Athletics South Africa, the governing federation for Track and Field in South Africa, recently announced the SA squad for the upcoming World Athletics championships in London. An ambiguous mix of selection criteria and omissions has created controversy. I write an open letter to ASA calling for clarity, and a reversal of certain non-selections for the squad.
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
Where do we go next? Now that Eliud Kipchoge has taken us to the brink of a sub-2 hour marathon, have the boundaries of human endurance been recalibrated? Can we expect a 1:59 soon? Or did the Nike staged event simply move some of the boundaries aside? This piece looks at potential benefits, and asks whether we should expect to see a speeding up, or a slowing down, in the foreseeable future?
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
Eliud Kipchoge has run a marathon in 2:00:25, coming within sight of breaking the 2-hour barrier. How did he do it, and what might we expect in future? This post analyzes the splits, the tactics and the prospects for the 1:59:59 in the future.
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
The Nike-Breaking 2 attempt will happen in Monza this weekend. I don't think a sub-2 is possible, but what will be fascinating is to see a) how they go about pacing the attempt, and what happens if it starts to fall away; and b) what the collective advantage is of all the tactics employed. I predict 2:01:55 at best, a DNF is also a real possibility. More thoughts here.
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance
Earlier this year, ultra-marathon runner Rob Young was accused of cheating during his attempt to break the TransAmerica record. His sponsor, Skins, commissioned an independent investigation, which Roger Pielke and I completed and which was published yesterday. This post presents the data portion of our report, confirming that Young did in fact, travel in a vehicle for large periods.
The Science of Sport - Scientific comment and analysis of sports and sporting performance