The impact of technology on sporting performance in Olympic sports

HAAKE, S. (2009). The impact of technology on sporting performance in Olympic sports. Journal of sports sciences, 27 (13), 1421-1431.

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Abstract

To assess the effect of technology on sport, the performance statistics for four disciplines were analysed: the 100-m sprint, pole vault, javelin, and cycling. The concept of a performance improvement index was developed to allow comparison between athletes and between sports with a higher index indicating a greater improvement in the sport. The following performance improvement indices were found: 100-m sprint, 24% over 108 years; pole vault, 86% over 94 years; javelin, 95% over 76 years; 4-km individual pursuit, 35% over 32 years; one-hour cycling record, 221% over 111 years. Around 4% of the index for the sprint was attributed to tighter, aerodynamic clothing, suggesting that general athletic improvement in sprint-type events has been around 20%. Technological developments in simple equipment such as the pole vault or javelin were seen to affect the index by around 30%, while the index associated with aerodynamic improvements in the one-hour record was around 100%. It is concluded that the performance improvement index could be extended to amateur as well as elite sport where distance or time is used as a measure of performance. Keywords: Sports engineering; performance improvement index; track and field; cycling view references (18) Bookmark with: CiteULike Del.icio.us BibSonomy Connotea More bookmarks

Item Type:	Article
Research Institute, Centre or Group:	Centre for Sports Engineering Research
Identification Number:	10.1080/02640410903062019
Depositing User:	Carole Harris
Date Deposited:	24 Jun 2010 14:56
Last Modified:	30 Jul 2010 16:02
URI:	http://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/2180

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