International Amateur Athletic Federation Research Articles

Athletic Performance Decline Over the Life Span: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses of Elite and Masters Track-and-Field Data.

Loss of muscle power has a significant impact on mobility in geriatric populations, so this study sought to determine the extent and time course of performance decline in power-centric events throughout the life span via retrospective analyses of masters and elite track-and-field data. Four track-and-field events were selected based on maximal power output: the 100-m dash, long jump, high jump, and triple jump. Elite and masters athlete data were gathered from the World Masters Outdoor Championships and the International Amateur Athletic Federation World Athletics Championships (17,945 individual results). Data were analyzed by fitting individual and group results to quadratic and linear models. Average age of peak performance in all events was 27.8 (0.8)years for men and 28.3 (0.8)years for women. Athlete performance decline best matched a linear model for the 5years following peak performance (mean R2 = .68 [.20]) and for ages 35-60, but best matched a quadratic model for ages 60-90 and 35-90 (mean R2 = .75 [.12]). The average rate of decline for the masters data ages 35-60 ranged from 0.55% per year for men's 100-m dash to 1.04% per year for women's long jump. A significant age × sex interaction existed between men and women, with men declining faster throughout life in all events except the 100-m dash. Performance decline begins in the early 30s and is linear through middle age. This pattern of decline provides a basis for further research on power-decline pathophysiology and preventive measures starting in the 30s.

The Medical Examination of Lady Competitors: Sex Control in Skiing, 1967–2000

The International Ski Federation (FIS) instituted sex testing protocols in 1967. In doing so, it followed the example set by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and became the second international federation to institute some form of compulsory sex control, before the International Olympic Committee implemented its sex verification policy in 1968. Despite initially looking to the track and field federation for guidance, the FIS eventually diverged in procedure, method, and timing. It required testing occur in women skiers’ home countries before competition, introduced testosterone levels into the equation, and continued mandatory checks until 2000, after the IAAF had abandoned routine, on-site controls. An analysis of the FIS sex verification policies exposes a deep and long-lasting anxiety about the appropriateness of women in all sports, not just in track and field; identifies the introduction of hormonal analysis into sex verification; and shows the unintended consequences of sex testing when done at the national level.

Czechoslovak Female Athletes at the International Scene During the Interwar Period between WWI and WWII

Between the two world wars, women athletics got emancipated, as both sport successes and the viewers’ interest contributed to the International Olympic Committee and International Amateur Athletic Federation topmen to accept women athletics. The representatives of the Czechoslovak Federation of Handball and Female Sports and other women sports contributed largely to the development and emancipation of women athletics, and were present at the foundation of the world federation. The women’s athletics popularity for European sport public rose mostly thanks to the stars of the track, throw, and jump disciplines at the international events. Women athletes from Poland and Czechoslovakia held up in the competition of big sporting powers, notwithstanding their much more humble training possibilities. This paper focused on the most successful Czechoslovak women athletes that were able to achieve interesting results at the biggest women athletics events and managed to change the historical world tables in athletics. Used sources included their period contemporary journals and magazines and some till now unpublished registry data.

Sex, drugs and science: the IOC’s and IAAF’s attempts to control fairness in sport

This paper traces the history of two important policies in sport: rules against drugs and ‘ambiguous’ athletes in women’s events. We identify three phases in the work of the International Olympic Committee’s and International Amateur Athletic Federation’s medical committees: (1) from the mid-1960s to the 1970s, the medical grounding of the committees and the members’ worldviews encouraged the groups to enlist scientific techniques to solve drug use and sex ambiguity issues; (2) from the 1970s to the 1980s, administrative confusion underscored both committees, but scientific personnel gained legitimacy and furthered their own agendas; and (3) from the 1980s to the mid-1980s, the seeds of diversion in sex and drug tests were sown. The central finding of this study is that the stakeholders who shaped anti-doping and sex testing policies took for granted concerns regarding ethics and instead increasingly relied upon medical, scientific, and technical practices to define and control fairness in sport.

Study Regarding The Introduction of The Concept ”IAAF Kids' Athletics” in The Primary School in Physical Education Lessons

The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) promoted in 2001 a new concept of athletics competition for children. The new concept represents the promotion of athletics as a game, all events being performed as team races or relay races. The points for all of the technical events (jumping, throwing) are calculated by adding each team member's performance. Considering the athletics are present in the school curriculum in all forms of education, this research started from the working hypothesis stating that the implementation of the strategy promoted by the concept "IAAF Kids' athletics" in the primary school physical education lessons could contribute to a major change in the children's understanding and practice of track and field events and to a much faster integration of all pupils. At the end of the research, the concept of team work was received very well by the pupils, the children forming real teams.

Reflections on the Harry Reynolds Litigation

In the Spring 2003 issue of Entertainment Law Ken Foster 1 wrote of the distinction between ‘international sports law’ and ‘global sports law’, with the latter connoting immunity from national law that ‘international sports law’ does not purport to possess. In his introduction to that article, Foster wrote briefly of the litigation between the International Amateur Athletic Federation (hereafter IAAF) and Harry (‘Butch’) Reynolds, the American track athlete who failed an IAAF doping test in the early 1990s and was banned as a consequence. Foster used that case as an example of governing bodies’ response to the possibility of the ‘ordinary’ courts intervening in their disciplinary processes, citing the words of IAAF luminary Arne Ljundqvist. In the course of the litigation Ljundqvist famously stated that ‘the Courts create a lot of problems for our anti-doping work, but we don’t care in the least what they say. We have our rules and they are supreme.

Post-Exercise Cold Water Immersion on Sports Performance Recovery: A Review

Post-exercise cold water immersion (CWI) has recently been developed and applied in professional sports. CWI has become widely accepted for use in sports and is endorsed by various organisations, such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). Specific considerations on the extensive use of CWI in the field of sports, the effects of performance recovery after CWI intervention are noteworthy to be examined. This article aimed to review and summarize reports studying effects of CWI on post-exercise recovery. A comprehensive examination of literature was conducted and the decided databases were reviewed. Positive effects of post-exercise CWI on athletes’ endurance performance and perceived recovery were found. The possible reasons relate to the reduction of core temperature and blood redistribution. However, CWI effects on power related performance did not receive a consensus understanding in this review. Cryotherapy is normally used for limiting muscle damages, but post-exercise CWI on alternating blood markers for the muscle damages did not show a clear finding in this review. Particularly, Jadad score analysis in this review shows low on average (average Jadad score = 1.80±1.17) of the quality of the studies. It is necessary to reconsider the application on the previous examination. Further investigation is recommended, specifically on power related recovery and neural transmission alternations using randomized controlled trial with masking design.

2011 대구세계육상선수권대회 운동역학 프로젝트 수행 경과보고

The purpose of this study was to find the biomechanical research project result carried out at 2011 IAAF World championship in Daegu. This project was approved by the International Amateur Athletic Federation(IAAF) and financially supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism(MCST) and, Korea Association of Athletics Federations(KAAF). The total number of the project members was 20, including the members of the Scientific Committee, the Korean Society of Sport Biomechanics(KSSB) and graduate students as assistants. The objective of this project has been to analyze the performance in the track events(100 m, 110 mH) and field events(Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump, Pole Vault, Javelin Throw and Shot Put). This project was focused on the biomechanical research only. This kind of analysis has been carried out at major competitions for more than a decade, as it provides coaches and athletes with very useful information as an aid to training programmes and competition preparation. The biomechanical analysis of the top athletes in the world in each specialty serves as a reference for assessing technique and rationalizing the results achieved. The results will be disseminated world-wide and coaches will be in a better position to design training strategies in line with current world trends.

Runners, Rumors, and Reams of Representations: An Inquiry into Drug Use by Athletes in the 1920s

Abstract Stimulants and other performance-enhancing drugs were by all accounts popular among athletes in the 1920s. This article revolves around the Finnish Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi, his German rival Otto Peltzer, and a 1927 drug slur that engulfed the two of them. While the slur had apparently no factual basis, the two athletes were equally keen on perfection, but only Peltzer has been persistently associated with drugs. As a case study of two runners and the conflicting ways the drug issue has been represented, the article is an invitation to approach drug-related claims with caution and, conversely, from the athletes’ perspective. The International Amateur Athletic Federation formally prohibited doping, or the use of stimulants “not normally employed” in 1928, but the ruling was ambiguous enough to let curious athletes experiment with a host of drugs to improve their performance.

Average VO 2max as a function of running performances on different distances

Objective To determine the VO 2max differences as well as average VO 2max values for runners of both genders competing in various race distances at different performance level (International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) scores). Material and methods VO 2max of 137 males and 53 females top-class Spain runners was measured wit a multistage treadmill test. An exhaustive bibliographic analysis of the VO 2max values in different events was also done. Results From Spain and literature data, VO 2max increases from 100 to 1500 m in runners with the same performance level (IAAF score). For the 3000, 5000, 10,000 m and marathon groups, VO 2max does not differ significantly. Furthermore and for the same event, small differences in performance level are associated with small or no differences in VO 2max. Conclusions At the same level of performance (IAAF scores), VO 2max levels are increasing from 100 to 3000 m showing a greater importance of this parameter for training and selection purposes. On longer distances however, VO 2max levels are the highest but similar indicating that VO 2max is an important prerequisite but that VO 2max importance is similar for all distance events from 3000 m to marathon. On the other hand, within a distance event, VO 2max may be a good discriminator within a group of athletes showing a wide range of performances but not in a homogeneous group of elite athletes.

The modern Olympic Movement, women's sport and the social order during the inter-war period

The Olympic Movement, created by the French Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was conceived as a tool to promote and spread European aristocratic and masculine values. That is why women were not included in the first Olympic programme in 1896. Nevertheless, the growing influence of feminist movements before and after the First World War sparked the development of international women's sports contests. Since 1921, the Fédération Sportive Féminine Internationale, directed by Alice Milliat, organized regular ‘Women's Games’ and was affiliated with the same number of countries as similar male international federations. This expanded role of women and women's sport challenged the established social order of masculine domination. Despite the fact that women's participation in the Games can be seen as early as 1900, the Olympic Games at which the participation of female athletes became more notable to some historians was not until those held in 1928 in Amsterdam. But the overture made to women did not emerge from the willingness of the International Olympic Committee. Rather, it must be attributed to Sigfried Edström, President of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF). The motives of Edström were far from benevolent; he wanted to control women's sport in order to maintain the social order dominated by men.

Athlete rewards based on difficulty of achievements

If rewards are to reflect the difficulty of achievements, a yardstick based on historical performance in the activity in question is needed. The International Amateur Athletic Federation devised such scoring methods for individual events in combined events competitions such as decathlon and pentathlon. We attempt to formalise the manner in which rewards could be based on the distribution of past achievements. Properties of the measures we propose are compared.

An analysis of decathlon data

Summary. Data in the form of times, distances and scores for athletes competing in the decathlon at the meetings of the International Amateur Athletic Federation from 1991 to 1999 were collected and then subjected to statistical analysis. The first part of the analysis concentrated on the multivariate description of the data by using cluster analysis and classical scaling. The second part of the analysis questioned whether the decathlon could be considered fair or unfair to particular athletes, e.g. the track specialist or the field specialist, since the spirit of the decathlon is that all 10 events are equally regarded. Statistical techniques used were based on Bartlett's test of homogeneity of variance, Kendall's coefficient of concordance, Spearman's rank correlation and cumulative sum charts. The tentative conclusion is that the decathlon favours those athletes who do well at the field events.

Influence of environmental factors on shot put and hammer throw range

On the rotating Earth, in addition to the Newtonian gravitational force, two additional relevant inertial forces are induced, the centrifugal and Coriolis forces. Using computer modelling for typical release heights and optimal release angles, we compare the influence of Earth rotation on the range of the male hammer throw and shot put with that of air resistance, wind, air pressure and temperature, altitude and ground obliquity. Practical correction maps are presented, by which the ranges achieved at different latitudes and/or with different release directions can be corrected by a term involving the effect of Earth rotation. Our main conclusion and suggestion is that the normal variations of certain environmental factors can be substantially larger than the smallest increases in the world records as acknowledged by the International Amateur Athletic Federation and, therefore, perhaps these should be accounted for in a normalization and adjustment of the world records to some reference conditions. Although this suggestion has certainly been made before, the comprehensiveness of our study makes it even more compelling. Our numerical calculations contribute to the comprehensive understanding and tabulation of these effects, which is largely lacking today.

Testing shock absorbing materials: the application of viscoelastic linear model

The purpose of this paper is to show a test method which measures the possibility of using the viscoelastic linear model in shock absorbing materials and its advantages regarding to actual standard tests. Applying the viscoelastic linear model and frequency analysis it is possible to study the behaviour of the dynamic rigidity and loss tangent as function of the frequency. The practical case described in the paper shows how it is possible to obtain the same results with the standard test used by IAAF (International Amateur Athletic Federation) and european standards for measuring shock absorption with materials which have different loss tangent and different dynamic rigidity.

The Dismantling of a German Champion: Katrin Krabbe and her Ordeal with the German Track and Field Association and the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF)

WHO QUESTIONS these days that sport has become big business? For good or for evil, television rights, sponsorship monies, licensing revenues, merchandising profits, ticket receipts, all of these have given sport, this most beloved of human pastimes, a new material dimension. Athletes participating in major international competitions are no longer amateurs whose anxious parents cheer from the front row of the stadium bleachers; they are in most cases sports professionals who are managed by sophisticated agents, promoters and trainers with extensive public relations advisers and logistical back-up. If a professional athlete is disqualified, barred from future competition, or fined, it can mean the end of his or her professional career and severe financial consequences, as shown by the Diane Modahl case in England. At the same time, the athlete who engages in doping can discredit an entire sport discipline. One need only look at the drug scandals surrounding the Tour de France of recent years. Dieter Baumann, the German long-distance runner, whose toothpaste was found to be laced with a prohibited anabolic steroid, is the most recent example of an athlete fighting for his reputation, if not financial survival. At least in Germany, Baumann can look back on the milestones set by other athletes in charting his legal strategy. Guilty or innocent, he will be able to stand upon a fragile, but nevertheless existing framework of judicial precedents pronounced by the German civil courts and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Whether he brings his case to the civil courts remains to be seen. I hope not. The case is a matter which should be resolved by independent sports arbitration. But what are the advantages if Baumann and the national and international federations which govern track, and field competition were to decide to resolve their dispute in this manner? These …

DO GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RUNNING PERFORMANCE DECREASE WITH DISTANCE?

It has been suggested that gender differences in running should disappear at distances somewhat longer than the marathon. The reasons have been based on fuel utilization, where women utilize fats at a greater rate, thus sparing glycogen, and on analysis of marathon vs ultramarathon performances of similarly trained men and women. We reasoned that the best comparison of the potential of a human is by the use of world best times, and with official performances by women in marathon and ultramarathon distances taking places for over 25 years, current record performances should be good indicators of whether differences disappeared with distance. We compared the world best performances at metric distances from 100m to 200km, as well as the non-metric distances of the half marathon and marathon. Records through July, 2000 were obtained from the International Amateur Athletic Federation and the Ultramarathon World websites. Times were converted to minutes and non-metric distances to metric. T-tests were run on speed differences between genders, and regression analysis was run on the fractional difference between performances across distances. Speeds were different (t = −16.8, p < 0.001) with the average difference in speed across 12 distances being 12.4%. There was a significant slope to the difference across distances (r2 = 0.538, p < 0.07), with longer distances associated with increased differences. The only race in which the difference was less than 10% was the 100m (7.2%), and the only races different by more than 13% were the 5000m (14.3%), 50km (15.2%) and 200 km (19.1%). These data show a difference of 10%–12% between genders in running performance which persists above the marathon. One suggestion to explain these results may be that because of regular feeding in distance running, there may be no advantage provided by increased fat metabolism, and the differences rest on other physical or physiological characteristics.

Female Olympians' Sex Tests Outmoded

UNLIKE THEIR male counterparts, about 3500 women participating in female-only events in the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga, are required to undergo a diagnostic procedure that most medical experts have characterized as mis-guided and unnecessary: a sex test aimed at verifying that they are not males masquerading as females. The aim of the tests is to ensure a level playing field for female athletes by preventing males—with their naturally androgen-enhanced muscular strength—from misrepresenting themselves and competing against women in female-only contests. But most medical authorities say that sex testing is far more likely to unfairly bar from competition women with genetic abnormalities that confer no such advantages. Sex testing was eliminated in 1992 by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), the world's largest sports federation. Other groups on record against requiring gender verification for athletic competitions include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Testing for drug abuse

On March 25, 1996, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) finally cleared Diane Modahl, a British athlete, of all charges of testosterone abuse in sport. That decision followed suspension from competition imposed by the British Athletic Federation (BAF) in August, 1994, on the basis of a doping test in Lisbon, Portugal, conducted in June, 1994; a 4-year ban from athletics after a disciplinary hearing in December, 1994; and her successful appeal before an independent panel of BAF in July, 1995. A urine sample from Modahl showed a 40 to 1 excess of testosterone (T) to epitestosterone (E), and this ratio was said to be proof of testosterone administration. A T/E ratio above six constitutes an offence unless there is evidence that this ratio is due to a physiological or pathological condition. BAF and eventually IAAF dismissed the case because experts for Modahl had convinced them that the analysis of a poorly stored sample was unsatisfactory and the conditions had enabled the generation of testosterone by the action of bacteria on steroids in the sample. The laboratory had refused a further test which, in the opinion of IAAF, would show whether that was the case in Modahl’s sample. Modahl is now seeking compensation for the costs of her defence as well as the loss of earnings. The testing procedures for drug abuse in sport are stringent. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have decided that the tests will require confirmation whenever possible by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, which defines several chemical features of an abused drug. Drug testing in sporting events is designed to detect and deter abuse of performanceenhancing drugs by competitors. Accredited laboratories conduct nearly 100 000 drug tests world wide at an estimated annual cost of £20 million ($30 million). Just as athletes are preparing for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA, the IOC requires competitors to agree to a contract which prohibits them taking any action beyond a court of arbitration for sport if they fail a drug test. Outside sport, drug testing has been introduced by various employers and by schools, and has even been entertained among ballroom dancers. The efficiency of these tests is unknown but recent examples of grave injustices resulting from flawed scientific and forensic evidence bring into question other drug-testing procedures. A false-positive result, as in the Modahl case, can have a cruel impact on the life of anyone found guilty and there may be no rights of appeal. What lessons can we learn from the experience of Diane Modahl?

Hematological Indices of Erythropoietin Administration in Athletes

Recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), commercially available since 1988, is thought to be used by athletes in aerobic sports for the purpose of increasing oxygen transport and aerobic power. In an attempt to identify EPO administration, we have studied the peripheral blood of 20 subjects practising sports at an amateur level. Automated cytometry was performed on the blood samples before and during 45 days of EPO treatment. The same hematological indices were determined for a control population that consisted of 240 elite athletes from various sports. As expected following EPO treatment, RBC, [Hb] and Hct increased significantly (increments of 8%, 6.3% and 11%, respectively). A significant increase in reticulocyte count was also observed. In addition, automated erythrocyte analysis showed a significant increase in cells with a volume > 120 fl and hemoglobin content (HC) < 28 pg (hypochromic macrocytes, or MacroHypo): 0.06 +/- 0.09% before EPO, 0.48 +/- 0.63% after EPO. The EPO-treated subjects differed from the control population having higher values for Hct, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), Macro and MacroHypo. To investigate the possibility of using such variations in blood parameters to identify EPO treatment, individual values for Hct, MCV, Macro and MacroHypo for treated subjects and controls were plotted. Using the percentages of MacroHypo, a cut-off value surpassed in approximately 50% of the treated subjects and in none of the controls was established.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)