-
How does Olympic success correlate with a nation’s GNP? How does the location of the Olympics affect the chance of record breaking? And how can simple statistics help us understand the likelihood of winning streaks and the chance that an innocent athlete will fail a drugs test? Professor John Barrow explores the answers in this video lecture, aimed at a general audience.
-
Is it possible for Usain Bolt improve his world 100 metres sprint record significantly without actually improving his speed? How fast is he able to run? In this video lecture, aimed at a general audience, Professor John Barrow examines the hidden mechanics of sprinting, the effect of altitude on sprint times and the current status of 'unbeatable' records.
-
Usain Bolt, the "fastest man on the planet", aims to get his 100 metre world record of 9.58 seconds down to 9.40 seconds. But is there an ultimate limit which no runner can possibly break? In this article, aimed at the general public and older students, Tony Crilly looks at whether mathematics can give us the answer.
