For many, the 100 metre sprint is the must-see event of track athletics. Although everything is over in less than 10 seconds, the raw speed of the athletes captivates billions. To see just how fast Usain Bolt is, see our blog article on the subject. Perhaps its the primal simplicity of the event which draws the […]
This week was awe-inspiring: I helped set up a 2,300 year old starting gate in an even older stadium with the Indiana-Jones character who discovered it (Prof Stephen Miller) and then raced bare-foot in a modern recreation of the Nemean Games (established 573 BC).
Photo: Olaf Kosinsky / Wikipedia Markus Rehm is a really good long jumper, despite the prosthetic limb on his right leg. Or perhaps because of it. He competed at London 2012 in the paralympics (in the F42/44 category) with a winning distance of 7.53 m. He now holds the IPC world record with 8.40 m, the 3rd longest […]
Our very own Dr David James has recently given a lecture exploring the role of technology in sport for the IET. They’ve made the video available online, which you can see by visiting the link below. Enabling, enhancing or cheating? Dr David James, Centre for Sports Engineering Research From: Sports Technology Lecture, 24 May 2012, […]
Alan Ruddock and Prof. Steve Haake are down at the BBC today at the World’s Services 80th Birthday where there is a special day of programmes coming from a marquee in their courtyard called “Inside Out Bush House”. They will be on live at 7-8 pm, 29th of February 2012 with Alan doing a live VO2max test […]
We were lucky enough to have an event at this year’s British Science Festival in Bradford regarding the role of science and technology in sport. The event took the form of a debate, with our own Professor Haake arguing for technology, and Philosopher Dr Jim Parry presenting arguments against. Both gave fascinating talks which raised a […]
Materials World Magazine recently invited me to write a feature article for a special edition on sports engineering. I was asked to showcase our work (in collaboration with Prince Sports) on a finite element model of a tennis racket.The project aims to develop a model for use in the design of the next generation of tennis rackets, giving ultimate control over […]
Dr Simon Choppin and Dr Tom Allen are acting as guest editors for a special edition of Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology. The issue looks at the use of predictive modelling in sport and how it can be used to predict new behaviour, essentially how technology influences sports performance! If you’re an academic and […]
The two hour marathon is a hot topic, following on from a BBC radio four documentary which asked whether it would ever be achieved, I thought I’d shoot a quick video to illustrate the speed necessary to complete a marathon in 2 hours. Previously we’ve covered the subject ourselves in one of Leon Foster’s posts, […]
My curiosity was piqued recently on a last-minute Christmas shopping trip. As I wandered round the sports section of a local branch of a department store, my mind was struggling to contend with the mental challenges of garish festive displays, oppressive crowding and music so good it’s only played for a few weeks every year. […]
Engineering Sport 