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It has been a record slow period for us here, so please excuse our lack of posts for the past few weeks. Between Ross catching up after a long trip to the USA and his work with the SA Sevens team, and the end of the semester here at UIC, neither of us found much time to get online. Fortunately for us the sporting calendar has been slow, with the Fukuoka Marathon as being the only real event during this time. As an aside, Tsegaye Kebede successfully defended his title from 2008 and lowered the course record to 2:05:18, which means his best three marathon times are now 2:05:35 and it solidifies his status as a major contender in any race he lines up, at least for the next 12 months.
Of course the other big news in sports is the Tiger Woods debacle, and we have read and heard many interesting pieces on this topic. A commentary from the Sports Scientists will come, but for now suffice to say that I was not surprised one bit when the news broke and as it continued to break, and in fact one has to ask that perhaps his legendary performance and status as a fierce competitor is because of the qualities we are now hearing about, and not the other way around.
Looking back on 2009 and ahead to 2010
As has become customary on the site, we like to look back at the year in Sports Science and give you our picks of what we think are the top stories of the year. Last year it was the "Top 8 of '08," and so accordingly this year it will be the Top 9 of '09!" The series will look back at the Top 9 sports stories of 2009, from the perspective of Sports Science. We will follow our Mission Statement and Vision, as our purpose here is to provide that second and third-level of insight, to look beyond what happened, and try to interpret how it happened, why it happened.
At the end of the countdown we will whip out The Science of Sport Crystal Ball and pick what we think might be major stories in the year ahead. Of course it will be an Olympic year, with the winter games in Vancouver starting on 12 February. Traditionally we have not written much about winter sports, but as sports scientists you can be sure we will follow the games and provide the insight we can considering that the first time Ross saw snow was in 2007 and the only experience I have in winter sports is watching my neighbors cross country ski along the boulevard in front of our apartment! Interestingly, though, my new office mate works with the US Curling team, and so I will be leaning on him for some insight into the winter sports and vibe from the games!
In the mean time stay tuned for the #9 story of 2009 followed by the countdown to #1!
Jonathan
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