Which sport should you pick up this summer, running or swimming? For your decision, keep in mind that the centre of mass is key to success in speed sports.
How many gold medals would Michael Phelps have won if he had decided to be a runner instead of a swimmer? If Usain Bolt took a dip in the pool rather than a lap around the running track, would he still be a record-breaking sportsman? According to science, they probably would not be as successful had they chosen a different sport.
Professional athletes train in their respective sports for the better parts of their lives. They maintain exercise and dieting plans for years that would break many of us down in days. As a result, they develop a physical prowess that allows them to achieve incredible feats. For many people, however, choosing the wrong sport may mean that they never live up to their true athletic potential.
Genetics, which are at least partly responsible for body mass and height, play a crucial role in determining which sports athletes excel at. In fact, the reason why people of certain ethnicities do better at some sports than others may be explained by simple physics [1]. When running, locomotion is achieved as the centre of mass of the body falls forwards from a height corresponding to the distance from the centre of mass (approximately at the bellybutton in humans) to the ground. While swimming, forward locomotion is dependent on the distance from the bellybutton to the top of the head producing a lever-like mechanism oscillating about the centre of mass and generating water waves.
The location of a person’s centre of gravity affects their aptitude for speed sports. Due to their long torsos, white athletes tend to have lower centres of mass and are often successful at swimming. Black athletes on the other hand usually have high centres of mass (with long, slim limbs) and fare better at running [2].
For all you budding athletes deciding which sport to pursue, it’s always worth taking a look at your bellybutton.
[1] Charles and Bejan, J Exp Biol, 2009
[2] Bejan et al, Int Journal of Design and Nature, 2010
by Ahmed Khalil, PhD Student AG Fiebach
How many gold medals would Michael Phelps have won if he had decided to be a runner instead of a swimmer? If Usain Bolt took a dip in the pool rather than a lap around the running track, would he still be a record-breaking sportsman? According to science, they probably would not be as successful had they chosen a different sport.
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| By HansenHimself via pixabay |
Professional athletes train in their respective sports for the better parts of their lives. They maintain exercise and dieting plans for years that would break many of us down in days. As a result, they develop a physical prowess that allows them to achieve incredible feats. For many people, however, choosing the wrong sport may mean that they never live up to their true athletic potential.
Genetics, which are at least partly responsible for body mass and height, play a crucial role in determining which sports athletes excel at. In fact, the reason why people of certain ethnicities do better at some sports than others may be explained by simple physics [1]. When running, locomotion is achieved as the centre of mass of the body falls forwards from a height corresponding to the distance from the centre of mass (approximately at the bellybutton in humans) to the ground. While swimming, forward locomotion is dependent on the distance from the bellybutton to the top of the head producing a lever-like mechanism oscillating about the centre of mass and generating water waves.
ATHLETES, TAKE A LOOK
AT YOUR BELLYBUTTON!
The location of a person’s centre of gravity affects their aptitude for speed sports. Due to their long torsos, white athletes tend to have lower centres of mass and are often successful at swimming. Black athletes on the other hand usually have high centres of mass (with long, slim limbs) and fare better at running [2].
For all you budding athletes deciding which sport to pursue, it’s always worth taking a look at your bellybutton.
[1] Charles and Bejan, J Exp Biol, 2009
[2] Bejan et al, Int Journal of Design and Nature, 2010
by Ahmed Khalil, PhD Student AG Fiebach
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