Sunday was the Men’s 100m closing on the Paris Olympic Games and it was selected the shoulder dip to the road with 0.005s separating first and second. Immediately after the race, I obtained about 50 messages asking if aerodynamics might have performed a task within the end result of the race. Having been adjacently concerned with some operating initiatives over time, I already thought the reply was most likely sure.
The Women’s 100m closing was received by a superb margin so there was much less speak concerning the distinction aerodynamics might have made, even when some athletes might have made higher tools decisions.
It’s intuitive to the typical biking, snowboarding, speedskating or swimming fan that aerodynamics (or hydrodynamics) is a vital a part of efficiency. We can all have a look at pictures of racing within the early 2000’s and query “how a lot quicker would they’ve been in the event that they weren’t all sporting these loose-fitting jerseys?”. Why, then, do runners proceed to put on free vest tops and never tie their hair up?
The reply is that they simply don’t assume it makes that a lot of a distinction. In this text, I’m going to discover what distinction it really makes and what may be executed beneath the present guidelines to attain quicker instances (Spoiler: It’s quite a bit).
Cycling Spy is a sports activities aerodynamicist with an Aerospace diploma. They have hundreds of hours of testing beneath their belt, and have labored with a number of the greatest riders in biking to optimise. Their Instagram web page is an aero-nerds paradise of tech spots and evaluation.
How a lot aero is there in operating?
Firstly, lets quantify what the impression of aerodynamics has on operating instances. In biking, it’s typically talked about that at 40kph, 80% of the resistance confronted by a rider comes from aerodynamic drag however in operating we all know that is a lot much less. Schickhofer and Hanson* present in 2021 that 8.5% of an athlete’s power goes into overcoming aerodynamic drag at 36kph. Some extrapolation of the outcomes reveals that at 43kph (high pace seen within the Men’s 100m), this will increase to 10%.
The cause that this contribution is far smaller than biking at basically the identical pace is due to the physics of the operating movement. The athlete has to boost their centre of mass with every stride and this takes up many of the power of operating. However, if we will cut back the drag of the athlete then there may be nonetheless quite a lot of efficiency to be discovered.
So how a lot is it price?
Research executed within the 1980’s** exhibiting the impact that aerodynamics can have on race instances. The researchers calculated that within the 100m sprint, there was a 0.01s discount in end time to be gained from a 2% discount in aerodynamic drag. The Men’s 100m race in Paris was determined by half that so can we are saying {that a} 1% change in aerodynamic drag might have modified the outcome? Based on the present analysis, I believe we will.
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The identical analysis additionally discovered that the two% drag discount would give a 5.7s enchancment in marathon time, with the opposite occasions someplace between.
Comparing to another outcomes and a few of my earlier work in marathon operating signifies that that is nonetheless an correct quantity.
What may be executed to cut back drag to enhance instances?
Now we get to the enjoyable half.
5.1. “In all occasions, athletes should put on clothes which is clear, and designed and worn in order to not be objectionable. The clothes have to be product of a fabric which is non-transparent even when moist. Athletes should not put on clothes which might impede the view of the Judges.”
That’s the one rule in Athletics that governs the clothes supplies that can be utilized and the place they are often positioned (other than the title/quantity bibs on the entrance/rear of the athlete). When mixed with the outcomes seen earlier, it’s clear to me that the athletes are leaving quite a lot of time on the desk.
Just earlier than the Paris Olympics began, Bert Blocken launched a examine*** trying on the variations in drag between completely different hairstyles and clothes decisions within the ladies’s lengthy leap. From the worst to greatest coiffure and clothes selection, free to tight shorts and vests and free curly hair to a swim cap/bald head, the researches discovered a 36.6% drag discount. Applying this to the time saving calculation provides a possible saving of 0.183s over the 100m race!
However, many of the athletes have been sporting tight becoming shorts and fairly tight operating vests, which means that the financial savings obtainable to the athletes within the finals we noticed shall be a lot much less. Looking into the outcomes extra intently; there was an 18.2% distinction in free becoming vs tight shorts, lowering our potential drag and time financial savings to 18.4% and 0.092s primarily based on the analysis. The analysis was additionally carried out on a feminine model and the impact of transferring legs wasn’t captured. We are additionally not sure if the identical drag reductions would apply to the male athletes however that is one of the best and most up-to-date knowledge we now have so we must go along with it for now.
An fascinating outcome from Blocken’s analysis is {that a} 4.4% drag discount may be discovered through the use of a decent becoming vest vs a free becoming one. Based on the analysis from the 80’s, this may give a time saving of 0.022s over the 100m. The Men’s closing was received by 0.005s and second place was utilizing a loose-fitting vest. Even if the financial savings don’t absolutely translate from a stationary feminine model to a male runner, you must query if that made the distinction. The identical caveats that apply to biking applies to each sport in that aerodynamics could be very particular person so with out testing on Kishane Thompson, we received’t know if the free vest was a deciding issue within the end result of that race.
What the analysis didn’t embrace was taking a look at completely different cloth texture and placement. To me that is the place there are large potentialities. I’ve seen that in opposition to naked legs, one of the best calf guards in biking/triathlon can degrease drag by as much as 10%. Then through the use of a full skinsuit with lengthy sleeves and shorts that stretch so far as attainable, it’s possible that one other 10% saving may be achieved. We’ve seen larger financial savings in different sports activities from skinsuit use and cloth choice and runners current far more frontal space so I might anticipate that extra financial savings are attainable however shall be conservative with the estimation and preserve it at 10%. Of course, operating is in a special place than biking however these are conservative estimates primarily based on testing I’ve seen first-hand.
There hasn’t been any analysis (that I can discover) on the aerodynamics of sneakers. This is regardless of the foot travelling at practically twice the typical transferring pace of the athlete (Clark et al.****). For the 100m race, this provides a peak foot pace of over 80kph. Understanding the drag and carry traits of the shoe might present vital financial savings as drag will increase to the sq. of pace and the foot is travelling so shortly within the operating stride. I can’t put a quantity to this as I’ve by no means examined it however a superb mannequin might give a superb perception into what’s attainable right here (masters thesis concept, anybody?).
I don’t assume it’s unreasonable to assume that utilizing tight becoming clothes and creating new clothes and shoe options utilizing materials applicable to the aerodynamic calls for of the races {that a} 30% drag discount might be attainable. In the 100m sprint, this might give time financial savings as much as 0.15s. This doesn’t simply make the distinction within the race end result however might carry the dash world information again into attain. The identical strategies may be utilized to all the operating with related outcomes. The Ineos 1:59 Challenge confirmed that aerodynamics nonetheless makes a distinction (even a small one) at decrease speeds.
To some this may appear to be an unrealistically massive quantity to assert however to them I might say have a look at the place biking has come from. From loose-fitting jerseys and no helmets to the place we are actually, we now have seen an enormous discount within the aerodynamic drag and efficiency of the riders. In athletics, aerodynamically talking, the simple wins are nonetheless available.
I don’t need this text to return throughout as if I’m saying biking is a greater sport than operating. For years, biking was the worst perpetrator at ignoring sport science and was lagging a long time behind the likes of Swimming, Skiing and Speedskating particularly.
We need to keep in mind that athletics hasn’t began the journey of taking aerodynamics severely but, regardless of makes an attempt from Cathy Freeman and Nike, with the Swift Suit again in Sydney. That’s not with out good cause, it makes a lot much less of a distinction than all of the aforementioned sports activities. But with instances stagnating in contrast with the likes of Swimming, Cycling, and Speedskating, I believe it’s time they begin on it.
References
* Schickhofer and Hanson , 2021 Aerodynamic results and efficiency enhancements of operating in drafting formations
** C.R. Kyle, V.J. Caiozzo, 1986 The impact of athletic clothes aerodynamics upon operating pace
***Bert Blocken et al. 2024 Numerical-physical modelling of the lengthy leap flight of feminine athletes: Impact of leap type, coiffure and clothes
****Clark et al. 2023 Horizontal Foot Speed During Submaximal and Maximal Running