urgently, is a collective stand by African sport practitioners, scientists and scholars in lobbying the current issue as a political agenda. This could lead to much needed state support and involvement in challenging the direction that sporting history seems to be taking. A unified and lobbied approach from Africa, with government support, could highlight the urgency needed in requesting that the issue of testosterone levels in women’s sport be explored in depth by a multidisciplinary, independent and representative team. </p>
<p>Education is also needed on what it truly means to have high levels of testosterone as a woman in (elite) sport. Through public education people become aware of the science of the issue, the human rights involved, and what is truly fair and unfair in sport. African sport can contribute towards hearing the voices of African female athletes in order for change to happen for future generations.</p>
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<p><em>A <a href="https://twitter.com/akua85/status/1422915150844211206">webinar</a> titled Testosterone & Women’s Sport: An Understanding and Way Forward for Africa will be co-hosted by the author on 18 August 2021. To register, email nadom-aboagye@sun.ac.za</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nana Adom - Aboagye does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The controversy over female athletes being tested for testosterone levels is not just a contested scientific issue but also one of human rights.Nana Adom - Aboagye, Postdoctoral research fellow, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1654512021-08-05T16:11:46Z2021-08-05T16:11:46ZBoycotting the next Olympics in Beijing will hurt athletes: Here’s a better idea<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414441/original/file-20210803-15-1vse00i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5000%2C3330&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Attendees wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus look at an exhibit at a visitors center at the Winter Olympic venues in Beijing in February. Human rights groups have called for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics due to reported human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in China.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the Tokyo Olympics coming to an end, human rights activists are expected to step up their campaign against the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in protest against the genocide of <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/09/interview-chinas-crackdown-turkic-muslims">the Uyghurs and other Turkic-speaking people</a> in Xinjiang, the colonization of Tibet and the suppression of democracy in Hong Kong. They will call upon the International Olympic Committee to cancel or move the Games that start in just six months, and if that fails, they’ll urge athletes to boycott. </p>
<p>As frightening as those human rights abuses are, they’re not likely to persuade the IOC or athletes to change their plans for Beijing. Cancelling, moving or boycotting the Beijing Olympics runs counter to the very purpose and history of the Olympic movement and places athletes in an untenable position.</p>
<h2>Choosing a different strategy</h2>
<p>Given the almost constant tensions in world politics and international sports, boycotts and threats of boycotts have almost been an accepted feature of the modern Olympics. The first occurred at the inaugural Games in Athens in 1896, when German gymnasts known as “turners” refused to participate because most of the events were British sport.</p>
<p>There have been feminist boycotts (<a href="https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Women_and_Sports_in_the_United_States/utWx5SNoxXAC?hl=en&gbpv=1">British women stayed away from Amsterdam</a> in 1928 when the IOC reneged on its promise to add 10 women’s events to the athletics program), podium protests against racism (<a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2016/08/07/the-forgotten-story-behind-the-black-power-photo-from-1968-olympics.html">Tommie Smith, John Carlos</a> and other U.S. athletes in 1968), so-called recognition boycotts (<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/taiwan-controversy-at-the-1976-montreal-olympics">Taiwan left in 1976</a> when the IOC refused to call it the “Republic of China”), anti-apartheid boycotts (29 African and Caribbean teams <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/the-olympics-used-to-be-so-politicized-that-most-of-africa-boycotted-in-1976/260831/">walked out of the Montreal Olympics in 1976</a> to protest a New Zealand rugby tour of apartheid South Africa) and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sports-virus-outbreak-afghanistan-boycotts-cold-war-8b447c53e96621f1ca2b06e8621b351f">Cold War boycotts</a> in 1956, 1980, 1984 and 1988.</p>
<p>In 1936, an international coalition of socialists, labour unions and churches not only mounted a highly visible boycott campaign against the staging of the Games in Nazi Germany, but tried to hold a <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/protest-olympics-never-came-be-180978179/">counter-Olympics in Barcelona</a>. It was only cancelled when the Spanish general Francisco Franco led an armed attack upon the city on the morning of the opening ceremonies, starting what became the bitter, three-year Spanish Civil War.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Crowd of men and women in matching striped jackets standing in airport gate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414439/original/file-20210803-19-1b5wrgl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Nigerian Olympic team prepare for their journey home at Montréal’s Mirabel Airport after it was announced they would boycott the 1976 Olympic Games. The boycott came after the IOC refused to expel New Zealand from competition after its rugby team did a tour of apartheid South Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the Olympic movement is not indifferent to human rights, it seeks to bring representatives of every community in the world together for peaceful dialogue and sports — recognizing that there are very real political and ideological differences among nations.</p>
<p>To build such a big, inclusive tent, it makes few demands upon National Olympic Committees, the international federations that govern the sports or the host countries. It’s the sporting equivalent of the long-held principle of “non-intervention” in the internal affairs of nation states.</p>
<p>As the world has begun to contemplate the obligation of the international community to safeguard citizens from an abusive national state, activists are calling on the IOC to apply and enforce human rights upon National Olympic Committees, federations and host countries. That battle is far from won.</p>
<p>The IOC has been able to withstand boycotts because it selects its own members, a grossly undemocratic process that ironically has enabled it to stand up to the strongest governments. In 1980, in the face of intense pressure from U.S. President Jimmy Carter to cancel or move the Moscow Olympics, the IOC voted unanimously to go ahead. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Statue of a man in front of a sports stadium bearing the Olympic rings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414440/original/file-20210803-23-165w8g8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A statue of Lenin sits outside of Lenin Stadium, the main stadium for the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow. The United States and 65 other countries, including Canada, boycotted the Moscow Olympics in protest of Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While most athletes are concerned with human rights, an earlier generation learned in 1980 that governments, corporations and human rights activists are quick to volunteer them for symbolic actions, only to find that they’re the only ones who actually sacrificed something important.</p>
<p>In 1980, the government of Pierre Trudeau forced Canadian athletes to stay home, despite their strong objection, and then cut their funds afterwards. The oral history of that bitter experience looms large in the informal discussions about the proposed Beijing boycott currently taking place among Canadian athletes.</p>
<h2>A way forward without boycotting</h2>
<p>Is there a way for the Olympic community to attend the Games without legitimizing atrocities in China? As an Olympian and an academic who has studied the Olympic movement for decades, I believe there is.</p>
<p>Instead of the IOC knuckling under host country repression, as it did in Beijing in 2008 and Sochi in 2014, it should ensure that the freedom of expression now guaranteed in the revised <a href="https://olympics.com/athlete365/what-we-do/voice/athlete-expression-rule-50/">Rule 50</a> should be respected during the 2022 Winter Olympics. Activists should insist that no one will be penalized under the revised rule.</p>
<p>Secondly, the IOC should affirm the importance of human rights and full intercultural exchange in the opening ceremonies and the schedule of events and meetings in the Olympic Village, <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/pierre-de-coubertin/sport-as-a-human-right">as modern Olympic founder Pierre de Coubertin</a> always intended. That would give athletes and others concerned about human rights the opportunity to express their views freely with other Olympic participants and their hosts without constraint.</p>
<p>There is Olympic precedent that needs to be remembered and strengthened. In 1936, when he arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany for the Winter Olympics, IOC president Henri Baillet-Latour found the city plastered with anti-Semitic, Nazi propaganda. He immediately met with Adolf Hitler and demanded that the posters and flags be taken down.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man lighting Olympic torch in foreground with lines of Nazi soliders lined up behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414435/original/file-20210803-25-epojn1.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">German Nazi soldiers line up at attention during the lighting of the Olympic torch at the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Hitler is said to have replied: “When one visits a home, one doesn’t immediately ask the host to redecorate.” Baillet-Latour rejoined: “Yes, Mr. Chancellor, but when the Olympics is held, it’s not a national city but an Olympic city, and should be held according to Olympic rules. The propaganda must come down.” It did.</p>
<p>Baillet-Latour also established the requirement that the host country must recognize every participant duly entered by a National Olympic Committee, regardless of their background, a stipulation that ensured full participation in Berlin and during the Cold War.</p>
<p>In the end, the 1936 Games were a tremendous propaganda victory for Hitler, and the world lost sight of the safeguards won by the IOC. But an updated version of that strategy would be useful today.</p>
<p>The IOC should make it clear that while it’s grateful to China for hosting the Winter Olympics, the Olympic movement guarantees the right to free speech — including the condemnation of genocide and other abuses — within the Olympic precincts. Activists should support it.</p>
<p>It would be an important step on the long road to human rights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165451/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Kidd is an honorary member of the Canadian Olympic Committee. </span></em></p>Instead of boycotting the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, activists should pressure the IOC to let anyone attending the Games to express their views on China without fear of penalization.Bruce Kidd, Professor Emeritus of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1655032021-08-05T13:37:12Z2021-08-05T13:37:12ZGiant inflatables and flying dancers: Olympic art has always turned heads<p>In the days before the Tokyo 2020 <a href="https://theconversation.com/very-genki-slightly-kitsch-occasionally-compelling-the-olympic-opening-ceremony-put-humanity-in-centre-frame-164786">opening ceremony</a>, a giant head emerged, floating over the city. Entitled <a href="https://hyperallergic.com/663886/giant-balloon-face-floats-over-tokyo/">Masayume</a> (which means “a dream come true” in Japanese), this oversized balloon by artist collective Me (“eyes”), was part of the <a href="https://tokyotokyofestival.jp/en/media/">Tokyo Tokyo Festival</a>, as an arts response to the Olympic Games. </p>
<p>Art has long accompanied the arrival of the Olympics in a city. Budgets might vary, but the Games are the largest event out there. Local organisations and the Olympic Organising Committee (IOC) both seek to capitalise on the attention the Games garner by generating extracurricular cultural moments that echo the athletic accomplishments in the stadiums. </p>
<p>From Leni Riefenstahl’s film, Olympia, at the Berlin 1936 Games to <a href="https://www.phillips.com/detail/andy-warhol/UK030113/64">Speed Skater</a>, Andy Warhol’s print for Sarajevo 1984, artists have contributed to modern Olympic narratives in iconic ways. The purpose of these interventions, not to mention their desired audience, has varied considerably.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H3LOPhRq3Es?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Leni Riefenstahl, Olympia, Festival of Nations (1936), which documented the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympics.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Controversy and political statement</h2>
<p>Between 1912 and 1948, official <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Clive-Palmer-National-Teaching-Fellow/publication/282357243_Stephan_Wassong_Karl_Lennartz_and_Thomas_Zawadzki_2008_Olympic_art_contests_1912-1948_their_invention_and_demise_Chapter_25_pp241-251_In_Palmer_C_and_Torevell_D_Eds_The_turn_to_aesthetics_Liverpool_Ho/links/560e356f08ae967420111857/Stephan-Wassong-Karl-Lennartz-and-Thomas-Zawadzki-2008-Olympic-art-contests-1912-1948-their-invention-and-demise-Chapter-25-pp241-251-In-Palmer-C-and-Torevell-D-Eds-The-turn-to-aesthetics-Liverpo.pdf">Olympic art competitions</a> accompanied the Games. Artists, sculptors and architects competed for gold, silver and bronze medals, with winning entries including designs for stadiums and future official Olympic medals. </p>
<p>The most influential artistic intervention from this period, however, was delivered out of competition. With <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Olympia/5x9dDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=olympia+leni+riefenstahl+film+history&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover">Olympia</a> Riefenstahl shaped the narrative of the 1936 Berlin Games and made a lasting mark on film-making worldwide. Debate continues on whether the film is a <a href="https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.co.uk/&httpsredir=1&article=1047&context=pes_facpub">piece of Nazi propaganda</a> or a universal celebration of sport aesthetics.</p>
<p>The Mexico 1968 Games also resulted in multiple lasting narratives, infused with the political upheavals of the era. The fabled <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jsporthistory.37.1.119">black power salute</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/fifty-years-later-peter-normans-heroic-olympic-stand-is-finally-being-recognised-at-home-102112">photograph</a> – featuring American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, each raising a black-gloved fist during the US national anthem on the Olympic podium – is doubtless the enduring legacy of that edition. </p>
<p>Those Olympics left other lasting traces. In a bid to visually integrate sculpture and architecture with the Olympic Village, architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, the chairman of the Olympic Games organising committee, and artist Mathias Goeritz conceived of the <a href="http://ru.micisan.unam.mx/bitstream/handle/123456789/19006/VOM-0082-0033.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">Route of Friendship</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An abstract structure of reinforced concrete, painted yellow, on a Mexican road" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=440&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414793/original/file-20210805-23-1h5p5mn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=553&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">French sculptor Jorge Dubon’s contribution, in reinforced concrete, to the Route of Friendship sculpture trail for the Mexico 1968 Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Mexico_68_Jorge_Dubon.jpg">Jorge Dubon | Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A meander of 19 monumental sculptures (by international artists including Alexander Calder) installed along southern Mexico City’s Beltway, it <a href="http://ru.micisan.unam.mx/bitstream/handle/123456789/19006/VOM-0082-0033.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">was a first</a> for government-sponsored public art in Mexico, being both abstract and fully integrated into urban planning. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://library.olympics.com/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/78766/artistic-and-cultural-program-of-the-games-of-the-xix-olympiad-comite-organizador-de-los-juegos-de-l">official cultural programme</a> of the Mexico 1968 Games is seen as the most ambitious in history. It positioned the nation as a world-leading art and culture hub, from <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Spectacular_Mexico/oS90DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Mexico+1968+graphic+design+Olympic&pg=PT7&printsec=frontcover">graphic design and advertising</a> to the performing and visual arts. And it set the example for how the Games could showcase culture, not just as heritage, but of equal contemporary value as the Olympic sports themselves.</p>
<h2>Host star</h2>
<p>At the Barcelona 1992 Summer Games, the <a href="http://ceo.uab.cat/en/b/moragas-botella-keys-success-impact-barcelona-1992-olympic-games/">host city</a> became the star, the athletes’ equal. The <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230294790_15">public art programme</a> effectively rebranded Barcelona as the culture tourist hub we know today. There was art on the street (by luminaries including Elsworth Kelly and Antoni Tapiès) and on rediscovered beaches (Rebecca Horn), with an <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-designing-an-olympic-logo-is-so-difficult-164984">indelible logo</a> <a href="https://www.theolympicdesign.com/olympic-design/emblems/barcelona-1992/">riffing on</a> Joan Miró’s paintings, the city’s most famous son.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A large steel and glass sculpture on a beach in Barcelona" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414803/original/file-20210805-21-16ndplm.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">L'Estel Ferit (The Wounded Shooting Star) by German artist Rebecca Horn, installed on Sant Miquel beach for the Barcelona 1992 Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lotrex/19249275378/">Marc Garrido Clotet | flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By the time the London 2012 Games came round, expectations of what Olympic art programmes could do for a country had grown exponentially. The ambitious <a href="https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3084282/1/Garcia%282015%29CultureAtHeartGames-London2012GAmes.pdf">Cultural Olympiad</a> saw events and exhibitions nationwide bring art to unusual spaces, with young people at the helm. </p>
<p>There was the <a href="https://www.liftfestival.com/events/one-extraordinary-day/">One Extraordinary Day</a> dance extravaganza, wherein aerial performers battled gravity on London’s signature structures, from the Millennium Bridge to the London Eye. And the eye-catching responses to heritage locations, from Jeremy Deller’s <a href="https://elephant.art/stupid-artwork-ever-jeremy-dellers-bouncy-castle-stonehenge/">inflatable Stonehenge</a> to <a href="http://www.digiart21.org/art/connecting-light">interactive light displays</a> at Hadrian’s Wall.
British sculptor Anish Kapoor’s Acerolmittal Orbit tower, meanwhile, remains London 2012’s most visible and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10486801.2013.839175">most controversial</a> symbol. </p>
<p>The value of these interventions have been discussed in an extensive <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4178325/London_2012_Cultural_Olympiad_Evaluation_ExecutiveSummary">evaluation programme</a> – the first time that the impact of art and culture at an Olympics Games has been documented in such detail. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Punters jump on an inflatable Stonehenge art installation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414807/original/file-20210805-27-tcwgnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414807/original/file-20210805-27-tcwgnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414807/original/file-20210805-27-tcwgnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414807/original/file-20210805-27-tcwgnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414807/original/file-20210805-27-tcwgnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414807/original/file-20210805-27-tcwgnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414807/original/file-20210805-27-tcwgnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jeremy Deller’s Sacrilege, Stonehenge on tour, conceived for London 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/50144889@N08/7444268168">Robert Pittman | flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The future</h2>
<p>Tokyo 2020’s official cultural programme, the <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/events/nippon-festival/">Nippon Festival</a>, has not been as visible and meaningful to international audiences as the organising committee might have liked. The local authority and arts council have, however, been savvy in positioning the Tokyo Tokyo Festival as a fullblown artworld event. Of 2,436 public proposals, <a href="https://ttf-koubo.jp/en/">13 large-scale artworks</a> were commissioned, including that giant inflatable and <a href="https://ttf-koubo.jp/en/project/jason-bruges-studio/">a robotic Zen garden</a>. </p>
<p>Further, the IOC has, for the first time, presented its own take on how culture meets sport with the inaugural <a href="https://olympics.com/olympic-agora/en/">Olympic Agora</a>. The purpose of this new space has been to present public art commissions - including a permanent installation, entitled <a href="https://olympics.com/olympic-agora/en/legacy-sculpture">The Audience</a> by French artist Xavier Veilhan - and major exhibitions that tell the story of the Games and the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/olympic-movement">Olympic Movement</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A dancer in a red unitard flies off a scaffolding structure in Central London" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414806/original/file-20210805-21-15hndm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/414806/original/file-20210805-21-15hndm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414806/original/file-20210805-21-15hndm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414806/original/file-20210805-21-15hndm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414806/original/file-20210805-21-15hndm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414806/original/file-20210805-21-15hndm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/414806/original/file-20210805-21-15hndm7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=657&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Performers from the New York-based dance company Streb take flight in Trafalgar Square during the London 2012 Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/botosynthetic/7581217632/">smokeghost | flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>The Agora, thus, represents a position statement for the IOC rather than the host city. It remains to be seen whether Veilhan’s piece will gain credibility as an Olympic art landmark, whether it can impress savvy art audiences or tell future tourists enough about Tokyo as an Olympic city. For residents and Olympic fans alike, however, it will surely become a symbol of what it took to host these historic Games in the middle of a pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beatriz Garcia was appointed by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games organising committee to direct the evaluation of the Games Cultural Olympiad between 2012 and 2013. She undertook this role as an academic representing the University of Liverpool. Beatriz was also invited to Tokyo in 2019 to share her academic knowledge about the history and management of Olympic arts programming with the team in charge of the Nippon Festival.</span></em></p>The giant head spotted hovering over the Tokyo skyline in recent weeks is the latest in a long line of Olympic art moments. Debate and controversy are never far behind.Beatriz Garcia, Director, Cities of Culture Research Observatory, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1655462021-08-05T09:12:50Z2021-08-05T09:12:50ZSexism and sport: why body-baring team uniforms are bad for girls and women<p>Team outfits and fashion were not supposed to be a big talking point at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. But <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/forced-to-play-in-panties-the-norwegian-beach-handball-team-decided-theyd-had-enough/">protests</a> over skimpy uniforms by two women’s teams in the months before the games have brought bikinis and high-cut leotards into the spotlight. Now these high-profile campaigns are leaving Olympians, fans and aspiring young athletes wondering: why <em>are</em> women expected to bare their bodies while men cover up?</p>
<p>In April, the German women’s gymnastics team ditched the traditional, high-cut leg-baring leotards for ankle-length unitards, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56858863">protesting the “sexualisation”</a> of their bodies. This dissent was intended to highlight and prevent sexual abuse in the sport, following recent high-profile cases in the <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/07/27/usa-gymnastics-larry-nasser-abuse-scandal-looms-over-tokyo-olympics/5375279001/">US</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/26/british-gymnastics-faces-class-action-lawsuit-from-17-alleging-abuse-jennifer-pinches">UK</a>. They continued their <a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/tokyo-olympics-2020-german-gymnasts-protest-against-sexualisation-in-the-sport-by-wearing-fulllength-unitards/news-story/ebadd8687299f3140667a58a271260c4#:%7E:text=The%20German%20women's%20gymnastics%20team,unitards%20at%20the%20Tokyo%20Olympics.&text=The%20German%20team%20first%20wore,%22sexualisation%22%20of%20the%20sport.">protest</a> at the Tokyo Olympics. </p>
<p>In a similar move, the Norwegian women’s beach handball team were <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/forced-to-play-in-panties-the-norwegian-beach-handball-team-decided-theyd-had-enough/">fined for defying the uniform rules</a> at the European championships in July. In Tokyo, they too continued their protest by wearing fitted shorts. The team claimed bikini bottoms made them feel uncomfortable, made it difficult when managing their periods, and turned young athletes off their sport. For many, the last point is key to understanding the impact of sexist uniform policies. </p>
<p>Uniform rules in sport are designed for an <a href="https://www.varsity.co.uk/sport/19410">idealised western femininity</a>. These standards fail to understand that girls quit sport over body-baring uniforms, overlook different hair and skin types, ignore curvy and muscular body shapes and wilfully ignore the realities of periods. What these policies suggest is that women’s bodies are expected to be perfectly thin, perfectly hairless, able-bodied and period-free.</p>
<p>British runner <a href="https://www.jessicaennis.net/my-story">Jessica Ennis-Hill</a> wrote a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2021/07/30/lived-fear-wardrobe-malfunction-athletes-should-able-wear/">heartfelt essay</a> about her fear of exposing herself and how “skimpy kit” can traumatise young athletes. From body shaming to sexualisation, her experience exposes the unseen struggles of girls and women in sport and echoes research on <a href="https://www.womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/PP-Puberty-Research.pdf?x99836">girls in sport</a>. </p>
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<h2>Overlooked and under-dressed</h2>
<p>These campaigns reject sexist norms prevalent in sports and object to women’s uniforms being designed for the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486">male gaze</a>”, leading to women being judged for their aesthetic appeal alongside their athletic talent. </p>
<p>Undoubtedly, these women are taking a brave and laudable stance. Yet their voices carry an influence that women of colour and advocates for athletes in non-western countries are often denied. With much less fanfare and media attention, they have been <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/nz8bvg/after-a-long-fight-fiba-finally-lifts-its-ban-on-religious-headwear">lobbying for changes to kit for decades</a>, often on behalf of Muslim athletes and/or people of colour. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.tabletennisspot.com/table-tennis-clothing-t-shirts/">table tennis</a>, a rule change for full-length sportswear and head coverings – as opposed to shorts and T-shirts which leave arms and legs bare – was successfully lobbied to <a href="https://www.womeninsport.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Muslim-Women-in-Sport.pdf?x99836">increase participation by Muslim athletes</a>. This victory went largely unnoticed in the west, despite the fact that table tennis is a mainstay of the Olympics. Campaigns led by Muslim athletes led to similar rule changes in basketball and <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-athletes-judo-loss-is-a-landmark-victory-for-muslim-women/">judo</a>, where women were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/jul/23/sports-hijabs-muslim-women-olympics">finally allowed to wear head coverings</a> and long-sleeved tops underneath, as their faith required. </p>
<p>In contrast, swimming has rejected proposals to adapt uniforms for Muslim and black athletes, including a ban on <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2017/03/04/muslim-swimmers-will-now-be-allowed-to-race-in-burkinis-6487404/">“burkinis”</a> and prohibiting use of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/02/swimming-caps-for-natural-black-hair-ruled-out-of-olympic-games-alice-dearing">“soul cap” swim hat designed for natural black hair</a>. </p>
<p>Athletes with disabilities also face different standards, which was made clear recently when a British Paralympian was <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/07/dress-code-standards-women-athletes/?sf148099914=1">criticised by an official </a> who called her outfit too “revealing”. It was the standard runner’s brief worn by most women. </p>
<h2>Who makes the rules?</h2>
<p>Modern sport was designed for and by white men. Globally, men are still making <a href="http://www.icsspe.org/system/files/IOC%20-%20Gender%20Equality%20and%20Leadership%20in%20Sport%20Bodies%20Report.pdf">most of the rules</a>, including those which police girls’ and women’s bodies. Regulations about uniforms vary by international federation, which is why the Norwegian team faced fines but the Germans did not. </p>
<p>Although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not directly control uniform policies, it has advocated fairer rules in its <a href="https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/News/2018/03/IOC-Gender-Equality-Review-Project-Recommendations-Overview-March-2018.pdf">2018 Gender Equality Review</a> to “ensure competition uniforms reflect the technical requirements of the sport and do not have any unjustifiable differences”. This statement raises the question: what is the <em>justifiable</em> reason for requiring women to wear skimpy uniforms while men can cover up?</p>
<p>What does this mean for athletes and young girls with Olympic dreams? Beyond the general sexualisation of women athletes, there are six identifiable consequences that potentially harm girls and women in sport:</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> Girls drop out of sport – adolescent girls feel too uncomfortable because of unflattering/exposing uniforms.</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> Embarrassment – cameras can catch athletes accidentally exposing underwear, body hair and more. Mocking and body shaming on social media poses a real concern.</p>
<p><strong>3.</strong> Period panic – fear of leaking menstrual blood or exposing period products in skimpy or white clothing is common. </p>
<p><strong>4.</strong> Excluding athletes from non-western cultures – skin-exposing uniforms make it impossible for girls and women from Islamic and other religious communities to compete. </p>
<p><strong>5.</strong> Promoting racial prejudice – uniform standards often make assumptions about body types and hair built around white physical stereotypes.</p>
<p><strong>6.</strong> Battles over body hair – women and girls are pressured into waxing/shaving bikini lines, legs and any “unfeminine” body hair or risk ridicule and body shaming on social media. </p>
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<h2>We need more women in leadership</h2>
<p>These uniform policies put women under added pressure to conform to western feminine ideals when they should be concentrating on their athleticism. This constricting paradox leaves little room for agency among athletes to challenge traditional, negative conceptions about muscular femininity.</p>
<p>International federations need to adjust technical rules to allow for athletes to choose clothing that suits their performance, personal comfort and cultural preferences. These choices can motivate adolescent girls to remain in sport, support athletes of colour and encourage participation from more conservative cultures.</p>
<p>Recruiting more women from diverse backgrounds to leadership positions in sport is a key step. Broadcasters and marketers should take note – in the same way athletes feel uncomfortable, many women viewers do not enjoy watching sports with objectified bikini-clad players. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/womens-world-cup-extra-time-to-reflect-on-the-broader-injustices-women-and-girls-face-116460">Generations of athletes and advocates</a> have struggled to make these changes. More recently, the movement has gathered strength to band together across cultures and sports. The Olympics should be a place for inclusion, cultural exchange and equality. Let’s start dressing the part.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165546/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>For too long uniforms have been designed for the male gaze, leading to women being judged for their aesthetic appeal alongside their athletic talent.Sarah Zipp, Associate Professor at Mount St. Mary's University, Mount Saint Mary's UniversitySasha Sutherland, Lecturer in Sport and Event Management, The University of the West Indies, BarbadosLicensed 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>
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<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>
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<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>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
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>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<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>
</figure>
<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>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
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>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<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/1652132021-07-29T17:40:10Z2021-07-29T17:40:10ZWhy women are owning the podium for Canada at the Tokyo Olympics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413902/original/file-20210730-15-15u6fv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C34%2C5758%2C3375&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada’s Lisa Roman, Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski, Christine Roper, Andrea Proske, Susanne Grainger, Madison Mailey, Sydney Payne, Avalon Wasteneys and Kristen Kit celebrate on the podium after winning the gold medal in women’s eight rowing competition at the Tokyo Olympics.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld </span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/why-women-are-owning-the-podium-for-canada-at-the-tokyo-olympics" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Margaret Mac Neil. Kylie Masse. The women’s softball team. Maude Charron. The women’s 4x100-metre freestyle swimming team. Jennifer Abel and Mélissa Citrini-Beaulieu. Jessica Klimkait. Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard. Caileigh Filmer and Hillary Janssens. Penny Oleksiak. The women’s eight rowing crew.</p>
<p>Canadian women are owning the podium at the Tokyo Olympics. But why?</p>
<p>One week into the Tokyo Olympics, Canada has won 11 medals — all by women. Swimmer Penny Oleksiak became Canada’s most decorated Summer Olympian when she won a silver and bronze in the pool this week to go along with a gold, two silvers and a bronze from the 2016 Rio Games.</p>
<p>Part of the story of the success by the Canadian women could be gender parity — Tokyo 2020 has been lauded as <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/tokyo-2020-first-ever-gender-balanced-games-record-number-of-competitors-para">the first gender-balanced Olympic Games in history</a>. Yet Canadian women also outperformed our men at Rio 2016 where they returned with 16 of 22 medals. Things have been more balanced in other recent Summer and Winter Olympics.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman holding a bouquet of flowers beams from behind a medical face mask." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413632/original/file-20210728-13-1fmd6om.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">Penny Oleksiak became the most decorated Canadian summer Olympian of all time with her bronze medal win in the women’s 200-meter freestyle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Only three Canadians have won four Olympic golds — women again: hockey legends Caroline Oulette, Jayna Hefford and Hayley Wickenheiser. A total medal count puts Cindy Klassen, Clara Hughes and now Oleksiak at the top, with six each.</p>
<p>The emergence of Oleksiak, Wickenheiser, Klassen, Hughes and others, like soccer superstar Christine Sinclair, as household names speaks to the cultural impact of elite women’s sport in Canada. This is a good thing — for many reasons.</p>
<h2>Why we need this boost</h2>
<p>A 2020 Canadian Women in Sport <a href="https://womenandsport.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Canadian-Women-Sport_The-Rally-Report.pdf">report found</a> that one in three girls will leave sport by age 16 compared to one in 10 boys. A 2021 <a href="https://womenandsport.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/COVID-Alert-final-English-July-2021.pdf">followup report</a> lays bare yet another devastating gut punch to women’s well-being: one in four girls are not committed to return to sport post-pandemic. That means an additional 350,000 girls sitting on the sidelines. Seeing Canadian female athletes shine at the Olympics provides a much-needed morale boost.</p>
<p>Media coverage in Canada is rightly celebrating this female athlete success. The absence of male medallists — so far — while not a desirable outcome in itself, gives both young girls and boys the chance to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17430437.2014.997581">be inspired by female role models</a> succeeding at the highest level of sport.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman standing behind weightlifting barbell covers the lower half of her face, looking overcome with emotion." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413635/original/file-20210728-27-x6677z.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">Maude Charron won Canada’s second gold medal at the Tokyo Games in the women’s 64-kilogram weightlifting competition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, changing male perceptions of traditional gender roles <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-11235-001">could save lives</a>, according to a 2017 European study. Given a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10896-011-9375-3">startling 2017 finding</a> that unsupported female empowerment could actually increase rates of domestic violence, transforming boys and men into allies is vital. It may prove to play a key role in ending the so-called “<a href="https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/in-focus-gender-equality-in-covid-19-response/violence-against-women-during-covid-19">shadow pandemic</a>” of domestic violence that has raged throughout COVID-19 lockdowns.</p>
<h2>Sport is good – really good – for health</h2>
<p>Sport can provide mental and physical health benefits, social connection, confidence and leadership skills. It’s a big problem that <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ian-Janssen/publication/322295083_Physical_activity_of_Canadian_children_and_youth_2007_to_2015/links/5a5f5ab7aca27273524361a5/Physical-activity-of-Canadian-children-and-youth-2007-to-2015.pdf">only seven per cent of Canadian youth</a> are meeting national physical activity guidelines for health. Olympic inspiration can change that. </p>
<p>I should know. As a sedentary teenager in New Brunswick, I turned on the small TV in the convenience store where I worked and watched the Olympics for the first time. I saw rowing legends Silken Laumann, Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle winning medals for Canada.</p>
<p>It was the first time I made the connection between the exceptional performances I saw on TV with the rowers I watched drift serenely by each morning on the vast expanse that is the Saint John River. I suddenly realized Canadians were really good at this. Soon after, I joined a learn-to-row program and my own Olympic journey began.</p>
<p>In other words — you have to see it to be it.</p>
<h2>Why we must go further</h2>
<p>Women are finding their voices, now more than ever. We see it in the realization of gender parity for the first time at an Olympic Games, in the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/gymnastics/gymnastics-germany-unitards-sexualization-1.6116621">German Olympic gymnastics</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/norway-shorts-instead-of-bikini-handball-fine-1.6110921">Norwegian national beach handball</a> teams speaking out against hypersexualization by refusing to wear “regulation” uniforms in the face of financial sanctions, and in new mothers refusing to be separated from their nursing infants to attend the Olympics or standing up to skeptical sponsors who cut their funding.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman in full unitard doing a split jump in midair." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413636/original/file-20210728-19-13t2r04.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 German gymnastics team wore full-legged unitards that went down to their ankles, eschewing the traditional bikini cut that ends high on the hip. The athletes said they were trying to combat the sexualization of young women and girls in their sport, which is trying to recover from a decades-long sexual abuse scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These are all positive signs of a broader cultural shift in our collective perceptions of women in sport and society. Despite these major strides — equal representation, autonomy of clothing choice, freedom to have a family and compete — women remain underfunded and underrepresented in sport policy, sport science <a href="https://sportsmedicine-open.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40798-019-0224-x">and sport medicine</a>.</p>
<p>With so many women in the limelight like never before, it’s time for policy-makers, clinicians, sport scientists and researchers to step up and meet the challenge of not only keeping our Canadian women on the podium, but ensuring that all Canadian athletes are fairly reflected in sport policy, science and medicine. </p>
<p>The tension is building — and it’s good. Canadian women are defying the rules of age, motherhood and funding. Now it’s time we ensure women enjoy the same fundamental supports as men in every way.</p>
<p>Soak it in. Celebrate it. Promote it. Lifting up Canadian women’s success in sport bodes well not only for our future generations of athletes, but for our nation as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Thornton receives funding as a Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health. She receives an honorarium as Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.</span></em></p>Canadian women’s success at the Tokyo Games bodes well not only for our future generations of athletes, but for our nation as a whole.Jane Thornton, Clinician Scientist, Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health, Sport Medicine Physician, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1652872021-07-29T11:42:29Z2021-07-29T11:42:29ZTokyo 2020: Simone Biles’ withdrawal is a sign of resilience and strength<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413716/original/file-20210729-25-1kcbp31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C33%2C3116%2C2656&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.alamy.com/tokyo-japan-25th-july-2021-simone-biles-of-the-united-states-reacts-after-the-womens-artistic-gymnastics-qualification-at-the-tokyo-2020-olympic-games-in-tokyo-japan-july-25-2021-credit-cao-canxinhuaalamy-live-news-image435998010.html?p=196110&srch=foo%3dbar%26st%3d0%26pn%3d1%26ps%3d100%26sortby%3d3%26resultview%3dsortbyRelevant%26npgs%3d0%26qt%3dsimone%2520biles%2520tokyo%26qt_raw%3dsimone%2520biles%2520tokyo%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%7b6B4F82E6-F06E-4112-A2FF-898951CBB88C%7d%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%3d%26ispremium%3d1%26flip%3d0%26pl%3d">Xinhua/Alamy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We all have a choice to safeguard our mental health and that sometimes means saying no. That is the decision American gymnast Simone Biles made when she <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/28/simone-biles-withdraws-from-tokyo-olympics-all-around-gymnastics-final">withdrew from</a> the vault at the Tokyo Olympic Games after receiving her lowest tournament score. Speaking to the press later she said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>After the performance I did, I just didn’t want to go on. I have to focus on my mental health.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Her withdrawal has divided opinion, with some saying that quitting shows poor mental toughness and resilience; while others say it’s characteristic of her courage and strength to safeguard her wellbeing. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jirspa-2020-0014/html">My research</a> shows that it is the latter and that making that decision is part of remaining resilient and competitive – resilient people make clear decisions based on self-compassion and future success over immediate external satisfaction.</p>
<p>Imagine this: the vault is one of your favourite events. It’s what you have invested time and effort into for years, and you make it to the Olympic Games. But something just doesn’t feel right. For the last few weeks, you’ve had doubts about your performance and the anxiety and stress of participating at the Olympic Games has become overwhelming. You decide to compete anyway and then things go horribly wrong. You slip and break your neck.</p>
<p>In that one instant, your life (and your family’s life) changes forever, when you could have just withdrawn because you knew something wasn’t right. This is the true story of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/sports/olympics/biles-gymnastics-injuries.html">Julissa Gomez</a> at the 1988 Olympic Games who, like Simone Biles, is from Texas and complained that things didn’t feel right before the same event - the vault. </p>
<h2>The importance of choice</h2>
<p>The injuries Julissa sustained led to her becoming a quadriplegic, and three years after the accident she died as a result of those injuries, aged 18. As a researcher working in the field of performance psychology, I often start by working with individuals to recognise potential triggers that may cause stress and anxiety, such as a penalty kick or when an athlete loses a series of points. </p>
<p>My research has shown that an athlete’s <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jirspa-2020-0014/html">performance can be enhanced</a> by collaborating with them to develop strategies that manage their thinking (<a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/tsp/32/3/article-p220.xml">such as</a> negative internal chatter or imagining how the event will play out) and recalibrate their behaviour (such as breathing techniques). The same approach has been used for <a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/commandos-mental-mutiny-and-mindset">the military</a> to increase resilience and <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/cssep/4/1/article-p134.xml">in healthcare</a> to support individuals who are struggling with their mental health to improve their quality of life. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6EV4YLzcaA0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>While handling stress is important, a vital part of enhancing an athlete’s resilience, and thus performance, is also recognising when they reach a point that a decision like Simone’s has to be made – should they continue or step back? Understanding the point at which this question has to be asked and the motivations behind the decision is key because it ties your motivation to your intrinsic values.</p>
<p>For Simone, her intrinsic value, her priority, is to safeguard her mental health through self-compassion, and this eclipses her passion to win. Therefore, her motivation is greater to withdraw than to compete. If the event becomes too stressful, for Simone, withdrawal is always an option because her wellbeing, rightly, comes first. </p>
<p>Importantly, the decision must be supported in a non-judgmental environment. This promotes safety and builds meaningful connections. This could be why many Olympic athletes originate from the same club, because the environment is supportive, especially during times of challenge. </p>
<p>If the team provides support and acceptance during times of challenge and adversity, members are likely to adhere to and thrive in tasks because of the constructive culture. If support and acceptance are not present, the members of the team will likely burn out and leave the sport earlier than they might have if they had been given the choice. </p>
<h2>The strength of withdrawal</h2>
<p>Simone’s withdrawal is a beacon of strength and courage for other athletes and onlookers. The notion that the show must go on is outdated and can be detrimental to general health and holistic wellbeing. I have had the privilege to work with Olympians who competed at Beijing, London and Rio, some of whom are now at the Tokyo Olympics, and there has been an increase in athletes seeking support to manage their mental health. Team GB even has a dedicated mental health support line for athletes and staff.</p>
<p>Maybe the rise in cases is due to an upsurge in social media attention, or higher expectations from sponsors, the press and governing bodies. Or it could be because we are all doing a better job at raising the awareness of and recognising potential mental health triggers and supporting immediate action. </p>
<p>It’s okay to withdraw from any event, be it the Olympic Games or, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/naomi-osakas-withdrawal-from-the-french-open-highlights-how-prioritizing-mental-wellness-goes-against-the-rules-on-the-court-and-off-161972">Japan’s Naomi Osaka</a> did in tennis, the French Open. We all have a choice and control over what we do. If you perceive that your choice has been removed, it restricts your ability to be creative, feel safe and perform to an optimal level. </p>
<p>But if we (including businesses, schools and universities, governing bodies and the like) are supportive of every individual’s choice, it has the connective power to enhance resilience, mental toughness and grit in a way that safeguards mental and physical health. This will only increase a person’s passion and perseverance. </p>
<p>Thankfully US Gymnastics realise this, and in a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/28/simone-biles-receives-praise-for-prioritising-her-mental-health">supportive statement</a> said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her wellbeing. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165287/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span><a href="mailto:jonathan.rhodes@plymouth.ac.uk">jonathan.rhodes@plymouth.ac.uk</a> is affiliated with The University of Plymouth. </span></em></p>Making that choice is not easy but it is important to the longevity of an athlete’s career.Jonathan Rhodes, Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of PlymouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1648752021-07-28T14:40:22Z2021-07-28T14:40:22Z3,600 microphones and counting: how the sound of the Olympics is created<p>The modern-era Olympics are among the largest sporting events in the world – but relatively few people actually get to watch the action live and in person. So the four-yearly Games have proved to be an important driver for <a href="https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=17606">audiovisual progress</a>.</p>
<p>The Tokyo 1964 Games were the first to be <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/legacy/tokyo-1964/technological-innovations-at-the-olympic-games-tokyo-1964">broadcast internationally</a>. More than 14 hours of black and white footage was transmitted to the first geostationary satellite and, from there, to 23 countries around the world. </p>
<p>The Syncom 3 satellite had been launched only <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1964-047A">two months prior</a>, which made the broadcast a remarkable achievement. But the challenges didn’t stop there. </p>
<p>In late 1963, acoustics experts in Tokyo had discovered that the sound system at the new Yoyogi National Stadium had <a href="https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=1199">major issues</a>. The main stand was covered by architect Kenzo Tange’s sweeping tent-like roof which – although an instant architectural classic – proved a headache for sound designers. The canopy reflected the sound beneath it, creating a low-pitched boom. Delays from the speakers meant that people’s amplified voices were almost unintelligible at the back of the stadium. And the speakers themselves had a very limited frequency response, eliminating almost everything that was outside of the range of the adult human voice.</p>
<h2>Olympic sound design</h2>
<p>The Tokyo 1964 opening ceremony involved more than 900 musicians and singers. To amplify the music, 20 microphones were placed around the band and performers. Delays were introduced to the speakers so that the audience in the stadium heard the sound in time with what they saw happening further away on the field. Pre-recorded sound effects, such as the ringing of Japanese temple bells, were mixed in with live sounds for radio and TV broadcast. </p>
<p>The set up had its limitations. Microphones were required at useful locations – the ceremonial platform, the royal box, the orchestra, the control room – in order to pick up interviews and announcements. But these microphones were fixed in place. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The opening ceremony of the Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That meant, among other things, that there were restrictions on speaker placements and levels, too, in order to avoid the howling sound loops of <a href="https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/preventing-acoustic-feedback-stage">acoustic feedback</a>, which happen when a microphone placed too near to a speaker picks up too much of its own sound output being amplified and played back.</p>
<p>As the audiences for subsequent Olympics have grown, we’ve gone from wanting to hear the action, to wanting to feel as if we’re in the front row, to now wanting to feel as if we’re in the <a href="https://www.sportsvideo.org/2018/02/20/live-from-pyeongchang-karl-malone-nbcs-director-of-sound-design-on-the-2018-games/">middle of the action</a>. And each innovation at one Olympics has become the baseline expectation for the next one.</p>
<p>At the 1984 summer Games, sound engineers pioneered <a href="https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=11606">acoustic simulation</a> to model the acoustics of the main venue, the <a href="https://www.lacoliseum.com/coliseum-history/">Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum</a>, which was then used to predict sound characteristics everywhere in the stadium. This led to advanced modelling of the acoustic properties of <a href="https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=4632">every venue</a> at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Seoul. </p>
<p>Sydney 2000 saw the introduction of <a href="https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=9962">Digital audio networking</a>, the <a href="https://www.systemsintegrationasia.com/tech-talk-what-is-audio-networking/">transmission of high-quality uncompressed audio</a> over the internet without significant losses or delays – a new technology at the time. Now it can be found in studios, music venues, schools and meeting centres all over the world. </p>
<h2>Sound in COVID times</h2>
<p>COVID has completely changed Olympic sound design. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-would-the-ancient-greeks-think-of-an-olympics-with-no-fans-164038">lack of spectators</a> means that the roar of the crowd is entirely absent. This alters the acoustics of the space. Sound echoes around a stadium <a href="https://physicsworld.com/a/acoustics-in-architecture/">very differently</a> when there are no bodies and clothing to absorb the sound. And with relative silence compared to the constant high volume of tens of thousands of people, we end up hearing cicadas buzzing, lights humming and camera shutters clicking.</p>
<p>This is addressed partly by <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/psychologylse/2021/01/28/the-psychology-of-fake-crowd-noise/">fake crowd noise</a>. Customised recordings of cheering at similar events at previous Olympics are being played out of the speakers around the stadium. </p>
<p>Many sports broadcasters have also been overlaying what they call an <a href="https://talksport.com/football/717733/will-they-have-fake-noise-crowd-in-premier-league-stadiums/">audio carpet</a>, which is ambient sound of a full stadium when there is no action taking place. But canned crowd noise comes with challenges of its own as it clashes completely with the visuals of empty seats. </p>
<p>From a sound design perspective, however, having empty stadiums is not all bad. Sometimes, it’s just different. Microphones are still placed very close to a sound source to capture just that sound. And with even less background noise, these spot mics are able to better capture impact sounds – the crack, slap and thump associated with rackets, wheels, bodies and earth colliding. We can hear more clearly the coaching on the sidelines and the shouting between players on a team. </p>
<p>Studies have shown that we <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003682X14000802/pdfft?casa_token=JmRELbd9LGIAAAAA:1i2wXVVJZaYR5po3jTfC20SzEQc8eX-LiUC7cEWtOTSLE1ghYz5pUWXGMkdr3_Oa11MgegY&md5=f83ef0a9ad5632f913d4735df4fd40f9&pid=1-s2.0-S0003682X14000802-main.pdf">expect such sounds</a> to be present in a believable sound scene. The lack of such nuances can affect how <a href="https://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/%7Ejosh/documents/2018/Moffat%20ACM%20TAP%20-%202018.pdf">realistic</a> we perceive a recording to be. </p>
<p>New methods for capturing, rendering and even enhancing the sounds of Tokyo 2020 had specialists <a href="https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/post-and-broadcast/immersive-audio-at-the-tokyo-2020-olympics">excited</a> well before COVID hit. <a href="https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/olympic-games-to-debut-immersive-sound">More than ever before</a>, these Olympics are being delivered in what is known as <a href="https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/12/05/tech-focus-immersive-sound-part-1-the-technology-is-increasingly-integrated-into-broadcast-sports/">immersive audio</a>. </p>
<p>Microphones – <a href="https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/07/23/obs-audio-for-the-tokyo-olympics-to-feature-immersive-sound-augmented-crowd-noise/">3,600 of them</a> – have been deployed all over, hung from closed-venue ceilings, embedded in rock-climbing walls and placed on waterpolo goalposts. The variety of sounds they capture are mixed and broadcast in such a way that viewers hear what the athletes might hear and more. </p>
<p>The Olympics are, once again, at the forefront of sound design innovation. As Nuno Duarte, senior manager of audio for the Olympic Broadcasting Services <a href="https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/07/23/obs-audio-for-the-tokyo-olympics-to-feature-immersive-sound-augmented-crowd-noise/">recently put it</a>: “We don’t see problems; we see challenges, and we also see opportunities.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164875/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Reiss 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>Audiovisual innovation at the Olympics has gone from documenting the event to placing the viewer in the heat of the actionJoshua Reiss, Professor, Queen Mary University of London / Co-founder, Nemisindo, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1651712021-07-28T04:24:23Z2021-07-28T04:24:23ZWhat Olympic gymnasts can teach us about improving our balance<p>The acrobatic handsprings, somersaults and twists performed by world-class gymnasts at the Tokyo Olympics are among the most complex skills humans can perform.</p>
<p>But at their heart is an instinctive process that can help teach us mere mortals how to stay safe from falls as we move much less spectacularly around our own environment.</p>
<p>To complete acrobatic manoeuvres, gymnasts need energy. In most cases, this energy comes from the jump performed at the start of the element, often after a run-up to gain momentum.</p>
<p>But the power in the jump has less to do with the power output of the gymnast’s muscles, and more to do with the power generated by the springy floor, or by the springboard in the case of a vault, as well as the elasticity of the gymnast’s own tendons. </p>
<p>To optimise the power of the spring from the floor or springboard, the gymnasts have to perfectly set the stiffness of their own spring — the spring of their legs — to get the most power. You can see this process in slow motion in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrbzL2PG8Uo">this video</a>.</p>
<p>When walking or running on a hard surface such as concrete, our joints flex and extend a lot in each jump as our muscles control the joints — compare the video below to the one linked above. But on a springy trampoline we don’t flex our joints much, instead keeping our legs straighter and using less muscle work. That’s why we can jump for much longer without tiring on a trampoline.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cxu9DmdytJg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">When jumping on a hard surface, we flex the joints considerably so our ‘leg spring’ is less stiff than on a sprung surface.</span></figcaption>
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<p>To perfectly “tune” their leg spring to make the most of the springy surface, gymnasts pre-activate their muscles before hitting the floor to begin their jump, using dozens of muscles to adopt a very specific joint configuration that delivers the perfect leg stiffness.</p>
<p>Then, when hitting the ground immediately before takeoff, a variety of reflexes can be triggered that can influence muscle force and alter leg spring stiffness. The gymnast has to compensate for these in advance because the contact time with the ground is too short to make any reactive adjustments during takeoff.</p>
<p>Getting this right takes countless hours of practice, over many years.</p>
<p>What happens when the gymnast then moves to the beam, which is much less springy? They have to adapt their muscle activation to generate a different amount of leg stiffness. They have to be able to tailor their jumping technique with exquisite accuracy to cope with different surfaces.</p>
<p>It sounds technical, but we all do it to a certain extent. We walk, run and jump on surfaces with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9029193/">vastly different stiffnesses</a>, from concrete to carpet, to grass or sand. Failing to adjust our own leg spring stiffness can <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22200391/">increase the energy cost of moving</a>, leading to fatigue, and potentially increase our risk of falling. This can be life-threatening – falls leading to hip fractures in older people massively <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19421703/">increase the risk of death</a> in following months and years.</p>
<p>Both in early childhood, when we’re first learning to move, and in older age, when <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31292471/">walking costs more energy</a> and the risk of falling is greater, it’s hugely valuable to practise walking across a range of different surfaces. You can do it by taking walks along forest tracks (especially if rocks and concrete paths intermingle with dirt or grass) or sandy beaches (walking in shallow moving water is also a nice way to stay cool in summer while honing your balance). Your local park might also have equipment designed to practise balancing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two hikers on mountain trail" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413473/original/file-20210728-17-1j44oo8.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">Hiking on rough terrain is a great way to keep your legs working at their best.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Toomas Tartes/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Do the twist</h2>
<p>Gymnasts need to know how to complete a variety of somersaults and twists. For this they need lots of rotational energy, most of which comes from the initial run-up and jump. Once airborne, you can’t grab more energy!</p>
<p>So gymnasts have to launch off the floor, springboard or beam with the perfect amount of rotation to execute their acrobatic manoeuvre. This requires tremendous precision — “sticking” the landing requires completing the planned number of rotations in perfect time for their feet to hit the floor and avoid toppling over.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-olympic-athletes-stack-up-against-invertebrates-not-very-well-164488">How do Olympic athletes stack up against invertebrates? Not very well</a>
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</em>
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<p>Amazingly, elite gymnasts can also transition in mid-air between different types of tumbling, perhaps moving from a straight somersault to an angled twist. But how do they do this, if they can’t take on more energy halfway? </p>
<p>They do it by rotating their arms to change their direction of rotation. This can be seen clearly in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2qWgL19sJc">this slow-motion video</a>. </p>
<p>We all do the same thing, especially if we’re trying not to fall over. Newton’s third law says every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So by rotating our arms in the opposite direction to the way we’re falling, we can attempt to push our body back upright. Notice how a gymnast on a beam uses their arms to make sure they don’t fall off.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Angelina Melnikova during a beam routine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413469/original/file-20210728-17-vymzue.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">Russian gymnast Angelina Melnikova, demonstrating the importance of arms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashley Landis/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is another tip we can all learn from elite gymnasts. Using your arms is an important part of maintaining balance, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31803048/">particularly during exercise</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-do-our-bodies-balance-themselves-64737">Explainer: how do our bodies balance themselves?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>You can practise balancing every day by standing on one leg to do daily tasks, walking along lines in the concrete or on balance beams in the play area at your local park, or even by standing up to put on pants and socks rather than sitting on the bed or a chair. </p>
<p>Children and adults alike can also play sports or exercise in the playground — we’re never too old to play, and play is the best way to learn any physical skill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165171/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>Gymnasts need to carefully calibrate their leg muscles to gain optimum spring from the floor, springboard or beam. And their arms are crucial for balance and creating the right amount of rotation.Anthony Blazevich, Professor of Biomechanics, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1636232021-07-27T12:25:43Z2021-07-27T12:25:43ZRecord-setting performances at the Tokyo Olympics come after months of pandemic-induced stress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413204/original/file-20210726-27-b9urys.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C14%2C4757%2C3064&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Canada's Margaret Mac Neil swims to a gold medal in the women's 100 metre butterfly final during at the Tokyo Olympics. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn </span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/record-setting-performances-at-the-tokyo-olympics-come-after-months-of-pandemic-induced-stress" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The first week of the Tokyo Olympics has already produced some incredible athletic performances — Maggie Mac Neil <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/aquatics/swimming/olympics-swimming-day-3-finals-heroux-1.6116932">won a gold medal for Canada</a> in the 100-metre butterfly and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olympics/article-canadas-catherine-beauchemin-pinard-wins-canadas-second-judo-bronze/">Canadian women have made the medal podium for the first time in judo</a> — at a competition that has presented unprecedented challenges for all Olympians.</p>
<p>Much has been made about the lack of spectators at these pandemic Olympics, as well as the dangers of putting thousands of athletes together in close proximity while Tokyo is under a state of emergency because of COVID-19 transmission concerns. But there have been other challenges facing the athletes that may not be apparent.</p>
<p>As someone who competed at the 1984 Summer Games, I understand the preparation that’s needed to make it to the Olympics — and the pressure to perform once you get there. But what makes these Olympics more remarkable is the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on athletes over the last 18 months — not just on their physical training, but their mental well-being as well.</p>
<h2>Anxiety and uncertainty</h2>
<p>The sense of uncertainty and the unforeseeable future because of the pandemic has contributed to significant psychological distress in athletes. <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/a327df7798a0b17e5ccda2433b703fb9/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=27519">Elite athletes reported</a> uncertainty about their future, decreased income, modified university teaching procedures, unavailable facilities and cancelled competition as the leading psychological stressors.</p>
<p>Clarisse Agbegnenou of France, a silver medallist in judo at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/how-has-covid-19-affected-the-mental-health-of-athletes">told Eurosport</a>: “The uncertainty about when we will be able to train and compete is very difficult to handle….I like to schedule things in advance. Being in the fog really turned me down.” In the same article, sport psychologist Makis Chamalidis said the combination of social isolation and anxiety led to feelings of withdrawal and depression in athletes.</p>
<p>A report by <a href="https://www.fifpro.org/en/health/coronavirus-covid-19-page/coronavirus-shutdown-sharp-rise-in-players-reporting-depression-symptoms">FIFPro, the organization that represents 65,000 professional footballers</a>, found that anxiety and depressive symptoms in footballers had doubled since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2020. The leading contributing factor was worry over one’s future in football. </p>
<p>Other factors, like being housebound with minimal training equipment, having no time frame for returning to their sport and social isolation, resulted in many athletes expressing their anxiety and stress online and in interviews.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard raises her right fist in victory while her opponent is on the mat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413340/original/file-20210727-19-15fxy2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard, right, of Canada reacts after defeating Anriquelis Barrios of Venezuela to win the bronze medal in the women’s judo 63kg competition at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7201218/">increased emotional distress</a> has been correlated with the lack of communication and support from coaches, fans, media and others. In fact, during the pandemic, sports psychologists reported increased demands for online counselling, in addition to increased diagnoses of psychological disorders among athletes.</p>
<h2>Time is crucial to athletes’ careers</h2>
<p>The postponement or cancellation of seasons and qualifying events <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1941738120918876">resulted in</a> “significant grief, stress, anxiety, and sadness” in athletes. </p>
<p>Sport’Aide, a <a href="https://sportaide.ca/en/home/">non-profit organization</a> aiming to eliminate violence and abuse in sports that affect young athletes, notes that time is crucial to athletes’ careers. The majority only compete in one Olympic Games and it’s highly unlikely for athletes to compete past the age of 40. The postponement of the Olympic Games can have <a href="https://sportaide.ca/en/blog/2020/03/27/little-known-consequences-of-covid-19-on-athletes/">dire consequences</a> for athletes given the limited longevity of an athlete’s career.</p>
<p><a href="https://sportaide.ca/en/blog/2020/03/27/little-known-consequences-of-covid-19-on-athletes/">Sport’Aide found</a>) that the sudden free time, isolation and increased levels of inactivity, in addition to the feelings of disappointment and uncertainty regarding the postponement of the Games, caused anxiety, psychological distress and depressive symptoms in athletes.</p>
<p>The athletes attributed the lack of physical activity during quarantine as the main reason for the decline in mental well-being. Furthermore, since Olympic athletes spend the majority of the time training, the decrease in physical activity may have led to a deficit in dopamine and endorphins, resulting in diminished feelings of pleasure and happiness.</p>
<h2>Coping mechanisms</h2>
<p>Each athlete responded to the pandemic differently, determined mostly by each individual’s resilience and coping methods.</p>
<p>Initially, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1612197X.2020.1754616">it was found</a> that mental-health professionals working with athletes encouraged them to seek support from family and friends. Doing so improved things such as healthy living, eating, sleeping and reflective thinking. </p>
<p>After the official postponement of the Olympic Games, as athletes felt that all their hard work and planning became uncertain, recommendations changed to encourage athletes to work on strengthening their existing weaknesses.</p>
<p>Interventions such as mindfulness, goal-setting and reframing were encouraged through video and teleconsulting means. However, not all athletes could make use of these suggestions because some didn’t have the necessary support. As a result, some athletes became inactive and directionless and suffered from substantial psychological stress.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two divers are about to enter the water simultaneously." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/413212/original/file-20210726-21-1tmnkc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini Beaulieu of Canada compete during their silver medal performance in women’s synchronized 3-metre springboard diving at the Tokyo Olympics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)</span></span>
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<p>One study found that <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8385">social media can promote wellness</a> by spreading positive messages, encouraging healthy behaviours at home and encouraging athletes to connect with family, friends and coaches virtually. But there are also downsides. In particular, there has been a lot of negative news coverage of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7219846/">resulting in negative emotions</a>, poor sleep and mental distress. </p>
<h2>Finances and funding</h2>
<p>Olympic athletes train non-stop for four years before competing in the Olympic Games. Usually, athletes split up their funding over those four years, but the postponement of the Tokyo Games put many athletes <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/costofliving/the-price-of-delaying-the-olympic-dream-the-cost-of-wildfires-and-why-we-re-hoarding-cash-1.5661507/olympics-delayed-means-finances-frayed-for-many-athletes-1.5661556">in a difficult financial situation</a>, resulting in many of them being short one year of funding. </p>
<p>It’s a common misconception that Olympic athletes are financially well off. The truth is that <a href="http://vocatio.com/2018/02/21/the-olympics-is-a-side-gig-these-olympians-have-day-jobs/">most Olympians do not have sufficient financial support</a> and find themselves working side jobs.</p>
<p>So as we all continue to watch and cheer for those competing in Tokyo, keep in mind what these athletes have had to endure over the last 18 months just to make it to these unique Olympic Games.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163623/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Schneider receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>The past 18 months have tested the mental and physical limits of Olympic athletes in their pursuit of the Tokyo Games. That’s what makes the performances during these Olympics even more remarkable.Angela Schneider, Director, The International Centre for Olympic Studies, Western 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">
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<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>
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<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>
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<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/1647862021-07-24T09:36:18Z2021-07-24T09:36:18ZVery genki, slightly kitsch, occasionally compelling: the Olympic opening ceremony put humanity in centre frame<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412964/original/file-20210724-17-tag4qv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5568%2C3700&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rising of the Japanese flag and the singing of the national anthem is the first moment of stillness. Devoid of external commentary, before a sea of empty stadium seats, it is a stark reminder of the pandemic. </p>
<p>More than any of the previous symbols of the “apart but not alone” theme, this image reinforces the optimism (misplaced for some, hopeful for others) of continuing with the games despite the obstacles wrought by the pandemic.</p>
<p>Olympic opening ceremonies come with certain expectations: large-scale choral movement, overhead camera work (<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/busby-berkeleys-personalized-beauty">Busby Berkeley</a> on steroids) and fireworks. This year’s ceremony ticks all these boxes. According to the commentators, there are 694 fireworks in the opening moment alone. </p>
<p>The Tokyo artistic program is an eclectic mix of animation, live-action and pre-recorded performers. Stylised virtuosic performers combine with regular folk doing regular movement. </p>
<p>Heavy with symbolism, Channel Seven’s commentators leave little room for the viewer’s imagination. From the opening image of a blossoming seed, every symbol is explained.</p>
<h2>Unmistakably Japanese</h2>
<p>Performed under stadium-spectacular lights and music in front of a giant glowing effigy of Mount Fuji, the program is a series of discrete sequences. </p>
<p>For an “in memoriam” that references both the Israeli delegates murdered at the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2012/may/02/50-stunning-olympic-moments-munich-72">1972 Munich games</a> and those lost to COVID, dancer Mirai Moriyama epitomises the power of one individual. </p>
<p>From this sombre reflection we are abruptly transported to a representation of life in Japan’s Edo period. A stylised ensemble routine of building accompanied by a traditional work song morphs into a troupe of tap dancers. </p>
<p>An integration of ancient and contemporary, and the interplay between the individual and the ensemble, reverberates throughout the ceremony. A single violinist tuning up is gradually joined by other musicians to become an orchestra. </p>
<p>It is a fitting parallel to the coming together of the world’s athletes to create the Olympics.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forget-the-medals-the-real-game-of-the-olympics-is-soft-power-and-the-opening-ceremony-is-key-164791">Forget the medals, the real game of the Olympics is soft power — and the opening ceremony is key</a>
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<hr>
<p>The parade of athletes is a sweetly shambolic affair. 205 nations later, the artistic programme resumes with its diverse snapshots.</p>
<p>Here’s an ensemble of clowns portraying the world’s media; now here’s some dancing children moving colourful boxes. Look up in the sky, there’s a ball of 1824 drones of light transforming into a rotating globe! Now, here’s some children, representing Asia, singing the Lennon/Ono classic Imagine. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=771&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=969&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=969&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412962/original/file-20210724-23-9emu0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=969&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A representation of Japan’s Edo period morphs into tap dancing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyodo via AP Images</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>But wait, beamed in from some heavenly white void now they’re joined by Angelique Kidjo representing Africa, then Alejandro Sanz for Europe, John Legend for the Americas and finally, Keith Urban for Oceania.</p>
<p>Less of a linear narrative than previous opening ceremonies, this is a series of isolated, discrete sections. Less a celebration of the host country (although it’s unmistakably Japanese in tone and style) this eclectic mishmash of styles and performances becomes a durational performance where you can wander in and out. </p>
<h2>Together</h2>
<p>The official speeches prior to the formal opening reference “the unifying power of sport”, the inclusion of refugee athletes and the adaption of the International Olympic Committee’s motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger” to include the word “Together”.</p>
<p>“Together” speaks to a world lingering in the residue of COVID-enforced separations. Given the austerity of the times the ceremony is relatively subdued, but the optimism of the speeches is matched by the overriding exuberance of the performers. Not drowning, but waving (and there is lots of waving). </p>
<p>There’s no room for cynicism; only high-pep energy. The ceremony is very <a href="https://www.childhealth2.com/single-post/2014/01/15/what-does-genki-mean-anyway">genki</a> (a Japanese word without a direct English translation, roughly meaning “energy” or “pep”), slightly kitsch, but presents a surprisingly diverse representation of contemporary Japan.</p>
<p>The brightest spot in the post-parade section is an animated performance of pictograms depicting fifty sports. Moving the pictograms from two to three-dimensions via a kind of human-puppetry meets real-life stop-motion animation, it is equal parts hi and lo-fi and totally camp. </p>
<p>Its complete weirdness makes it un-look-away-able, as minor human errors show it for what it is: real people in real time, operating within a framework of precise choreography smashed up against the reality and vagaries of live performance. </p>
<p>It is completely compelling. </p>
<p>Then, just when you think they couldn’t add any more eclectic ingredients to the mix, enter performers from that most Japanese of ancient art forms Kabuki, paired with an embodied performance from contemporary Japanese jazz pianist Hiromi.</p>
<h2>Unexpected and inspired</h2>
<p>Beginning with the requisite video collage tracing the journey of the torch from Greece, we watch it enter the stadium and hand over person to person to the sounds of Ravel’s Bolero. There’s a moment’s respite from the slick technology and choreography when it lands with Japanese baseball legend and octogenarian Sadaharu Oh. </p>
<p>In this human moment, we are forced to slow down and experience the world in his tempo, giving a true sense of what it means to be alone together.</p>
<p>If a performance needs a big ending, then this one delivers with the appearance of tennis player Naomi Osaka to light the cauldron. </p>
<p>As explained by Kumi Taguchi in Channel Seven’s commentary, the choice is particularly significant because of Osaka’s <a href="https://kotaku.com/naomi-osaka-and-the-expectations-put-upon-biracial-japa-1832150748">hafu status</a> (literally the Japanese word for “half”) as a person of mixed heritage. For this reason, Osaka has not always been accepted in Japan’s notoriously homogenous society. </p>
<p>Another significance ringing in the air around Osaka is the worldwide attention she recently received for <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-naomi-osaka-talks-we-should-listen-athletes-are-not-commodities-nor-are-they-super-human-161893">speaking</a> about the impact media scrutiny has had on her mental health and the vitriol which she has been subjected to as a result.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Naomi Osaka looks up at the Olympic flame." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412965/original/file-20210724-21-7xi64h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&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 ceremony ends spectacularly with Naomi Osaka lighting the Olympic flame.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These factors all contribute to making Osaka an unexpected and inspired choice. </p>
<p>As the symbolic Mount Fuji opens up and she ascends its internal staircase to the cauldron, Osaka lights the fire around which we can all gather for the next 17 days. And so, with yet another human moment, the games begin.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164786/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leah Mercer 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>Minor human errors beautifully show Tokyo’s opening ceremony for what it is: real people in real time.Leah Mercer, Associate Professor of Theatre Arts, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1646742021-07-23T13:25:42Z2021-07-23T13:25:42ZTokyo Olympics branding adds to stereotypical view of Japan — but that doesn’t make it appropriation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412021/original/file-20210719-21-owwtad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tokyo</span> </figcaption></figure><p>In the weeks leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the BBC premiered its trailer for the games – an extravagant, 60-second romp through the recent imagery of Japan as a cute, colourful, anime and manga-inspired wonderland. </p>
<p>With signature music by Kenji Kawai, vocals by virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku and a maximalist aesthetic, the trailer has had a mixed reception. <a href="https://twitter.com/BBC/status/1409919595922608129">In social media commentary</a>, fans were enthused, non-fans were non-plussed, and some more vinegary voices muttered about cultural stereotypes.</p>
<p>The reaction of the Japanese-speaking world was similarly split. Many Japanese comments on YouTube said something along the lines of “I see, this is how Japan looks like from the UK,” and then added “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrym1Lk3c1Q">but this does not look like Tokyo at all, more like Hong Kong</a>.”</p>
<p>The portrayal of Japan in this trailer raises questions about how Japan is viewed by outsiders and insiders, and what cultural or economic purposes such images serve. One theoretical lens through which to address these is the concept of orientalism.</p>
<p>The term, coined by the US-Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, describes how someone creating a representation of an individual or culture wields power over those who are represented. </p>
<p>Said argued that stereotypical depictions of the Middle East in European art become closely linked to preconceived notions of the Orient as an exotic and potentially erotic place. Orientalism as a style of painting becomes a style of thought and, with the colonial expansion of European empires, a corporate enterprise.</p>
<p>Although Japan was never colonised – apart from a ten-year period after the second world war – a similar dynamic applied to the Euro-American fascination with images of Japan. This was fuelled by the craze of Japonisme in the 19th century that influenced <a href="http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/japonism.htm">artists</a>, <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/itc/music/opera/butterfly/orientalism.html">composers</a> and <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/195298174.pdf">novelists</a>.</p>
<h2>Techno-orientalism</h2>
<p>Japan’s rapid recovery in the post-war years and its increasing dominance in the global market for consumer electronics and industrial robots in the 1980s led to a shift in image best captured in the term <a href="https://academic.oup.com/melus/article/41/3/217/2563319">“techno-orientalism”</a>. </p>
<p>In the hostile rhetoric of the trade war between America and Japan, the <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-rape-culture-and-racism-combine-to-hurt-asian-women_b_592a15ade4b0a7b7b469cb22">submissive geisha fantasy</a> was replaced by an image of the salary man as a conformist, robot-like menace to western dominance. No longer held back by age-old traditions, Japan appears as the vanguard of technology and entertainment – a place where you can visit the future before it happens to you. </p>
<p>Japan’s government has long realised the potential of the cultural industries as tools of cultural diplomacy and “soft power”, projecting positive images of Japan through consumer goods, media products and popular culture, such as Hello Kitty. </p>
<p>What started as stereotypical image of a toy-like Japan produced by western media, has now been turned into a process of nation branding. Partly supported by the country’s foreign ministry and other government agencies, the <a href="https://www.eria.org/uploads/media/ERIA_DP_no.287.pdf">“Cool Japan”</a> policy was supposed to spread this image of Japan around the world. </p>
<h2>Representing ‘Japan’</h2>
<p>The Olympics are a global stage on which this shift has manifested. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aGNei01fzQ&t=1562s">opening ceremony</a> of the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998 heavily featured Japanese traditions such as local festivals and sumo wrestling. In contrast, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOVk29x5F1I">flag handover</a> from Rio 2016 focused entirely on popular culture: then-Prime Minister Shinzō Abe appeared as the computer game character Super Mario, assisted by the comic book characters of Doraemon and Captain Tsubasa. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qrym1Lk3c1Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>These images are consonant with other ways of promoting Japan in the UK, such as the yearly <a href="https://hyperjapan.co.uk">HyperJapan Festival</a> which encourages visitors to “find your inner Japanese.” You can dress up in kimono and play at being Japanese, cosplay as your favourite manga character, spend three days as a samurai warrior or sample makeup trends from Harajuku. Much of what is on offer could be seen as orientalism and cultural appropriation – in other words, treating and branding parts of Japanese culture as property in order to sell it for a profit.</p>
<p>But can we really speak of cultural appropriation, when something has been explicitly produced by a Japanese company with a foreign consumer in mind? HyperJapan is organised by the London-based Japanese firm Cross Media Ltd, whose aim is to bridge Japanese and UK culture through events like sake tastings, and owns the label eat-Japan. </p>
<p>This is where things get rather murky. Whether the images are created by an orientalist “outsider” perspective or by an essentialising “insider” point of view, the results are shockingly similar: cultural and social diversity is silenced in favour of a playful but uniform depiction of Japan. Perhaps the distinction between insider and outsider is no longer useful in a world where everyone can be a media producer. </p>
<p>The BBC trailer is another case in point. Many comments online assumed that this was a trailer representing Japan produced by a British team, when in fact the art director, <a href="https://www.fantasistautamaro.com">Fantasista Utamaro</a>, is a Brooklyn-based Japanese artist. </p>
<p>Shot in Tokyo with a local crew remotely directed from London, the clip is truly an intercultural production. Obviously, one cannot expect that a 60-second trailer provides an accurate image of Japan in all its complexity. There is an unbridgeable tension between creating something that is recognisably Japanese and yet avoids the stereotypes on which this recognition is based. </p>
<p>In the end, the real problem of these Olympic games is not representation, but the fact that the majority of the Japanese population <a href="https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14399448">don’t want them to happen</a>.</p>
<p>A citizen’s movement has formed around this resistance and a series of convincing arguments have been made by the protesters: without visitors, the economic investment into the Olympics is essentially meaningless and, as has been shown already, the games are a hotbed for potential new COVID infections.</p>
<p>From this controversy emerges an image diametrically opposed to the playful “geek chic” aesthetic of the trailer: Japan as a divided country, with low levels of trust in the government and gaffe-prone officials.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164674/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fabio Gygi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When cultural stereotypes and nation branding collide, discussions of orientalism and cultural appropriation get complicated.Fabio Gygi, Lecturer in Anthropology, SOAS, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1645362021-07-23T12:15:25Z2021-07-23T12:15:25ZA winning edge for the Olympics and everyday life: Focusing on what you’re trying to accomplish rather than what’s going on with your body<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412756/original/file-20210722-13-1s2pyjg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=87%2C554%2C4116%2C2831&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Athletes' game-time concentration is legendary – but what should they be focusing on?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/germanys-defender-benjamin-henrichs-and-brazils-midfielder-news-photo/1234108664">Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How do you get to the Olympics? Practice, practice, practice … but also know what to concentrate on during the heat of competition.</p>
<p>How fast someone runs, swims or rows; how high or long they jump; how accurately they hit a target; how well they balance; or how much weight they can lift depends to a significant extent on where they focus their attention.</p>
<p>I’m a sport scientist who for decades has <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=66RHFowAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">studied how people learn motor skills</a>. In the late 1990s I began examining how a performer’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20037032/">focus of attention</a> influences learning. </p>
<p>Research suggests that what an athlete concentrates on can be the difference between winning the gold and not even making the team. What might be surprising is that shifting your focus from within yourself – what’s going on in your body – to what’s out there – what you’re trying to accomplish – is a winning strategy.</p>
<h2>An athlete’s brain is busy</h2>
<p>Consider what the brain needs to do to organize complex movements.</p>
<p>It must coordinate the contractions of the necessary muscles – ensuring that they happen at the right time, for the proper duration, and with the required intensity. It also must inhibit other muscles, basically telling those not involved in the movement to stay on the sidelines for the moment.</p>
<p>Temporary task-specific connections among relevant brain networks are a precondition for smooth, efficient and precise movements. The functional <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077764">connectivity</a> of certain brain areas and the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.01.003">suppression</a> of other areas enable an athlete to produce elegant jump shots, tennis strokes, golf swings or tumbling routines.</p>
<p>Learning to produce effective brain activation patterns is a long-term process, of course. Achieving a skill level at which performance is consistently accurate, automatic, fluent and economical requires considerable practice. Athletes hone their skills over many years or even decades.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, at the moment they perform, their focus of attention plays a critical role. If athletes have the wrong focus, their performance will suffer.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="female archer pulls back the bowstring" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412757/original/file-20210722-25-p8zm52.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">Thinking of how the arrow will fly into the target yields better results than thinking about how your hand should grip the bow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-handout-image-provided-by-the-world-archery-news-photo/1233565513">Dean Alberga/Handout/World Archery Federation via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where to target your focus</h2>
<p>Based on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2012.723728">findings of numerous studies</a>, it’s clear athletes should never concentrate on their own movements – what movement scientists call an internal focus of attention.</p>
<p>This might seem contradictory to the way many people learn a new sport. After all, those who instruct others in the process of acquiring movement skills typically refer to body movements. Think of a coach telling a young basketball player to flick her wrist while shooting the ball, or a golf coach telling a player to focus on his hip rotation. Consequently, athletes think about how to move their body parts, particularly in the early stages of learning. </p>
<p>But surveys have found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.12678/1089-313X.20.1.23">even experienced athletes often focus internally</a>. Especially when they’re under pressure – as they would be during competition – they tend to concentrate on their movements. Often, the result is that they “choke.”</p>
<p>Instead, for <a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-015-0999-9">optimal performance</a>, the focus should be on the movement goal. This is called an external focus of attention.</p>
<p>It can mean concentrating on a target to be hit, such as the corner of a goal, a golf hole, a bull’s-eye or a catcher’s mitt. It can also be the intended motion or trajectory of an implement such as a javelin, discus or barbell; the desired spin of a ball; the force exerted against an apparatus or piece of equipment, the floor or an opponent; the water being pushed back in swimming or rowing; or the finish line in a race.</p>
<p>What it is not is the hand releasing the object or pulling the water back, the muscles producing the force, or the speed of leg movements.</p>
<h2>More efficient to focus on what than how</h2>
<p>Focusing on the intended outcome of your actions, rather than your body movements, reveals the body’s remarkable capability to produce effective and efficient movements. Even <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jmld/1/1/article-p2.xml">movement form</a> or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2015.1012102?journalCode=rjsp20">technique</a> often improves immediately when a person switches from an internal to an external focus of attention. The body does what it has to do to complete the action – unless you interfere via conscious attempts to control your movements.</p>
<p>Researchers have noted the effects of an external focus on many aspects of performance: improved movement <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200902795323">accuracy</a>, enhanced <a href="https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/67983/1/jhse_Vol_12_N_2_463-479.pdf">balance</a>, greater <a href="https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001194">maximum forces</a>, higher <a href="https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.5.4.533">speed</a> and better <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2011.10599779">endurance</a>.</p>
<p>With an external focus, movements are more efficient. Because brain and muscle activity are optimized, the resulting movements are produced with less energy. This is seen, for example, in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19787539/">reduced oxygen uptake</a> or <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-03359-002">lower heart rates</a> for the same physical work when performers adopt an external focus.</p>
<p>Researchers have quantified just how much of an edge this focus shift can provide to athletes. With an external focus:</p>
<ul>
<li>The same <a href="https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.6.1.99">swimmers swam 1.4% faster</a> over the length of a 25-yard pool.</li>
<li>Resistance-trained individuals produced <a href="https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001194">9% greater maximal forces</a>, or were able to complete <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2011.10599779">11.4% more repetitions</a> with the same weight.</li>
<li>Boxers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1175651">punched 4% faster and 5% more forcefully</a>.</li>
<li>Runners needed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02640410903150467">9.5% less oxygen for the same running speed and distance</a>.</li>
<li>Kayakers completed a 100-meter wildwater sprint <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humov.2020.102708">4.3% (or 1.3 seconds) faster</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Considering that races are often won or lost by very small margins, sometimes in the range of hundredths of a second, an athlete’s focus of attention can determine whether or not they win a medal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="older man leans in and looks at his hands on the piano keyboard" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412758/original/file-20210722-17-1p60ge.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">Don’t overthink it – let your hands do what they know how to do.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/the-elderly-man-enjoy-playing-piano-at-home-royalty-free-image/1191366938">Nitat Termmee/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Plenty of benefits beyond Olympic stadium</h2>
<p>While most people will never be Olympians, an external focus provides benefits regardless of the performer’s level of expertise, age or (dis)ability, or the type of skill.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Whether you are learning to play a musical instrument or are an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429418801573">experienced musician</a>, an external focus will result in better performance. Whether you are an older adult with <a href="https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20080045">Parkinson’s disease</a> or a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2019.1626489">young healthy adult</a>, your balance will be enhanced by an external focus. Whether you are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2013.02.002">unimpaired</a> or had a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0269215513513963">stroke</a>, you will perform <a href="https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.56.4.380">activities of daily living</a> more effectively with an external focus.</p>
<p>It turns out your body can more masterfully execute the actions you desire if you’re able to move your conscious focus from what your body is doing and instead think about what you want to accomplish.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164536/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabriele Wulf 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 researcher who studies physical skills explains how getting your conscious thoughts out of the way lets your body do what it knows how to do, better.Gabriele Wulf, Distinguished Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences, University of Nevada, Las VegasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1647912021-07-23T03:20:47Z2021-07-23T03:20:47ZForget the medals, the real game of the Olympics is soft power — and the opening ceremony is key<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412952/original/file-20210724-13-yzs6jc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C3968%2C2643&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyodo via AP Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Olympic Games are often hailed as a neutral celebration of athletic achievement. “The Olympic Games are not about politics,” wrote the International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/oct/24/the-olympics-are-about-diversity-and-unity-not-politics-and-profit-boycotts-dont-work-thomas-bach">in the Guardian</a> last year. </p>
<p>In reality, the games have long been a platform for soft power: the use of culture and values to shape people’s opinions in order to achieve political outcomes — particularly internationally. </p>
<p>Regardless of how many medals are won or lost, this is the real game of the Olympics. </p>
<p>And for the host country, the opening ceremony offers an unparalleled platform for building soft power. </p>
<h2>The biggest artistic event in the world</h2>
<p>Included in the Olympic Games since 1906, the opening ceremony combines pageantry, ritual and performance. With key components <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/games-ceremonies-and-protocol/how-do-the-olympic-games-opening-and-closing-ceremonies-take-place">mandated by the Olympic Charter</a>, including an artistic program and a parade of nations, the ceremony offers a unique opportunity for the host country to frame a cultural narrative about itself. </p>
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<p>No other artistic event in the world offers immediate access to such a large audience of global viewers. In 2016, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/287966/olympic-games-tv-viewership-worldwide/">3.6 billion viewers</a> watched Rio de Janeiro’s opening ceremony on television.</p>
<p>Accordingly, the opening ceremony has increased in size, scope and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-01/rising-costs-force-olympic-rethink-over-value-for-money/9494894">expense</a> in recent years. Demonstrations of dance, music and theatre are explicitly designed to dazzle spectators while also presenting a politically strategic image to the world. </p>
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<p>Beijing’s opening ceremony in 2008 framed China as a model of spectacle and national collaboration. Directed by filmmaker Zhang Yimou at a cost of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/beijings-perfect-opening-20080808-gdspu3.html">US$100 million</a> (A$135 million), the event lasted over four hours and featured 15,000 performers. In one jaw-dropping sequence, 2,008 Chinese drummers performed in perfect unison. </p>
<p>For the 2004 opening ceremony in Athens, Greece endeavoured to highlight its heritage and connection to the Olympic Games of antiquity. The program included projections of the stadium used in the original games, a blazing comet that outlined the Olympic rings in fire, and an abstract reenactment of the progression of Greek civilisation. </p>
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<p>At the opening of the 2012 London Games, Britain elected to emphasise its national musical legacy, with performances by Paul McCartney, the Sex Pistols and Arctic Monkeys. In a further nod to British popular culture, Queen Elizabeth II and James Bond actor Daniel Craig appeared to jump from a helicopter. </p>
<h2>Broadcasting the perfect image</h2>
<p>The last time Japan hosted the Summer Olympics was in 1964, and the stakes were unusually high. After the shame of the second world war and Japan’s subsequent exclusion from the 1948 games, Tokyo 1964 was key to its efforts to re-establish a positive international reputation. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Japanese athletes march at National Stadium during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/412770/original/file-20210723-13-oi15po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The opening ceremony of the 1964 Olympic Games was the first to be live-broadcast around the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kyodo via AP Images</span></span>
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<p>With the development of satellite technology, the 1964 games were also the first to be live broadcast. The opening ceremony was suddenly a chance to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/17/legacy-of-1964-how-the-first-tokyo-olympics-changed-japan-for-ever">showcase Japan at its best</a> to a worldwide audience. </p>
<p>Symbolising Japan’s new era, the Olympic torch was carried into the ceremony by <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-JRTB-14858">Yoshinori Sakai</a>, born in Hiroshima on the day the city was bombed in 1945. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tokyo-olympiad-kon-ichikawas-documentary-of-the-1964-games-is-still-a-masterpiece-163800">Tokyo Olympiad, Kon Ichikawa’s documentary of the 1964 Games, is still a masterpiece</a>
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<p>Because of the opportunity to access millions of international viewers at once, opening ceremonies have become a powerful tool of cultural diplomacy. </p>
<p>But such a public platform also has its risks, and the diplomatic cost of any incident that contradicts a country’s carefully curated image can be extreme. </p>
<p>Consider the dove debacle of Seoul’s opening ceremony in 1988, when dozens of doves were <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/legacy/antwerp-1920/a-symbol-of-peace">accidentally incinerated</a> by the Olympic flame on live television. </p>
<h2>Counting losses</h2>
<p>Japan has already faced difficulties that threaten to tarnish its Olympic image. After a one-year postponement, the costs of this year’s games <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/cost-olympics-tokyo-2020-summer-2021-2?r=US&IR=T">may exceed US$26 billion</a> (A$35 billion).</p>
<p>With <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57760883">significant restrictions</a> on spectators, Japan will not benefit from the typical boost from international tourists. This makes the country’s potential soft power gains from the televised opening ceremony all the more crucial in order to justify the financial investment. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-the-tokyo-games-begin-the-stakes-could-not-be-higher-for-japan-and-the-olympics-themselves-164389">As the Tokyo Games begin, the stakes could not be higher for Japan — and the Olympics themselves</a>
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<p>But even the televised spectacle will be taking place amid controversy. Only a day before the Opening Ceremony, the event’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/22/tokyo-2020-director-of-opening-ceremony-sacked-over-1998-holocaust-joke">director Kentaro Kobayashi was fired</a> over a 1998 video in which he joked about the Holocaust. </p>
<p>Kobayashi is the third high-profile artist associated with the Ceremony to leave. Creative Director Hiroshi Sasaki resigned in March after calling a plus-sized celebrity an “Olympig,” while composer Keigo Oyamada left on Monday over historic bullying.</p>
<p>Japan’s success at building soft power will also be unavoidably lessened by the pandemic. The Opening Ceremony’s artistic program will take place in a largely empty arena — a reminder of the cost of the pandemic in terms of both lives and our ability to come together. </p>
<p>Each smiling team of internationally competitive athletes during the Parade of Nations will similarly be viewed against their nation’s efforts (and failures) to manage COVID-19.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Olympic Committee is maintaining a running list of athletes and staff <a href="https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/notices/covid-19-positive-case-list">who have been infected</a> while in Japan. Even before the Opening Ceremony, the list stands at over 100.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164791/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>The competition for soft power is at the heart of the Olympics. This year, the opening ceremony will be crucial for Japan.Caitlin Vincent, Lecturer in Creative Industries, The University of MelbourneKatya Johanson, Professor of Audience Research, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1637212021-07-22T20:05:15Z2021-07-22T20:05:15ZThe science of underwater swimming: how staying submerged gives Olympians the winning edge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/412390/original/file-20210721-13-1gmnwji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C0%2C2595%2C1329&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To win swimming gold in Tokyo, swimmers not only have to generate incredible power with their arms and legs to propel themselves through the water; they also have to overcome the relentless pull of the water’s drag while doing so.</p>
<p>Without being able to don special low-drag suits or use technologies to help them fly over the water, how can swimmers make the effect of the water’s drag as small as possible?</p>
<p>The best athletes in this year’s Olympics will do it by swimming under, rather than on top of, the water – at least as far as the rules allow.</p>
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<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>
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<h2>Waves are a drag</h2>
<p>Water is much denser than air, so you might assume swimmers would benefit from using a technique that allows them to sit high in the water, with as much of their body out of the water as possible.</p>
<p>But there are two problems with this strategy. </p>
<p>First, it costs energy to produce the forces needed to lift the body, which would be better spent propelling the swimmer forwards towards the finishing wall.</p>
<p>Second, when we travel on the water’s surface we waste energy making waves. During fast swimming, such as in the sprint freestyle events or during starts and turns (where speeds exceed 2 metres per second, or about 7 kilometres per hour), wave generation slows the swimmer down more than any other factor. Reducing wave formation is therefore vital to swimming success.</p>
<p>Waves are produced as the pressure exerted by the swimmer on the water forces the water upwards and out of their path. Other pressure changes around the swimmer’s body also cause waves to form behind them, and sometimes to the side.</p>
<p>The energy required to generate waves comes from the swimmer themselves, so a lot of the power generated by the swimmer’s muscles is used in wave generation rather than moving the swimmer forwards. </p>
<p>But waves aren’t formed when we (or fish, dolphins or whales) swim under the water, because waves only form when an object (like us) moves at the boundary between two fluids of different densities, such as water and air during swimming. And this fact hints at an intriguing solution to the drag issue.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tokyo-olympics-what-are-the-limits-of-human-performance-podcast-164882">Tokyo Olympics: what are the limits of human performance? Podcast</a>
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</p>
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<h2>A change in thinking</h2>
<p>Swimmers had noticed the benefits of staying underwater from at least the 1950s. </p>
<p>The breaststroke event was the cause of major controversy in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games as swimmers experimented with staying underwater for much of their races. The winner of the men’s 200-metre event, Masaru Furukawa of Japan, swam underwater for most of the first three laps of the four-lap race. This practice was swiftly outlawed after the games; swimmers were forced to surface before they could start to swim.</p>
<p>But the practice of swimming underwater in freestyle (front crawl), butterfly and backstroke events only took off after swimmers mastered the “underwater undulatory technique”, better known as the dolphin kick. </p>
<p>Here, the swimmer propels themselves underwater by undulating the lower body in a wave-like manner while maintaining a rigid and streamlined upper body position with arms stretched overhead.</p>
<p>The amplitude of the lower body undulation increases from the hips to the feet so the “wave” produced by the body is much greater down towards the feet, creating a whip-like effect. This pushes water rapidly backwards, propelling the swimmer forwards according to Newton’s law of action and reaction.</p>
<p>Using this technique, swimmers in the backstroke events gained a significant advantage from the 1980s onwards, and from the 1990s it was also common in freestyle and butterfly events.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vox9KOxC1ZA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Underwater swimming speeds can far exceed normal swimming speeds.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The technique was so effective that swimming’s governing body, FINA, limited its use to only the 15-metre segment after starts and turns. Swimmers are now disqualified if they swim too far underwater.</p>
<p>Yet the benefits of improving the underwater undulation technique are so great that swimmers still spend hours each week in training improving this part of the race. </p>
<h2>Keys to underwater swimming success</h2>
<p>Although an ongoing research effort aims to find the optimum technique for different swimmers, a few practices seem to be commonly associated with underwater success.</p>
<p>First, swimmers who stay underwater for the full 15 metres will have <a href="https://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/cpa/article/view/3870">faster starts</a>, turns and overall race times. This <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26930126/">effect</a> is particularly strong in backstroke events, and when swimmers make the most of the final turn in a race (when swimmers usually surface quicker because they are growing tired).</p>
<p>Second, staying deeper underwater is important. Wave drag is slightly reduced by swimming just below the surface, but swimming 40–60 centimetres underwater can <a href="https://swimmingcoach.org/pdf/pub/jsr1998.pdf#page=19">reduce drag by 10–20%</a>. And there are further benefits when swimming <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25555171/">a metre</a> or more under the water, especially when start and turn push-off speeds <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16439236/">are fast</a> (as in most shorter races). </p>
<p>Third, the best swimmers will likely display a <a href="https://memberdesq.sportstg.com/assets/console/customitem/attachments/Underwater%20Undulatory%20Swimming%20Applications%20-%20R%20Arellano.pdf">faster kick frequency</a>, although each kick is no bigger than those of slower swimmers. In particular, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26367778/">fast extension of the knee</a> in the downbeat of the kick that occurs at the end of the wave-like motion may separate the faster from slower underwater swimmers.</p>
<p>And finally, although it will be hard to spot in the underwater camera shots at the Olympics, the feet of the faster underwater swimmers may <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31216935/">rotate inwards</a> during the downbeat of the kick, rather than staying rigidly in line with the leg. This rotation allows the top surfaces of the feet to orient horizontally to the swimming direction, just like the flute (tail) of a dolphin or whale lies horizontal to their swim direction, producing more propulsion at the feet.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Foot rotation during underwater swimming may be key to power production (clear example at 5:00 minutes).</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Submarining towards gold</h2>
<p>So, at the Tokyo Olympic Games, look for the swimmers who stay underwater as long as allowed in starts and turns, and check the techniques they use when the director cuts to the underwater shots. </p>
<p>The swimmers who make the most of these parts of the race might just propel themselves to Olympic gold.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163721/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>Swimming underwater reduces drag so much there are rules against doing it for too long. But the best swimmers make the most of what’s allowed.Anthony Blazevich, Professor of Biomechanics, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1642912021-07-21T11:50:51Z2021-07-21T11:50:51ZThe WHO and the IOC are playing with lives at state-of-emergency Tokyo Olympics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411719/original/file-20210716-13-jcmr7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5389%2C3589&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A station passageway is crowded with commuters wearing face masks during rush hour at Shinagawa Station. A recent survey suggests that 83 per cent of Japanese citizens don’t want the Olympics to proceed as scheduled, fearing a surge in case numbers. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bianca Andreescu, Canada’s celebrated tennis star, recently announced she <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/tennis/bianca-andreescu-withdraws-from-canadas-olympic-tennis-team-citing-pandemic-1.6099768">would not attend</a> the Tokyo Olympic Games due to the health risks posed by COVID-19. </p>
<p>It’s hard to argue against such a decision. Cases are surging and only <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/most-japanese-medical-workers-not-fully-vaccinated-as-olympics-looms.html">30 per cent</a> of health-care workers in Japan are vaccinated. Only <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations">one quarter</a> of the global population has received at least one vaccine dose. Travellers from Canada and 158 other countries are banned from entering Japan, except under <a href="https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section1">“exceptional circumstances.”</a></p>
<p>Had she chosen to do so, Andreescu, as well as thousands of other foreign nationals, could have been admitted to Japan for the Games. Indeed, athletes will account for about 15,400 entries alone. When coaches and support staff are added to the equation, the figure will rise considerably higher. </p>
<p>Japanese nurses and physicians are understandably <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics-osaka-hospitals-buckling-1.6038450">sounding the alarm</a>, informing Olympic officials that the health-care system lacks the resources to effectively protect the people of Japan and cater to Olympians and their teams.</p>
<p>Despite the rising rate of infection in Japan, the World Health Organization has merely <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1109736/who-call-for-caution-olympics-covid">urged those attending</a> the Olympics to exercise “caution.”</p>
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<img alt="A sign that says 'COVID-19 countermeasures' across the top is framed between two men." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411339/original/file-20210714-27-3dzedg.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">
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<span class="caption">A sign for COVID-19 countermeasures at the Main Press Centre for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)</span></span>
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<h2>A longstanding history</h2>
<p>The WHO has a long-standing relationship with the IOC, stretching back to a memorandum of understanding signed in 1984. The WHO’s advisory role in Olympic safety, however, has come under attack in recent years. </p>
<p>When the Zika virus ravaged Brazil leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, a group of 150 physicians and academics wrote an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2016/05/Zika-Olympics-Open-Letter-to-WHO-current2.pdf?itid=lk_inline_manual_17">open letter</a> urging the WHO to hold transparent discussions about the risk of Zika transmission at the Games. The letter suggested the WHO’s close relationship with the IOC was preventing it from making a neutral assessment of the risks posed by Zika. </p>
<p>The 2016 Rio Olympics, of course, went ahead. The WHO was correct. The event was safe. Transmission of the Zika virus, at least to visitors, was seemingly non-existent.</p>
<p>The nature of this relationship between the WHO and IOC has evolved over time. A <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/07-01-2011-who-and-the-international-olympic-committee-sign-agreement-to-improve-healthy-lifestyles">2010 memorandum of understanding</a> emphasized a partnership “to promote healthy lifestyle choices, including physical activity, sports for all, tobacco-free Olympic Games and the prevention of childhood obesity.” The focus was on noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. </p>
<p>This memorandum expired before the 2016 Rio Olympics, but the WHO committed itself to a careful and thorough assessment of health risks associated with that event, illustrating that — with or without a formal agreement — it was committed to protecting the physical well-being of the citizens of Brazil and the rest of the attendees.</p>
<h2>The stakes are higher than ever</h2>
<p>Something feels very different this year. For one, the stakes are considerably higher for the IOC, the WHO and the people of Japan.</p>
<p>Although COVID-19 has led the Tokyo Organizing Committee to largely bar spectators from stadiums, the event is going forward despite significant resistance from Japanese citizens and a low national rate of vaccination. </p>
<p>A recent survey suggests that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/world/asia/covid-japan-olympics-poll.html">83 per cent of Japanese citizens</a> don’t want the Olympics to proceed as scheduled, fearing a surge in case numbers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Protester holding a sign that says 'Olympics kill the poor.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/411335/original/file-20210714-17-78qkpz.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">People against Olympic Games protest near Komazawa Olympic Park, where the unveiling ceremony for the Olympic Flame torch relay was held on July 9 in Tokyo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The fact that the IOC stands to reap a <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/162952/cancel-tokyo-games-abolish-olympics">tremendous financial gain</a>, while Tokyo struggles to manage a state of emergency — unable to even generate ticket revenue to offset some of its investment in the Games — is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/11/holding-tokyo-olympics-amid-covid-pandemic-threat-is-about-corporate-revenue-not-athletes/">spurring accusations</a> that the Olympic powers are acting in the interest of money, not health, and sacrificing the well-being of the Japanese people on the altar of capitalism.</p>
<p>It certainly appears as though the IOC’s actions, and the WHO’s tacit support, are incompatible with the organizations’ most recent <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-and-who-strengthen-ties-to-advocate-healthy-lifestyles">2020 memorandum of understanding</a>. It’s unclear how forging ahead during a pandemic meets the shared commitment to “strengthen the health preparedness and legacy of the Olympic Games.” </p>
<h2>Health concerns go beyond the physical</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/-olympic-refuge-foundation-sport-can-offer-hope-to-displaced-communities-during-the-covid-19-pandemic">news release</a> last May regarding the agreement, IOC President Thomas Bach said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Over the last few months in the current crisis, we have all seen how important sport and physical activity are for physical and mental health. Sport can save lives.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The IOC used mental health, a relatively new concern for them, to double down on its collaboration with the WHO by pledging both organizations “to work on new projects addressing emerging issues such as mental health.” This newfound regard for mental health was notably absent in 2016, when both organizations celebrated the Olympics as a success despite a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/03/forced-evictions-vila-autodromo-rio-olympics-protests">well-documented assault on favela communities</a>, decimating the well-being of some of the city’s more vulnerable people. </p>
<p>If the WHO is correct that a high degree of caution, not outright cancellation, will be enough to prevent the spread of disease at the Olympics, the question of its commitment to mental health still remains. In Tokyo, as in so many past host nations, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2020/07/06/inside-troubling-legacy-displacing-poor-communities-olympic-games-one-villages-resistance-brazil/">residents are being displaced to make way for the Olympic Games</a>. </p>
<h2>Nothing short of lives are at stake</h2>
<p>The Japanese public’s massive call for cancellation is indicative of the anxiety already spurred by the Games. Realistically, if this is what a commitment to mental health looks like, can folks be blamed for believing this new component of the IOC/WHO partnership is just for optics?</p>
<p>One thing is perfectly clear — nothing short of people’s lives are at stake. No amount of money can justify a single preventable death. Furthermore, an Olympic super-spreader event, a widespread mental health emergency or a combination of the two could do further damage to the already tarnished reputations of both the IOC and WHO. </p>
<p>Make no mistake, the IOC could do a lot of good in the world, especially with the help of the WHO. Physical activity can be an important boon to mental and physical health. Yet, when the IOC and WHO support a global mega-event held during a pandemic, it’s difficult to believe that the well-being of the host nation remains a priority.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>MacIntosh Ross 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>Let’s make one thing perfectly clear — nothing short of people’s lives are at stake at the Tokyo Olympics. No amount of money can justify a single preventable death.MacIntosh Ross, Assistant Professor, Kinesiology, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1641942021-07-20T15:02:28Z2021-07-20T15:02:28ZHow best can fans support young athletes?<p>After withdrawing from the 2021 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/05/27/naomi-osaka-french-open-media-mental-health/">French Open</a> to protect her mental health, tennis player Naomi Osaka <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/57767495">called for</a> privacy, empathy and that sportspeople be allowed to take time out for personal reasons. “Athletes are human,” she said.</p>
<p>Osaka’s statement was an important reminder that elite athletes are not immune from <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/11/667">mental health</a> problems. They are just as likely as non-athletes to experience symptoms of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28254747/">depression</a> or <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/53/11/722.full.pdf">anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>What is not highlighted enough, though, is how young many of these elite athletes are. Whether it’s 18-year-old <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/05/emma-raducanu-heartache-as-she-is-forced-to-retire-with-medical-problem">Emma Raducanu</a> pulling out of Wimbledon due to performance anxiety or the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/12/the-guardian-view-on-rashford-sancho-and-saka-let-down-by-dog-whistles-from-downing-street">racist abuse</a> levelled at, among others, 19-year-old footballer Bukayo Saka in the wake of England’s loss at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/euro-2020-is-this-the-greatest-therapy-session-england-ever-had-163840">Euro 2020</a> final, they are still teenagers. </p>
<p>Team GB, meanwhile, is prepping the country’s youngest summer Olympian ever, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/01/skateboarder-sky-brown-to-become-youngest-british-summer-olympian">skateboarder Sky Brown</a>. Brown will be 13 years old when she competes in the Tokyo Olympics. </p>
<p>So what do fans need to bear in mind about these star athletes at the beginning of their international careers? How best can they support them? </p>
<h2>What do fans need to remember?</h2>
<p>Like their peers, young athletes are still developing physically, psychologically and socially. They are finding their way through the world, gaining experience, both personally, as young people, <a href="https://www.issponline.org/images/isspdata/position_stands/Career_Development_and_Transitions_of_Athletes.pdf">and</a> professionally, as athletes.</p>
<p>From challenging training obligations and competition demands, to tiring travel schedules and fulfilling academic requirements, not to mention being away from family and friends, they have a lot on their minds. And the mental health <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1750984X.2019.1689574?journalCode=rirs20">risks</a> and <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/11/707">pressures</a> that elite athletes of all ages face, not to mention the added stresses of competing in a <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/55/11/608">pandemic</a>, are compounded by their youth and relative inexperience. </p>
<p>The younger the athlete, the less experience they’ve had. They might not yet have undertaken the training in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10413200.2020.1719556">psychological skills</a> to deal with all these demands. It is no wonder that younger athletes are more likely to experience <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/11/722">anxiety</a> than older athletes. </p>
<p>On top of the stresses and pressures of performing at this level, elite athletes are public figures. And as such, they often face harassment and abuse online. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsc/11/2/article-p163.xml">Research</a> shows that young athletes view social media both positively and negatively. It is a means to reach lots of fans quickly, advocate for important issues, and gain moral support from lots of people. </p>
<p>But it also involves dealing with hostile, unwelcome, critical and toxic comments. Of the 537 sportswomen who responded to the 2020 BBC Elite British Sportswomen survey, 30% said they had been affected by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/53593459">social media trolling</a>. </p>
<p>The level of media and social media training young athletes receive depends on their sport, level of play, league affiliations and personal resources. Some will simply be better prepared than others to dealing with the pressures that social media may throw their way. </p>
<h2>What can fans do?</h2>
<p>There have been calls by <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2021-07-12/fa-appalled-after-england-players-receive-racist-abuse-following-italy-defeat">athletes</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56872469">sporting organisations</a>, <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uks-johnson-call-social-media-115228293.html">politicians</a> and even the <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2021-04-29/sports-broadcasters-and-athletes-unite-in-social-media-boycott-over-online-abuse">Duke of Cambridge</a> for social media platforms to deal with the abuse and harassment posted by the media and members of the public. Companies including Facebook and Twitter have <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/facebook-twitter-vow-to-tackle-racial-abuse-of-england-footballers-2485159">vowed</a> to crack down on racist and hateful comments aimed at athletes and other public figures. </p>
<p>Team GB are taking matters into their own hands. They have set up <a href="https://www.skysports.com/olympics/news/15234/12355411/tokyo-2020-olympics-team-gb-athletes-to-receive-help-with-online-abuse-during-games">support hotline</a> manned by psychologists and other mental health professionals that athletes can call if they receive online abuse during the Tokyo Games. </p>
<p>A lot of responsibility for monitoring, reporting and addressing abuse and harassment online comes down to the fans themselves. People on social media should remember that they can flag and report any abuse and harassment they see being thrown at the athletes they support. Some fans are also pushing for <a href="https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/575833">changes</a> to the way people can open social media accounts. They are calling for verified identification to be made a requirement to prevent harmful anonymous activity online. </p>
<p>Outside of social media, other fans have taken action too. The defacing of the <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/marcus-rashford-england-striker-thanks-supporters-who-posted-messages-of-support-on-his-mural-12354803">Marcus Rashford mural</a> in Withington has resulted in hundreds of fans covering the graffiti with messages of solidarity. A crowdfunder has also been set up to help finance repairs to the mural. Marcus Rashford has responded on Instagram saying that he is overwhelmed, thankful and lost for words for the support that he has received from his fans. </p>
<p>Rashford’s response illustrates perhaps the most important thing for the audience to bear in mind. When fans engage with young athletes, they are effectively engaging in a relationship, only one that is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2159676X.2020.1836505?casa_token=GXj5VWPF1_IAAAAA%3AWORP7tjEHPfKP7_0gxlfOB72xSWRhOA5goLfOAIZDVmc42XZtmcXnFNjVhNKTDokUc-BYaxYan9CrA">mediated</a> through social media. </p>
<p>Of course, athletes can have a huge effect on their fans through their behaviour and action. But so too can fans. What we write and what we do affects the athletes we follow. Take, for instance, the gratitude expressed by <a href="https://www.indy100.com/viral/emma-raducanu-wimbledon-twitter-fan-reactions-b1879227">Raducanu</a> to her fans. She noted that it was their support that helped her learn to make sense of what happened in the tournament and helped her to continue to persevere in the future.</p>
<p>People need to be kind and mindful about what they post. They will need to ensure that what they post is not unsportsmanlike, derogatory, demeaning or threatening. No matter how big or how small the message of support is to young athletes, it matters to them. So put yourself in their shoes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/164194/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Gorczynski has received funding from the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences. </span></em></p>As Team GB prepares to send its youngest Summer Olympian ever to the Tokyo 2021 Games, fans need to remember what being a young athlete in the public eye takesPaul Gorczynski, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sport & Exercise Science, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638612021-07-20T13:05:58Z2021-07-20T13:05:58ZHow the COVID-19 delay of the Tokyo Olympics helped some athletes break records<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410648/original/file-20210709-23-akcrgs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3880%2C2592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This May, Olympian bronze medallist Damian Warner set three new Decathlon Bests in 100m, long jump, and 110m hurdles, earning a new Canadian record for overall points.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/David J. Phillip) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After an unprecedented delay due to a once-in-a-century global health crisis, the Tokyo Games are finally ready to begin. Yet the athletes, like the Games themselves, have changed. </p>
<p>The year of lockdowns, isolation, and the threat — or reality — of catching COVID-19 and losing friends and loved ones has been daunting for athletes. Some, willingly or not, retired early, while others recalibrated and kept going. </p>
<p>And some are thriving.</p>
<hr>
<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/athletes-mental-health-at-risk-in-lockdown-as-coronavirus-puts-training-and-olympics-on-hold-136216">Athletes’ mental health at risk in lockdown as coronavirus puts training and Olympics on hold</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Last year sports psychiatrist Carla Edwards and I wrote about how <a href="https://theconversation.com/athletes-mental-health-at-risk-in-lockdown-as-coronavirus-puts-training-and-olympics-on-hold-136216">athlete mental health was front and centre during the pandemic</a>. Athletes aren’t immune to COVID-19 and its effects. </p>
<p>For more than a few, however, the extra year has been a chance to demonstrate their creativity and inspire us with their resilience.</p>
<h2>Evidence of improvement</h2>
<p>We are starting to see evidence of maintenance or improvement in performance emerge in sport and exercise medicine research (in countries <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.623885/full">like Norway</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33621997/">Italy</a> and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.666593/full">Spain</a>), and in the results as sport has resumed.</p>
<p>Despite the hardships, those of us in sport have noticed that the pandemic has provided many athletes the chance to recover, recharge and recommit. </p>
<p>Damian Warner, a Canadian track star and Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, had said he was disappointed <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/canada-s-damian-warner-wins-bronze-in-decathlon-at-worlds-1.4623200">with his results</a> at the 2019 world track and field championships after recovering from two sprained ankles. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Man mid-run with his arms stretched out behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410486/original/file-20210708-19-e0ep3s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Damian Warner crosses the finish line to win the men’s 110-metre hurdles final on June 26 at the Canadian track and field Olympic trials in Montréal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The world stopped</h2>
<p>By early 2020, Warner was once again in the best shape of his life, but then the world stopped. As talk of Olympic postponement became reality, Warner rallied to his training, embracing what he could not change.</p>
<p>“I think I’ll just be a little bit healthier with one more year,” <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/trackandfield/tokyo-olympics-postponed-damian-warner-1.5526737">Warner told CBC</a> last April. “From last year to this year my discus and shot put improved… so if I take another year to continue to hone and continue to improve those skills, I think they can be even better next year.” </p>
<p><a href="https://olympic.ca/2021/05/30/damian-warner-wins-hypo-meeting-with-canadian-record/">In May</a>, he set three new decathlon bests in the 100 metres, long jump and 110-metre hurdles — earning a new Canadian record for overall points (8,995), the third highest of all time.</p>
<h2>Remarkable improvements</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/sports/olympics/pandemic-olympics-training.html">year ago</a>, the <em>New York Times</em> reported on the phenomenon of athletes thriving through lockdown.</p>
<p>Their list of examples included four Olympians and Olympic hopefuls who all showed remarkable improvements during the lockdowns precipitated by the pandemic’s first wave in the spring of 2020: 2016 American Olympic champion shot-putter Ryan Crouser; the 16-year-old aspiring U.S. Olympic swimmer Claire Curzon; American discus thrower Valarie Allman; and Ugandan Olympic middle distance runner Joshua Cheptegei.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Women throwing a discus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410487/original/file-20210708-17-wsgxog.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">Valarie Allman, seen competing in June, set the American women’s discus record with a throw of 70.15 metres last August, nearly three metres over her personal best.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the year since, all four have smashed national or world records in the lead up to what will surely be an Olympic Games for the ages.</p>
<p>The experience of these athletes has not been entirely unique. Rather than set performances back across the board, for a number of athletes at least, the pandemic has accelerated them — and in some cases reignited them. </p>
<h2>Nothing is impossible</h2>
<p>After four years of retirement, British rowing legend Helen Glover found herself in lockdown with three small children, a rowing machine and a desire to show her daughter that nothing is impossible.</p>
<p>A year later Glover <a href="https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31597147/olympic-champion-helen-glover-qualifies-toyko-become-first-british-mother-row-games">made history</a> as the first British mother named to the British Olympic rowing squad. She will race in the women’s pairs, defending her two previous Olympic victories from the last in two Games in London and Rio. </p>
<p>“I have had quite a good change in perspective on things,” Glover said in an interview with <a href="https://worldrowing.com/2021/06/09/june-2021-helen-glover/"><em>World Rowing</em></a> when the international federation named her Rower of the Month in June.</p>
<p>“When I was rowing before, I was definitely quite outcome-orientated. Now I’m probably a bit more process-driven, which I think is actually quite a nice change. I feel like COVID has actually allowed me the opportunity to try doing it a different way.”</p>
<p>Fittingly, her new partner, Olympic silver medallist Polly Swann, is also returning to elite rowing after taking time away early in the pandemic to serve as a junior doctor in Britain’s national health service.</p>
<p>While athletic performances won’t bring an end to a pandemic that is far from over in most countries, their stories are glimmers of hope that shine in these dark times as examples of creativity and the resilience of the human spirit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163861/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Thornton is an Assistant Professor at Western University and Sport Medicine Physician at the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic. She receives funding as a Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health as well as through internal research grants and AMOSO funding. She receives an honorarium as Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.</span></em></p>Some Olympic athletes have thrived in the year-long delay leading up to the Tokyo Games, using the extra time off to improve their performance and shatter national records.Jane Thornton, Clinician Scientist, Canada Research Chair in Injury Prevention and Physical Activity for Health, Sport Medicine Physician, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.