Abstract
At the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games, zigzag tape was introduced on the race suit lower legs and cap of speed skaters. Application of these zigzag devices on live skaters and cylinders in the wind tunnel showed large improvements in the aerodynamic drag. These wind-tunnel results were unfortunately not widely published, and the impact of the zigzag strips in a real skating environment was never established. This paper aims to show the background of the application of the zigzag tape and to establish the impact it may have had on speed-skating performance. From comparisons of 5000 m races just before, during and just after the Nagano Olympics and an analysis of historic world record data of the 1500 m men’s speed skating, the impact of the zigzag tape turbulators on average lap times on 1500 and 5000 m races is calculated to be about 0.5 s.
Highlights
During the past decades, research and innovations in the field of sport apparel and materials have helped to increase skating speed tremendously
In the almost 25 years following the introduction of the one-piece skinsuit by the Austrian Franz Krienbühl, in 1974/75 until February 1998, the suits worn by elite speed skaters developed gradually, mostly aiming at a better fit and at improved cooling characteristics
The aim of this paper is to present results of wind-tunnel measurements showing the efthe strips and, in addition, to quantify the impact on speed skating performance the zigzag fects of the strips and, in addition, to quantify the impact on speed skating performance strips may have had in a real skating environment
Summary
Research and innovations in the field of sport apparel and materials have helped to increase skating speed tremendously. The introduction and finetuning of the clap skate mechanism, the thickness and metal compound of blades and the application of water-additives to reduce ice-friction all had their impact on improved speed-skating performance [1]. In the almost 25 years following the introduction of the one-piece skinsuit by the Austrian Franz Krienbühl, in 1974/75 until February 1998, the suits worn by elite speed skaters developed gradually, mostly aiming at a better fit and at improved cooling characteristics. Foam zigzag tape strips on the lower legs and the cap of the skating suit were introduced, aiming at significant aerodynamic drag reduction, Figure 1. The application of the zigzag tape to racing suits by the Dutch team followed earlier measurements by
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