Athletics Federations Research Articles

Correlação do valgo dinâmico com lesões de joelho em corredores

INTRODUÇÃO: Os corredores têm uma grande incidência de lesões em membros inferiores, sendo o joelho a articulação mais acometida. A mesma sofre influência direta do quadril e das articulações adjacentes. Fraqueza muscular de extensores, rotadores laterais e abdutores de quadril levam a uma alteração biomecânica chamada valgo dinâmico, que é um mecanismo compensatório, onde o centro da articulação do joelho se desloca medialmente. OBJETIVO: Esse estudo teve como objetivo correlacionar o valgo dinâmico com lesões, ângulo Q e nivelamento da pelve. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Trata-se de uma Pesquisa de campo, descritiva, investigativa e quantitativa. Os dados foram coletados nos meses de abril de 2019, na Federação de Atletismo do Piauí com 14 corredores homens, com idade acima de 18 anos. Para obtenção dos dados foi utilizado um questionário e o teste step down que foi submetido ao software para avaliação postural (SAPO) e um questionário. Os mesmos foram analisados quanto a sua normalidade de distribuição das amostras, pelo teste de Kolmogov-Sminorv, e teste de Pearson para analises de dados numéricos, foi tabulado no excel para posterior analise no GraphPad Prism 7.1. O nível de significância para análise estatística foi considerada como p< 0,05. O trabalho foi executado após aprovação no comitê de ética (CAAE: 11001219.5.0000.5193). RESULTADOS: Os resultados obtidos não mostraram correlação do valgo dinâmico com lesões, com ângulo Q (R2=-0.200) e com nivelamento da pelve (R2=0.253) e p>0,05. CONCLUSÃO: Neste estudo não foi encontrada correlação entre o valgo dinâmico, lesões de joelho, ângulo Q e nivelamento da pelve.

The Psychological Society of South Africa statement regarding the Court of Arbitrations’ ruling in the case of Caster Semenya versus the International Association of Athletics Federation

The Psychological Society of South Africa statement regarding the Court of Arbitrations’ ruling in the case of Caster Semenya versus the International Association of Athletics Federation

Collider bias (aka sample selection bias) in observational studies: why the effects of hyperandrogenism in elite women’s sport are likely underestimated

The medical condition of hyperandrogenism has entered common parlance because the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) decided to ban women with the condition from competing against women who have...

Same Tricks, New Name: The IAAF’s New 2018 Testosterone Regulation Policy for Female Athletes

On April 26, 2018, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) released its updated version of its policy on athletes with hyperandrogenism, in a discriminatory attempt to define the term female through specified levels of testosterone, and to thereby provide asolution to the problem of athletes who fell outside of their socially constructed gender binary. The IAAF’s attempts to uphold this outdated binary system is a reflection of normalized scientific discourse which creates accepted, supposedly normal, behaviors and bodies at the expense of and resulting in the oppression of those who challenge these dominant regimes of knowledge (Foucault, 1978). Certainly, the prioritization of scientific knowledge is nothing new for the intersex community, given the history of irreversible genital surgery on newborns and young children with genitalia that is incongruent with current sex standards to make them fit societal gender ideals (Davis, 2015; Karkazis, 2008). In this paper, I trouble the IAAF’s supposed solution to intersex athletes through a Foucauldian understanding of biopower and science-based constructions of knowledge and truths, with particular attention to the perpetuation of health disparities within the intersex community. More specifically, I examine the site and role of female athletes’ bodies, such as Caster Semenya, whose rights to equitable and just treatment were cast aside in order to uphold artificially constructed and societally accepted ideas of male and female. I use Semenya’s narrative, coupled with the scientific discourse in the IAAF’s decision, to explore the subsequent, but unsurprisingly repetitive, reproduction of the hierarchical power relations between governing sports bodies and athletes, especially female athletes.

Would it be ethical or legal for doctors in South Africa to administer testosterone-reducing drugs to Caster Semenya?

The Court of Arbitration for Sport recently confirmed that the decision by the International Association of Athletics Federations to require hyperandrogenic female athletes such as Caster Semenya to reduce their testosterone levels to compete in certain races has been widely condemned. The World Medical Association has warned doctors not to assist in implementing the decision, as it would be unethical. The same would apply in terms of the Health Professions Council of South Africa's rules of professional conduct. Such treatment is 'futile' in medical terms, and does not serve the purpose of providing healthcare. Therefore, doctors may lawfully refuse to prescribe it. The decision is a violation of Semenya's constitutional rights and would be regarded as unethical should doctors comply with it. However, the prescription of such drugs would not be unlawful if Semenya gave informed consent to taking them. Such consent would not be a defence to a disciplinary hearing on unprofessional conduct, but would be a good defence to any legal action arising from unpleasant side-effects - provided they were explained to her.

Global injustice in sport: The Caster Semenya ordeal - prejudice, discrimination and racial bias.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) requires the blood testosterone level of female athletes with differences of sex development to be reduced to below 5 nmol/L for a continuous period of at least 6 months, and thereafter to be maintained to below 5 nmol/L continuously for as long as the athlete wishes to remain eligible. Its ruling is based on questionable research findings. Medical decisions and interventions should be based on evidencefrom well-designed and well-conductedresearch and confirmatory studies. Caster Semenya, the reigning 800-meter Olympic champion since 2015, has challenged this ruling. Gender verification was instituted with women's participation in the Olympics in 1900, and female athletes were subjected to invasive, embarrassing and humiliating procedures. In its many decades of harsh scrutiny of successful female athletes, especially those from backgrounds similar to Semenya's, the IAAF has disrespected human rights and medical ethics and allowed prejudice, discrimination and injustice to infringe on their dignity and relentlessly obstruct their international sporting careers.

Efecto de la edad relativa en las disciplinas de lanzamientos de los participantes españoles en el plan nacional de tecnificación de atletismo

El concepto efecto relativo de la edad hace referencia a las consecuencias de las diferencias físicas y psicológicas que pueden existir entre los nacidos más temprana y más tardíamente dentro del mismo año natural. El objetivo del presente estudio fue examinar dicho fenómeno en los lanzadores y lanzadoras españoles menores de 18 años (Sub-18) y de 14 años (Sub-14), identificando la influencia de la disciplina deportiva. La muestra comprendía 1960 lanzadores participantes de las concentraciones técnicas de la Real Federación Española de Atletismo (RFEA) entre los años 2005 y 2018. El análisis estadístico se basó en la prueba chi-cuadrado con un cálculo posterior de los odds ratios y el intervalo de confianza del 95%. Los principales resultados revelan que en todas las disciplinas (disco, jabalina, martillo y peso) hay una sobrerrepresentación de los sujetos nacidos en los primeros meses, siendo mayor la diferencia en lanzamiento de peso y observándose una reducción de dicho efecto con la maduración de los lanzadores. Podemos concluir que la estructura del atletismo español fomenta la aparición de este fenómeno, probablemente por el temprano proceso de selección de lanzadores.

Caster Semenya’s appalling treatment: The International Association of Athletics Federations violates human rights and ethical principles with impunity

Caster Semenya’s appalling treatment: The International Association of Athletics Federations violates human rights and ethical principles with impunity

Unwarranted and Invasive Scrutiny: Caster Semenya, Sex-Gender Testing and the Production of Woman In ‘Women’s’ Track and Field

This article discusses the imbrication of racialising and sexualising scientific practices of gender testing and verification in elite athletics competition, and their intersection with social politics, using as a theoretical frame the feminist, anti-racist work of Hortense Spillers (2003), Judith Butler (1990, 1993a, 1993b, 2004) and Anne Fausto-Sterling (2000), among others. It traces the practice of sex-gender testing of ‘women’ at sanctioned International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and International Olympic Committee (IOC) track and field competitions in order to contextualise South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya’s experiences at the 2009 Berlin World Championships and the subsequent spectacularisation of her body through the discursive practices of representation.

The Problem of Gender Verification in Sport: Legal, Medical and Ethical Aspects

Equal opportunities for women to participate in sports, including women originally considered male, are accompanied with a debate on the need for gender verification for fear of participation in women’s competitions of female athletes with genetic characteristics more typical of men, which, in some experts’ opinions, gives them unfounded starting advantages. Thus, it is necessary to consider legal, medical and ethical aspects of gender verification in high performance sports. The article analyzes the main alterations developed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Rules for selection of sportswomen with violations of gender formation for participation in competitions. Given the position of the Special Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council, the author considers the issue concerning the compliance of these changes with international principles and norms in the field of human rights protection with due regard to non — discrimination, respect for honor, dignity and integrity of the person. It is concluded that there is considerable uncertainty about admissibility of the use of testosterone level as a universal criterion for gender verification, as well as the availability of direct cause-effect relationship between the corresponding hormonal characteristics and the sports results achieved. The author draws attention to the ethical element of gender verification in sport related to the methods offered by IAAF to assess the sufficient level of femininity and the requirement of its adjustment to artificially determined indicators, even when the principle of confidentiality is declared.

Relative Age Influences Performance of World-Class Track and Field Athletes Even in the Adulthood.

The relative age effect (RAE) is a common phenomenon observed in youth sports and is characterized by a significant over-representation of athletes born close to the date of selection. However, there is a lack of research on RAE in world-class track and field athletes and it is not clear if this effect persists into adulthood. Thus, this study examined for the first time the prevalence and magnitude of RAE at world class level in all track and field disciplines. Birthdates of 39,590 athletes (51.6% females) ranked in the International Association of Athletics Federations top 100 official lists between 2007 and 2018 season of Under 18, Under 20, and Senior categories were collected. Under 18 and Under 20 athletes born in the first week of the year are about 2 to 3.5 times more likely to be included in the top-100 ranking than the athletes born in the last week of the year. RAE was overall larger in male compared to female athletes. In some disciplines (e.g., throwing events) RAE persists in Senior category. These findings suggest that in some disciplines relatively younger athletes may have less chances of reaching world-class performances even in the adulthood. Governing bodies should reflect upon their policies for athlete support and selection to minimize the RAE.

アスレティックトレーニング関連組織の「ルーツ」—ATに関わる各組織の設立趣旨や歴史からこれまでとこれからを考える— 日本陸上競技連盟医事部トレーナー部会

アスレティックトレーニング関連組織の「ルーツ」—ATに関わる各組織の設立趣旨や歴史からこれまでとこれからを考える— 日本陸上競技連盟医事部トレーナー部会

World-Class Long-Distance Running Performances Are Best Predicted by Volume of Easy Runs and Deliberate Practice of Short-Interval and Tempo Runs.

Casado, A, Hanley, B, Santos-Concejero, J, and Ruiz-Pérez, LM. World-class long-distance running performances are best predicted by volume of easy runs and deliberate practice of short-interval and tempo runs. J Strength Cond Res 35(9): 2525-2531, 2021-The aim of this novel study was to analyze the effect of deliberate practice (DP) and easy continuous runs completed by elite-standard and world-class long-distance runners on competitive performances during the first 7 years of their sport careers. Eighty-five male runners reported their best times in different running events and the amounts of different DP activities (tempo runs and short- and long-interval sessions) and 1 non-DP activity (easy runs) after 3, 5, and 7 years of systematic training. Pearson's correlations were calculated between performances (calculated using the International Association of Athletics Federations' scoring tables) and the distances run for the different activities (and overall total). Simple and multiple linear regression analysis calculated how well these activities predicted performance. Pearson's correlations showed consistently large effects on performance of total distance (r ≥ 0.75, p < 0.001), easy runs (r ≥ 0.68, p < 0.001), tempo runs (r ≥ 0.50, p < 0.001), and short-interval training (r ≥ 0.53, p < 0.001). Long-interval training was not strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.22). Total distance accounted for significant variance in performance (R2 ≥ 0.57, p < 0.001). Of the training modes, hierarchical regression analysis showed that easy runs and tempo runs were the activities that accounted for significant variance in performance (p < 0.01). Although DP activities, particularly tempo runs and short-interval training, are important for improving performance, coaches should note that the non-DP activity of easy running was crucial in better performances, partly because of its contribution to total distance run.

Illness at a Para Athletics Track and Field World Championships under Hot and Humid Ambient Conditions.

Heat-related illness, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, is seen as a major risk for athletes with a physical impairment. Primary: To survey the illness statistics during the 2015 Para Athletics World Championships and report on any cases of significant heat-related illnesses. Secondary: To document the heat countermeasures taken on behalf of the organizing committee. Retrospective audit. Medical records collected at medical centers during the 2015 Para Athletics World Championships. Athletes participating in the 2015 Para Athletics World Championships. Illness statistics and records of hospitalizations of athletes participating in the championships were recorded by the medical officials during the precompetition (3 days) and competition (10 days) periods. Furthermore, wet-bulb globe temperatures (WBGTs) were measured at the competition venues. Incidence rates of illness during the precompetition and competition periods. WBGTs ranged from 24.6°C to 36.0°C, regularly exceeding the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) guidelines for cancelation in the morning both during the competition (ACSM, 52%; IAAF, 97%) and precompetition periods (ACSM, 75%; IAAF, 100%). These guidelines were not exceeded as regularly during the evening and noon for both the precompetition and competition periods (ACSM, 0%-5%; IAAF, 0%-58%). The illness incidence rate was 2.89 per 1000 athlete-days (incidence proportion = 3.76%; confidence interval = 2.69%-4.83%). Only seven cases of heat-related illness were recorded, of which three required hospitalization. This study indicates low rates of illness, including hospitalization and intravenous administration for heat-related illness among athletes participating in the 2015 Para Athletics World Championships. III.

Age-Related Changes in Para and Wheelchair Racing Athlete's Performances.

During the last decades, all para-athletes with disabilities have significantly increased their performance level due to technological progress and human investment, through better training or recovery protocols, medical care and nutritional monitoring. Among these elements, the athlete’s age is one of the determining factors in performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of age on maximal performances for para-athletes and wheelchair racing athletes, scaled on able-bodied records. We collected 53,554 results including athlete’s best performance of the year, event, age and disability classification from the International Paralympic Committee competitions between 2009 and 2017 for both female and male para-athletics and wheelchair racing disciplines for a total of 472 sport events in Track and Field (considering each impairment type for each event) and gathered the all-time able-bodied records from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) at the end of 2017. Maximal performance by age was fitted with the Moore function for each para-athletics and wheelchair racing event. This study finds a similar age-related pattern in maximal performance among para-athletes and wheelchair racing athletes. The age at peak performance varies according to sex, impairment type and event and increases gradually from sprint to endurance events. The best Top 100 performances include a large age range suggesting that performance has probably not been optimized yet for most elite para-athletes and wheelchair racers. The next Paralympic Games of Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 will certainly offer exceptional performance.

International Association of Athletics Federations Consensus Statement 2019: Nutrition for Athletics

The International Association of Athletics Federations recognizes the importance of nutritional practices in optimizing an Athlete's well-being and performance. Although Athletics encompasses a diverse range of track-and-field events with different performance determinants, there are common goals around nutritional support for adaptation to training, optimal performance for key events, and reducing the risk of injury and illness. Periodized guidelines can be provided for the appropriate type, amount, and timing of intake of food and fluids to promote optimal health and performance across different scenarios of training and competition. Some Athletes are at risk of relative energy deficiency in sport arising from a mismatch between energy intake and exercise energy expenditure. Competition nutrition strategies may involve pre-event, within-event, and between-event eating to address requirements for carbohydrate and fluid replacement. Although a "food first" policy should underpin an Athlete's nutrition plan, there may be occasions for the judicious use of medical supplements to address nutrient deficiencies or sports foods that help the athlete to meet nutritional goals when it is impractical to eat food. Evidence-based supplements include caffeine, bicarbonate, beta-alanine, nitrate, and creatine; however, their value is specific to the characteristics of the event. Special considerations are needed for travel, challenging environments (e.g.,heat and altitude); special populations (e.g.,females, young and masters athletes); and restricted dietary choice (e.g.,vegetarian). Ideally, each Athlete should develop a personalized, periodized, and practical nutrition plan via collaboration with their coach and accredited sports nutrition experts, to optimize their performance.

Fluid Needs for Training, Competition, and Recovery in Track-and-Field Athletes.

The 2019 International Amateur Athletics Federation Track-and-Field World Championships will take place in Qatar in the Middle East. The 2020 Summer Olympics will take place in Tokyo, Japan. It is quite likely that these events may set the record for hottest competitions in the recorded history of both the Track-and-Field World Championships and Olympic Games. Given the extreme heat in which track-and-field athletes will need to train and compete for these games, the importance of hydration is amplified more than in previous years. The diverse nature of track-and-field events, training programs, and individuality of athletes taking part inevitably means that fluid needs will be highly variable. Track-and-field events can be classified as low, moderate, or high risk for dehydration based on typical training and competition scenarios, fluid availability, and anticipated sweat losses. This paper reviews the risks of dehydration and potential consequences to performance in track-and-field events. The authors also discuss strategies for mitigating the risk of dehydration.

Paula Radcliffe: elite athlete and clean air advocate.

Paula Radcliffe tells Gary Humphreys about her journey from athlete to clean air advocate and her hopes for a clean air initiative launched by the International Association of Athletics Federation.

‘Save the Long Skirt’: Women, Sports, and Fashion in Third Republic and Vichy France

Following the First World War, opportunities for female French athletes expanded as women organized sporting associations, competed in new sports including soccer and rugby, and founded their own athletic federation. The French feminist movement also enjoyed considerable success during the interwar period, winning greater educational, legal, and political freedoms. The concurrent rise of French women’s sport and the feminist movement encouraged scholars to create teleological links between these two liberatory trends, but scholarly wisdom that links French feminism and sports relies upon a narrative of linearity that was not apparent in the lived experience of female athletes. Sartorial discourses and practices from the 1920s through the Vichy period show that despite the increasing popularity of women’s sports, and the supposedly transgressive fashions that accompanied them, women’s athletics in France was rarely revolutionary. Sportswomen, moderate French feminists, and social conservatives all promoted women’s sports in normative ways, stressing sport’s role in helping women to succeed in their natural duties as mothers and wives. The most visually transgressive hemlines for sportswomen finally took hold during the Vichy regime when conservatives promoted shorter shorts and form fitting shirts to bolster natalist policies.

Scientific integrity and the IAAF testosterone regulations

In April 2018, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced new regulations governing the eligibility of certain female athletes with differences of sexual development accompanied by elevated levels of natural testosterone. Such women with testosterone levels above a specific threshold would be banned from competing as females unless they were to undergo medical intervention. In this paper, we examine key elements of the scientific basis offered by IAAF in support of the regulations, based on a subset of original performance data provided to us by IAAF. We identify significant flaws in the data used by IAAF leading to unreliable results. Further, these failures have not been corrected by IAAF or the academic journal which has published them, leading to a comprehensive failure of scientific integrity. We argue that the IAAF testosterone regulations are based on a flawed scientific foundation and that this case offers more general lessons for the sport governance community on the importance of upholding the standards of scientific integrity expected in other areas of policy and regulation.