tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/team-gb-30322/articlesTeam GB – The Conversation2022-07-26T15:32:51Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1873832022-07-26T15:32:51Z2022-07-26T15:32:51ZLondon 2012 Olympics: how it boosted medal winning but failed to inspire a generation<p>Ten years ago, London <a href="https://theconversation.com/hosting-the-olympics-cash-cow-or-money-pit-7403">hosted</a> the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Hosting the Games had been sold to the British public on the slogan that it would “<a href="https://library.olympics.com/Default/doc/SYRACUSE/50620/inspire-a-generation-the-london-organising-committee-of-the-olympic-games-and-paralympic-games-ltd?_lg=en-GB">inspire a generation</a>”. </p>
<p>The idea of inspiring a generation chimed with the basic aim of the <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/olympism-and-the-olympic-movement/what-is-olympism">Olympic Movement</a>, which is to “build a better world”. It seeks to do this by nurturing the values of <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/olympism-and-the-olympic-movement/what-is-olympism">Olympism</a>, which are <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/faq/olympism-and-the-olympic-movement/what-are-the-olympic-values#:%7E:text=Go-,What%20are%20the%20Olympic%20Values%3F,to%20building%20a%20better%20world.">defined as</a> “excellence, respect and friendship”. </p>
<p>In practical terms, this goal reflected the UK’s desire to reinvigorate its international image. It also appealed directly to British political ambitions to solve the nation’s growing obesity epidemic through the commonly held, but often misunderstood, assumption that elite sporting success leads to an increase in people taking part in sport. This is more formally referred to by <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203474839/economics-sport-recreation-peter-taylor-chris-gratton">sports economists</a> as the “demonstration effect”.</p>
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<img alt="Tower Bridge seen against a blue and cloudy sky, with the Olympic rings suspended from the main structure." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475592/original/file-20220722-12-bbkmir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475592/original/file-20220722-12-bbkmir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475592/original/file-20220722-12-bbkmir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475592/original/file-20220722-12-bbkmir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475592/original/file-20220722-12-bbkmir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475592/original/file-20220722-12-bbkmir.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475592/original/file-20220722-12-bbkmir.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">
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<span class="caption">Hosting the 2012 games was sold to the public as an investment in their future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-aug-6-2012-tower-bridge-173499608">JuliusKielaitis | Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>The trickle-down effect of the Olympic Games</h2>
<p>If inspiring a generation meant increasing sports participation among young people, then the evidence for this is, at best, inconclusive. At worse, it suggests spectacular failure. A review of the evidence of a demonstration effect of hosting the London 2012 Olympic Games <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16184742.2014.998695">concluded</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>If the primary justification for hosting an Olympic Games is the potential impact on sport participation, then games are a bad investment. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The UK government’s annual <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476322/Culture_Sport_and_Wellbeing_-_An__analysis_of_the__Taking_Part__Survey.pdf">Taking Part Survey</a> has tracked the impact on the British public, of engaging with sport and culture, since 2012. The data reveals no discernible legacy effect of the London 2012 Olympics in terms of increased participation in sport. Compared with two years before the Games were held, the proportion of children aged <a href="https://theconversation.com/londons-olympic-legacy-research-reveals-why-2-2-billion-investment-in-primary-school-pe-has-failed-teachers-178809">five to ten years old</a> who take up sport has not grown. And there has only been a small increase in the proportion of adults taking up sport. </p>
<p>This trend is consistent with that of other host cities. We <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sport-Participation-and-Olympic-Legacies-A-Comparative-Study/Harris-Dowling/p/book/9781138696655">conducted</a> a study looking the legacies of cities that hosted the Summer Olympic Games between 1996 and 2020. We found that, except for the Beijing 2008 games, there is no evidence that the Olympic and Paralympic Games have increased participation in sport in the long term. And as sports sociologists Jing Feng and Fan Hong have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09523367.2013.765725">noted</a>, for Beijing, there remain important questions regarding the accuracy and robustness of their participation data.</p>
<h2>How London 2012 contributed to UK elite sporting success</h2>
<p>If, instead, inspiring a generation was taken to mean galvanising the next generation of Olympians, then we can talk about success. The London 2012 games were undoubtedly a catalyst (though not solely responsible) for turning the UK’s high-performance sport system into the world-class medal factory that it is today. </p>
<p>Compare, for example, Great Britain finishing in 36th place in Atlanta 1996, just behind Ethiopia and ahead of Belarus, with one gold medal, eight silvers and six bronzes, to the last three editions, wherein Team GB finished third, second and fourth in London, Rio and Tokyo, respectively.</p>
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<img alt="Two athletes in uniform stand on a podium, smiling, with medals around their necks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475595/original/file-20220722-22-oidu0m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475595/original/file-20220722-22-oidu0m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475595/original/file-20220722-22-oidu0m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475595/original/file-20220722-22-oidu0m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475595/original/file-20220722-22-oidu0m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475595/original/file-20220722-22-oidu0m.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/475595/original/file-20220722-22-oidu0m.jpeg?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">
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<span class="caption">Team GB’s Scott Brash and Luke Patience take part in the 2012 Olympic Homecoming parade in Glasgow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Scott_Brash_and_Luke_Patience_-_Glasgow_Parade.jpg">Mark Harkin | Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The trends show that the UK has become a part of what elite sports performance experts Ben Oakley and Michael Green, in 2001, dubbed <a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/41510/">the “global sporting arms race”</a>. Team GB has become a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46681518_A_Conceptual_Framework_for_Analysing_Sports_Policy_Factors_Leading_to_International_Sporting_Success">benchmark</a> against which many other nations are compared.</p>
<p>Consequently, winning has become firmly entrenched in the British psyche. This is due, in part, to UK Sport, the government agency responsible for high-performance sport, adopting a <a href="https://www.uksport.gov.uk/news/2004/11/25/uk-sport-statement-on-funding">no-compromise approach</a> to producing medal success for the last 15 years. </p>
<p>But winning has come at a cost. High-profile cases of alleged athlete abuse by coaching staff have been reported across British sports, in <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-10732007/British-Cycling-contact-Sir-Bradley-Wiggins-revealed-coach-sexually-groomed-him.html">cycling</a>, in <a href="https://www.insider.com/team-gb-rower-launches-vicious-attack-on-his-former-coach-2021-7">rowing</a>, in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jun/12/police-investigate-gb-canoeing-coach-child-grooming-sexual-assault-allegations">canoeing</a>, in <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1052239/archery-gb-coach-suspended-over-sexual-assault-allegation">archery</a>, in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/judo/56715427">judo</a> and in <a href="https://www.whytereview.org/assets/downloads/The-Whyte-Review-Final-Report-of-Anne-Whyte-QC.pdf">gymnastics</a>. </p>
<p>In hindsight, hosting the 2012 games was an expensive lesson in how to manage the legacy of a mega-event. The cost of hosting London 2012 has been shown to have risen to <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78251/DCMS_GOE_Quarterly_Report_Q3.pdf">£9.3 billion</a>. There is something to be said for the slogan “inspire a generation” being used to justify that cost and convince the public that there would at least be some long-term benefit. </p>
<p>This would not be the first time that the primary legacy claimed by politicians to justify the cost of hosting the games <a href="https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsm/aop/article-10.1123-jsm.2021-0224/article-10.1123-jsm.2021-0224.xml">has not materialised</a>. See the white elephants of the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21582041.2013.838297">Athens 2004 games</a>, the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20032715">political fallout</a> of awarding China the 2008 games, or the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1012690219878842">fraud and corruption</a> of the Rio 2016 games. </p>
<p>Hosting the Olympic Games in London did not inspire a generation to take up more sport. But maybe it will inspire the next generation of host cities to manage legacies more effectively. The Olympics has the potential to bring about positive, meaningful change in sport and society. Future host cities and the Olympic movement must, however, go beyond the rhetoric of slogans like “inspire a generation” and, instead, deliver on the promises made to the public, who, invariably, foot the bill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187383/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>Research shows that hosting the Olympic Games rarely results in the legacy politicians aim for when selling the idea to the public.Mathew Dowling, Senior Lecturer in the Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Anglia Ruskin UniversitySpencer Harris, Associate Professor in Sport Management, University of Colorado Colorado SpringsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1007912018-08-01T11:46:39Z2018-08-01T11:46:39ZTeam GB star’s death and the pressured world of elite sport<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229975/original/file-20180731-136646-1kthdeo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ellie Soutter, a snowboarder with Team GB, died in France.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.teamgb.com/news/boa-mourns-the-loss-of-ellie-soutter-aged-18">Team GB.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s no denying that being a world class athlete must come with an enormous amount of pressure. And in recent years, there has been a considerable increase in high profile athletes openly discussing their experiences of mental illness and mental disorders – <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9517671/London-2012-It-can-be-dark-and-lonely-at-the-top-says-Victoria-Pendleton.html">Victoria Pendleton</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/06/danny-rose-tells-family-not-travel-world-cup-player-racism-fears-abuse-england-football-team">Danny Rose</a>, and <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/935231/Jonny-Wilkinson-Toulon-Dave-Alfred-rugby-union-anxiety-coach-captain">Jonny Wilkinson</a> to name a few. </p>
<p>These accounts have increased awareness of a culture in sport, which places focus on short-term performance at the expense of all else. A culture where the pressures to succeed can have detrimental effects on mental well-being. </p>
<p>In the wake of the <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/other-sports/ellie-soutters-family-release-poignant-12998878">recent news</a> of GB snowboarder <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6884326/snowboarder-ellie-soutter-happy-life-killed-herself-french-woodland/">Ellie Soutter’s death</a>, it is clear that not enough is being done to address this culture of stoicism in which elite sport operates. In a recent interview, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5996501/Team-GB-star-Ellie-Soutter-one-countrys-coming-snowboarders-dies-suddenly-aged-18.html">Soutter’s uncle described</a> the 17-year-old as in “high-spirits” and that there were no signs she was struggling with her mental well-being. Despite this, he cited the immense pressures of competitive elite sport – including travel, funding and training – “taking their toll”. </p>
<p>In an <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-surrey-45023187?ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_mchannel=social&ocid=socialflow_twitter">interview with the BBC</a>, Tony Soutter, Ellie’s father also said his daughter’s history of mental health issues combined with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jul/31/ellie-soutter-death-father-criticises-demands-on-young-athletes">the pressure of the elite sporting world</a> could have contributed to her ending her life.</p>
<p>This pressurised environment may well make athletes more vulnerable to poor mental health which can in turn reduce the likelihood of them seeking help when it’s most needed. Young athletes might seem alright, but they can be susceptible to poor mental well-being in these highly pressurised environments. </p>
<h2>Mental health and illness</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/">Mental health</a> is a term often used colloquially to encompass everything related to matters of an individual’s mind. It is often used interchangeably with mental illness, or to describe the absence of mental illness. Mental health, as <a href="http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/mental_health/en/">defined by the World Health Organisation is</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stressors of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Mental health is more than just the absence of illness or symptoms of mental disorder(s) and relates closely to an individual’s broader well-being. In essence, the presence of good mental health is just as important as the absence of mental illness. Yet developing good mental health has not yet been conceptualised as a vital component of athlete support. </p>
<h2>Working on well-being</h2>
<p>Although increased awareness of mental illness in elite sport is important, there is often little or no mention of mental health. In the wake of the recent 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, more attention has been paid to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/20/elise-christie-out-winter-olympics-disqualified-1000m-heat-speed-skating">the emotional well-being</a> of athletes who have suffered painful defeats. </p>
<p>As yet though, these concerns have not been translated into research exploring how mental health can be supported and fostered within elite sport contexts. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229978/original/file-20180731-136670-1u1qbr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229978/original/file-20180731-136670-1u1qbr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229978/original/file-20180731-136670-1u1qbr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229978/original/file-20180731-136670-1u1qbr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229978/original/file-20180731-136670-1u1qbr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229978/original/file-20180731-136670-1u1qbr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229978/original/file-20180731-136670-1u1qbr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&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">England defender Danny Rose revealed he has had depression, triggered by a combination of injury and family tragedy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>This is why, despite the marked increase in sensitivities to mental illness and emotional well-being in elite sport, more needs to be done to understand the most effective and realistic ways to support athletes who suffer from mental illness. </p>
<p>This will enable sporting organisations to address the cultures of elite sport that exacerbate poor mental health. This is important because a culture of silence around this issue means that athletes may slip under the radar if they do not present with “classic” symptoms of mental illness.</p>
<p>Moving forward, efforts need to be made to ensure there is more understanding as to what mental health represents to athletes in elite sporting contexts. This will ensure that their mental well-being can be effectively developed alongside the prevention of mental illness. </p>
<p><em>In the UK, <a href="https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj7S40uLL3AIV7bftCh2DMw35EAAYASAAEgLI-_D_BwE">Samaritans</a> can be contacted on 116 123 or by email – jo@samaritans.org. Other similar international helplines can be found <a href="https://www.befrienders.org/">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100791/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>More needs to be done to stop professional athletes reaching crisis point with their mental health.Isobelle Kennedy, PhD Researcher, Northumbria University, NewcastleAndrea Scott-Bell, Senior Lecturer Sociology of Sport/Sport Development, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/919362018-02-19T13:40:58Z2018-02-19T13:40:58ZWere Team GB’s skeleton suits responsible for fantastic three medal haul?<p>Team GB skeleton rider Lizzie Yarnold won a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/42981272">stunning Winter Olympic gold</a> on February 17, backed up by bronzes for Laura Deas and Dom Parsons. Thanks to drag-resistant ridges, 3D laser scanning and topnotch material, Team GB’s skeleton suits are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/12/gb-skeleton-pyeongchang-skin-suits-british-cycling">said to</a> have provided up to a one-second advantage per run over the rest of the field and have been a hot topic of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/winter-olympics-2018/2018/02/15/2018-winter-olympics-british-skeleton-suits-create-controversy/339893002/">controversy</a>. </p>
<p>What makes these revolutionary suits so speedy – and just how important were these technological innovations in Team GB’s riders’ success? The Conversation put these questions to Nick Martin, senior lecturer in Aerodynamics at Northumbria University.</p>
<p><strong>How do the suits give the riders their extra speed?</strong></p>
<p>The aerodynamics of a skeleton bobsled and rider are complex, and our knowledge of fluid mechanics is far from complete. This creates opportunities for research and development programmes that push the frontiers of our aerodynamic understanding to produce technological innovations that give riders an all-important edge.</p>
<p>Drag is the aerodynamic force that opposes an object’s motion through air and slows it down. Only about 10% of the drag force acting on skeleton riders comes from the bobsled, meaning that the greatest potential for improving the time it takes to traverse the 1,376.38 meter track in Pyeongchang is to optimising the aerodynamics of the athletes themselves.</p>
<p>The drag acting on the riders comes from two sources. Air moving close to the athletes’ bodies moves slower than air further away, causing friction along the athletes’ skin suits. In addition, as athletes move down the track, air directly in front of them becomes more compressed and air behind them becomes less dense. This pressure difference acts to both “push” against the athletes from the front and “pull” them back at the same time, slowing them down.</p>
<p>Pressure drag accounts for more than 90% of the overall drag on both the rider and bobsled. The amount of pressure drag is influenced by the shape of the athlete, so aerodynamics experts can most effectively attempt to make performance gains by refining the athletes’ helmets and suits.</p>
<p>Skeleton suits are made out of an elastic material called polyurethane. All teams use this material, but the addition of drag-resistant ridges and the use of 3D scanning allows the suit designers to make subtle changes to the athletes’ shape that seems to set apart Team GB’s suits. This fine tuning is comparable to the careful design engineering of Formula One cars and aeroplanes to perfect their aerodynamic behaviour.</p>
<p>The drag-resistant ridges on Team GB’s suits introduce turbulence into the thin layer of air surrounding the athlete, known as the boundary layer. A turbulent boundary layer actually causes more skin friction, but is less likely to separate when it encounters a seam in the skin suit, a folded ridge of material, or a curved surface. Separation creates pockets of low-pressure, slow-moving air, too much of which can cause large increases in pressure drag. The ridges minimise pressure drag, surmounting the increased skin friction to provide the riders with that extra bit of oomph.</p>
<p>Any loose “flapping” material from the riders’ skin suits also causes air separation. By 3D laser scanning athletes, the suit manufacturers can create bespoke, close-fitting suits for each rider, reducing the amount of loose material. 3D scans can also be used in computer simulations to model how air flows over the rider and bobsled in order to analyse where any improvements can be made.</p>
<p><strong>How much of a speed advantage do you think the suits provided?</strong></p>
<p>A very liberal estimate of a 5% reduction in pressure drag would result in an approximate time saving of less than half a second. Most of the drag savings can be made just by an athlete having a sensible, close-fitting skin suit, which most of the athletes already have, further reducing the benefits of the ridges and 3D scanning.</p>
<p>So, the claims of a one-second advantage are exaggerated. But from my experience working in Formula One, it is marginal gains of fractions of a percent that can make the difference to the top athletes. Let’s not forget that Laura Deas only took her bronze by <a href="https://www.olympic.org/pyeongchang-2018/results/resOWG2018/pdf/OWG2018/SKN/OWG2018_SKN_C73B2_SKNWSINGLES-----------------------.pdf">a margin</a> of 0.02 seconds.</p>
<p><strong>Is this fair and if so, why isn’t everyone using them?</strong></p>
<p>The suits were checked by the sport’s governing body and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/14/rival-athletes-legality-team-gb-skin-suit-winter-olympics">ruled to be legal</a>. Technology plays an important part in sports science. If it is correctly regulated to allow all competitors to profit from it, then this is a good thing. </p>
<p>The research that goes into drag reduction techniques could well be transferable to other engineering disciplines, which could have a benefit to the wider society. </p>
<p>I think that this is just an opportunity missed by other teams. Team GB has clearly invested in the technology aspect of sports. I would like to see more open funding for this type of research, so that more athletes can benefit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91936/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Martin 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 science behind the suits that gave Britain’s medal-winning athletes a crucial speed boost.Nicholas Martin, Senior Lecturer in Aerodynamics, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/640072016-08-16T11:06:33Z2016-08-16T11:06:33ZTeam GB has set a new world record in Rio with a five-games winning streak<p>As Joe Joyce emerged from his super-heavyweight boxing final <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/36727873">with a silver medal</a> on the final day of the Olympic Games he was disappointed not to have won gold, but his was the 67th medal for Team GB, which was a fifth consecutive increase in its medal haul. </p>
<p>The overall medal tally outdid the team’s stellar performance at its home Olympics in London 2012 – a fine return on the <a href="http://www.uksport.gov.uk/our-work/investing-in-sport/current-funding-figures">funding of £284m invested by UK Sport</a> into Olympic sports since 2012.</p>
<p>In the history of the games, only one other country has managed the same feat – and they’ve done it at Rio as well. Azerbaijan joins Great Britain on the podium, having steadily increased its medal tally since 1996. Azerbaijan, which has only competed in its own right since 1996, has steadily increased its haul from a solitary silver medal in 1996 to 18 in 2016.</p>
<p>Team GB’s performance over the past two decades has been remarkable. From the ignominy of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/jul/24/london-2012-team-gb-atlanta">15 medals and 36th place in Atlanta 1996</a> – including just one gold medal – the UK’s elite sport development system improved continuously over the past four Olympic cycles to achieve 65 medals and 3rd place at London 2012.</p>
<p>These winning streaks are rare. Since 1896, when the modern games were first held in Athens – there have been 22 three-edition winning streaks and just seven four-edition winning streaks. Most of the four-edition winning streaks, (Cuba, Hungary, Poland and Romania) occurred between 1932 and 1980 and were achieved by communist nations determined to show off their sporting prowess.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134932/original/image-20160822-18714-1uo6m7f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How Great Britain has fared over the past nine Olympic Games.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Simon Shibli/Sheffield Hallam University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The remaining three (Azerbaijan, Great Britain and Greece) have been recent, with Azerbaijan and Great Britain achieving theirs at London 2012 and Greece’s at Athens in 2004. East Germany, with what we now know to have been a <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-state-sponsored-doping-program/52/">state-sponsored doping regime</a>, only ever managed a three-edition winning streak. Even China with its <a href="http://www.baraka.consulting/uploads/A%20Uniform%20System%20of%20Elite%20Sport%20Development.pdf">huge government commitment to elite sport</a> has a best winning streak of three editions (2000 to 2008 inclusive).</p>
<p>While Azerbaijan has also shown continuous the same opportunity as Britain to show continuous Olympic improvement over 20 years, the scale of its success has been more modest: one medal in 1996, three in 2000, five in 2004; seven in 2008 and 12 in 2012. However for a nation of 9.5m people, Azerbaijan is a country which exceeds the number of medals that would otherwise be predicted on the basis of its population, wealth and political system. </p>
<p>Its elite sport policies are not without controversy – notably the recruitment and naturalisation of foreign athletes who made up <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/athletes-switching-nationalities-in-spotlight-at-london-olympics/24645792.html">nearly 50% of Azerbaijan’s team of 53 at London 2012</a>. Nonetheless, it has carved out a successful niche for itself particularly in wrestling, boxing and to a lesser extent weightlifting.</p>
<p>But Britain is the only nation to achieve a five-edition winning streak in the games after being host. Since 1896 <a href="http://olympic-medal-count.pointafter.com/">every host nation has won fewer medals</a> in the Olympics after hosting the games than it did as host but the team was always optimistic that it could surpass its 2012 haul.</p>
<h2>Making history</h2>
<p>The government <a href="http://www.uksport.gov.uk/our-work/investing-in-sport/current-funding-figures">invested an additional £20m in UK Sport</a> to improve performance at Rio 2016, which is unusual as often nations rein back on their elite sport spending once their own games are over. We need look no further than recent hosts China, Greece and Australia to see what the typical pattern of performance is after being host. </p>
<p>Although Team GB has given up the benefit of home nation advantage to Brazil it has been be competing for a bigger pool of medals as Brazil was <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-brazil-idUSKCN10O0ZH">failed to make the gains</a> that recent hosts have achieved. Not only that but golf and rugby sevens were added to the Olympic programme for Rio, giving Britain two more sports in which it had serious medal prospects – and they came away with a gold and silver respectively. And, with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/sports/olympics/russia-doping-track-and-field-darya-klishina-rio.html?_r=0">only one of Russia’s track and field team cleared to compete</a> following recent doping allegations, the competition for some medals was reduced.</p>
<p>Had Great Britain and Azerbaijan been unsuccessful in achieving the first five-edition winning streak, <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11695072">New Zealand</a> was waiting in the wings – not content with defending the Rugby World Cup in 2015, New Zealand has improved its tally for four consecutive games. Its challenge is to go one better in Tokyo 2020, but who knows – by that stage Team GB might be on a six-games roll.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64007/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Shibli provides contract research services for UK Sport.</span></em></p>From a low point at Atlanta when Britain won only 15 medals, Team GB has improved every four years and stands on the brink of an historic achievement.Simon Shibli, Professor of Sport Management, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.