AI-driven motion capture is transforming sports and exercise science: In sport, the margin between success and failure is often measured in milliseconds. It could be a cricketer adjusting their foot positioning, a runner refining their sprint start or a footballer perfecting their passing. This is where motion capture comes in – among the many approaches …
Watching sports is good for you – thanks to its social bonding effects: View Apart/Shutterstock Being a sports fan, whether you’re watching top flight football, the Olympic games or your favourite local team, can be a rollercoaster ride. Incredible highs if you win, depressing lows if you don’t, and lots of stressful feelings in between. …
Can ketchup really be used as a sports supplement, as a new advert suggests?: Yau Ming Low/Shutterstock In the world of endurance sports, how athletes fuel themselves can be the difference between success and struggle. Traditionally, athletes have relied on specialised energy gels for a quick and easily digestible source of carbohydrates during extended workouts. …
Spoilers can’t ruin true enjoyment of your favourite book series, TV show or sports team – here’s why: As I write this, my wife is desperately trying to avoid spoilers for the latest episode of Strictly Come Dancing. Having missed the original broadcast, she has been frantically logging out of all forms of social media, …
Dear England: ‘feelgood’ Gareth Southgate play reviewed by a sports coaching expert: Dear England, a play about football manager Gareth Southgate, immaculately encapsulates the light and dark sides of the game. At the start of the play – which recently transferred to the Prince Edward Theatre – Southgate watches his earlier self missing the crucial …
How AI and AR could increase the risk of problem gambling for online sports betting: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock Sometimes referred to as the “crack cocaine of gambling”, electronic gaming machines (EGMs) such as slot machines allow bets to be placed as quickly as once every 2.5 seconds, delivering a rapid and immersive gambling experience. Similar features …
Concussion: what it is and how sports science is making rugby safer: Two decades ago there were only two criteria used to diagnose concussion. Jon Patricios, a sport and exercise medicine physician and co-lead author of the latest international consensus statement on concussion in sport, discusses the science of head injuries and some of the …
Five ways to take control of your menstrual cycle and improve your sports performance: Taking a proactive approach to your menstrual cycle can help promote your sports performance every day. Ground Picture/Shutterstock Menstruation is often seen as a negative experience, with symptoms that can be disruptive to daily life. Participation in sport and physical activity …
Wearing a well-fitting sports bra can improve your performance – an expert advises how to find one: Joseph Wright/Shutterstock One of the lasting memories of the 2022 Uefa Women’s Euro is England’s Chloe Kelly celebrating her match-winning goal by taking her shirt off and running towards her teammates in sheer joy. It was seen as …
Women’s World Cup: how better sports diplomacy can help women’s football grow: The 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup is set to be the biggest yet. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the event is projected to have over a million spectators and 2 billion television and digital viewers. Fifa plans to use the event to …
Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon win explained by a sports psychologist: Between 2003 and 2022 there have only been four men’s singles winners of Wimbledon. You need to go back to 2002 when Australian Lleyton Hewitt won the title to find a name other than the “big four” – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray or Rafael …
Red Bull’s F1 dominance showcases the extreme power of sports marketing: This year’s Formula One season has been dominated by one driver, Max Verstappen, and one team, Red Bull. A sport once financed by tobacco sponsorship, now has its fastest car bankrolled by an energy drink. Commercially, Red Bull’s presence in Formula One makes perfect …
Ketone drinks: do they really improve sports performance?: The stories of Asterix and his friend Obelix introduced us to a magic potion that comes in a small bottle and doesn’t taste good, but dramatically increases strength and fitness. Sports nutrition scientists have been trying to find or develop a compound with such characteristics for a …
Why Wimbledon’s reversal of their ban on Russian players is good for players, fans and the tennis sports industry: Wimbledon flags waving in the wind. rarrarorro/Shutterstock Can Wimbledon 2023 regain its status as the number one grand slam on the tennis tour? It certainly has the potential to achieve this status with the All England …
The South African Council on Sport at 50: the fight for sports development is still relevant today: Richard Drury/Getty Images, CC BY-SA It’s 50 years since the official formation of the South African Council on Sport (Sacos). Sacos was the sport wing of the anti-apartheid liberation movement. It was established in 1973 and disbanded in …
Harry Kane is Tottenham’s top goal scorer – sports scientists explain his brilliance: It was only a matter of time before Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Harry Kane broke the record set by Jimmy Greaves to become the club’s all-time top scorer. On February 5 2023, he bagged his 267th goal for the club in …
Is Gareth Southgate a successful manager? Two sports psychologists weigh in: Will they ever bring it home? Despite a general belief that England’s men’s football team performed well in the aftermath of their World Cup quarter final exit, inevitably questions are being asked about the team’s future hopes of success going forwards. Some have suggested …
Sports journalist Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm — here’s what it is: There are two types of aortic aneurysms: thoracic and abdominal. SciePro/ Shutterstock American journalist Grant Wahl, who died while reporting on a match during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, is said to have suffered from a ruptured aortic aneurysm. This happens …