Maths and the Olympics
We readily imagine mathematicians as not very sporty. Yet, calculations have become central to the practice of sport, whether it is helping athletes improve their individual and collective performances, comparing results from different disciplines or building playing fields. Did you know that Big Data entered sport starting from baseball and that penalty shootouts in football can be approached using the Nash equilibrium? Have you ever imagined how to make the decathlon events or the performances of women and men commensurable? Welcome to a world of strongly built figures!
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Sport and longevity
Age is, of course, a predominant factor in athletic (and intellectual!) performance. This nonlinear decline can be modeled using an exponential model, which seems to hold at every physiological scale: cellular, skeletal, pulmonary…
Statistics, what else? A mathematics article | Tangente
Among the branches of mathematics applied to sport, statistics holds a prominent place. It is used to analyze large datasets—big data—to combat doping, and in media coverage of sport, typically for questions concerning the Olympic Games.
Hungarian tables: mathematics article | Tangente
Combined events in athletics, such as the decathlon, require a way of comparing results across different disciplines. Scoring tables were therefore developed from statistical data and are regularly updated to reflect changes in human physical development.
Nash and penalty shootouts: maths article | Tangente
When a penalty is taken in football, the player wants to put the ball in the net; the goalkeeper has to stop him. Can mathematics help maximize the chances of scoring—or of saving that fateful shot? The affirmative answer illustrates the work of John Nash.
Spotlight on skateboarding
Skateboarding became popular in Europe around 1990. Whether tackling a straight line, a flat surface, a curve or an aerial trick, skateboarders must read their surroundings and have spatial and architectural awareness. This is where physics and mathematics come into play…
Sports performance trends: a maths brief | Tangente
Citius, altius, fortius. The Olympic motto ("Faster, higher, stronger") sums up athletes' ambition to push the limits of human capabilities; for more than a century of competition, they have regularly broken records.
An exhibition to set up near you | Tangente
"Why do we lean into turns?" is the title of an exhibition accompanying the release of Amandine Aftalion's book.