The Tokyo Olympics schedule is in full swing! Will "not allowing spectators" to enter the stadium affect athletes' performance? ! German Studies: Differences Between Men and Women

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The Tokyo Olympics schedule is in full swing! Will "not allowing spectators" to enter the stadium affect athletes' performance? ! German Studies: Differences Between Men and Women

The outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia in 2020 has forced the postponement of many large-scale transnational events, including the Olympic Games, which are held every four years. As the Tokyo Olympics opens on July 23, 2021, we can witness athletes from all over the world show off their talents in the arena. However, as a result of the agreement between the International Olympic Games and the Japanese government regarding whether the public should be allowed to attend the games during the competition, it was decided that all events would be “not open to spectators.” And will this result affect the performance of athletes? Research by Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg in Germany believes that this situation is different between male and female athletes.

When no audience is present, men perform worse and women’s pressure is relieved.

Emily from the Institute of Sports Science at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. Dr. Amelie Heinrich, who once coached the German Youth Winter Olympics team, used the COVID-19 pandemic to conduct relevant research on athlete psychology. Heinrich compared the running times and shooting success rates of biathlon athletes in the 2018/19 season with their performance in the 2020 season.

Research results show that male athletes run faster in the presence of spectators and perform worse in events that require physical coordination, such as shooting; interestingly, the opposite is true for female sports. They ran slower in the presence of spectators, but took a full second less time in the shooting event and scored 5 percent better in the sprint phase. The study also found that 83 athletes in the “sprint” event and 34 athletes in the “marathon” event showed the same trend as above. Researchers believe that this result is not just about the ups and downs of athlete performance, but that there may be essential differences in sports psychology between men and women.

Heinrich believes that this phenomenon may be related to gender stereotypes. In the past, in sports competitions, audiences tended to prefer watching men’s games. Now, due to the epidemic, there are no spectators to watch the games. This situation has made women more comfortable and able to calmly cope with the pressure of the game. On the other hand, men’s performance without spectators Poor. Women are naturally more sensitive to the environment, which may also be one of the factors affecting game performance.

Are men naturally stronger? Study shows there are no differences in muscle structure between men and women

Although there may be fundamental differences between men and women in terms of brain structure or psychology, the difference in physical fitness may not be as huge as you think. Research from San Francisco State University in the United States shows that after professional training, the muscle tissue of female weightlifters can convert 85% of their body muscles into “fast-twitch fibers” that are beneficial to weightlifting, surpassing many male weightlifters. player. Researchers say that while women are hormonally and physically different from men, the study shows there is little difference from a muscle-building perspective.

If people don’t want to just watch the game at home, they can also do simple exercises at home, but remember that it is best not to go out for exercise while the epidemic has not completely subsided! It is necessary to wear a mask when going out for exercise, and this will cause excessive retention of carbon dioxide in the mask during exercise, which is actually quite dangerous in the case of long-term hypoxia; in addition, the mask will be soaked with sweat during exercise, and the anti-virus effect will be reduced. Great discounts will increase the risk of diagnosis. Therefore, instead of going out for a run at the risk of heat stroke and contracting the epidemic, it is safer and more practical to do squats and flats at home while turning on the TV to cheer for the Taiwan athletes; the public may also observe together to see if What is the difference in performance between male and female athletes in various sports without the support of spectators?

Source:

Extraordinary fast-twitch fiber abundance in elite weightlifters

Selection bias in social facilitation theory? Audience effects on elite biathletes’ performance are gender-specific

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