Theme editorial

Science behind the Olympic Games

Geoff Auty, Editor
An early childhood memory is playing out after school on a summers evening. Often, with a bat and a ball, we would re-enact the England versus Australia test matches (a strong talking point in 1948) and everyone wanted to be Len Hutton. However, during one week, the oldest boy in the group decided to organise a series of races, anything from across a street to running to the top of a hill and around a distant telegraph pole. Everyone was given the name of a country. One night, I was told to be USA but I had no idea what it meant. Then we all laughed when somebody was told to be hungry (or that was how Hungary sounded). At the weekend, I visited the cinema and a newsreel started with the appearance of five interlinked circles. Somebody in the row behind whispered, The Olympic Games, as white-clad athletes were seen running across the grey screen. Gradually, I understood what our running and jumping had been about. There was no television for us to watch the Games, and newsreels at the cinema were in black and white. How times have changed! So it was interesting for me to hear a programme on BBC Radio4 called The Reunion in which five people involved in the London Olympic Games of 1948 recalled their experiences. Roger Bannister, who was to become the first man to run a mile in under 4minutes, did not compete in the games but he did have the opportunity to play a supportive role and gain experience of being at a major event. He suggested that, if he had tried to compete that year, he would have peaked too early and might never have achieved the record for which he is famous. The others, Dorothy Tyler, Dorothy Manley, Tommy Godwin and John Parlett, had all been competitors. This was the first Games since 1936, but one of the ladies wore the same tracksuit again. They were given ribbons to sew onto their vests (that was as far as corporate kit went) and, in one case, the vest and shorts were made by her mother. They had to provide their

own running shoes. This was truly amateur sport. Only about 10% of the competitors were women and they were not allowed to run in long races for fear of physiological damage. The team did have a team training event at a Butlins holiday camp. This could provide the accommodation for them to meet together but not the facilities for serious athletics practice. No new facilities were built and the athletics took place in Wembley Stadium. Starting blocks were allowed in sprint races for the first time but those who wanted to use them had to provide their own, carry them onto the track, and hammer them in with long nails. This might seem like a risk of damage to the track, but many other athletes carried a trowel to dig out small footholds. It was a cinder track and had been laid only 2weeks before the event because the stadium was normally used each week for greyhound racing. A good cinder track for athletics should have years to bed in. With the opening ceremony about to start, it was realised that nobody had ordered a team flag for Great Britain to carry. There was one in Roger Bannisters office and he had decided to bring it, but he had left it locked in a car. The result was Roger running from a distant car park with the flag to hand it to the team. Fortunately, there is a tradition that the host country goes last in the opening parade so the flag was received in time (just). Reports on the Games were simply included in sports news on the radio, with little coverage in newspapers. But in those austere times, a shortage of paper meant that newspapers were usually restricted to eight pages. Yes, times have changed! Surprisingly, the 1948 Games made a profit of 10,000, but that was because everything that could be sold was sold. People would buy flags as keepsakes, sailing clubs obtained dinghies, rowing clubs bought the boats, etc. 10,000 is now the price of a small car, but in those days would have bought several houses.
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Theme editorial: Science behind the Olympic Games The new stadium in London is ready and, in addition to the well-publicised road run which gave a non-Olympic runner the chance to be first to cross the finishing line in a race, there have been other sponsored charity events that have provided the opportunity to test the facilities. Educational projects being evolved using the Olympics as a theme have been ongoing in the last 18months, and some were not ready for being reported until the print deadline was almost upon us. However, we got there, and can offer a set of articles that provide a mix of background information and various opportunities for school activity. In contrast with 1948, those living in east London have seen the new stadium growing in their environment while those of us elsewhere in the country have witnessed the progress on news programmes. Ruth Amos and Helen Robertson describe how schools and the public have been able to observe the building work and study the impact on the local environment of the stadium and infrastructure that will be there long after the closing ceremony. The result of a sensitive and very open attitude displayed by the organisers! Leah Holmes gives an account of the In the Zone packs developed with support from the Wellcome Trust that were launched at the Association for Science Education (ASE) Annual Conference in Liverpool in January 2012. The article includes contributions from teachers in a trial school describing the suggested activities for different age ranges. Many readers will have tried these materials by the time this edition is delivered. Offering more activity for schools, Jo Horlock explains a set of Concept Cartoons developed in conjunction with ASE to help pupils think their way through to a correct answer or to spark discussion of issues that do not have a simple answer, and might in some cases be controversial.
Geoff Auty is the Editor of School Science Review

Mark Gadd discusses the Scientists in Sport schools outreach programme. Events featuring inspiring presentations by Olympic or Paralympic athletes and a range of practical workshops have been held at universities around the country. Part of the programme is a national competition in which students design a portable kit for testing for banned drugs. David Mottram then gives a factual account of the drug testing programme that will be used throughout the Olympic Games with the intention of making these games the cleanest ever. It was a surprise to find that an ASE member I see regularly at conferences is a member of the team that judges the track events and provides the record of the race times achieved by the athletes. As Steve Marshall explains, in the modern era this measuring and recording of each race uses video filming and computer processing. Frank Harris, a frequent contributor of practical physics ideas to School Science Review, also has a longstanding interest in athletics and he has provided a mathematical activity on studying how to select the most appropriate team and obtain the best performance in a relay race. He explains why the baton changeover is a difficult process for even the most practised teams. The equipment used by athletes is under constant development and is the subject of university research. David James describes the breadth of this work and explains details of the science behind equipment for three very different sports. The final article is provided by Sean Starr, who was fascinated to consider whether there is an upper limit to how fast humans can run or how high they can jump. Will records continue to be broken? Sean has provided evidence by researching the current literature available. I think we have managed to bring together a variety of articles blending factual science and potential activity in school. I hope you enjoy reading it all.

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