Study shows hairstyle and clothing could cost athletes medals

Led by engineers at Heriot-Watt University, the study used mannequins in wind tunnels to explore the aerodynamics of 10 different hairstyles and 20 different clothing styles in the long jump and 100 metres. For long jump athletes, it was found that long curly hair and loose-fitting clothing can cut up to 10cm off their jump distance. In the 100m, athletes could lose 0.07 seconds off their sprint time – enough to ultimately decide between winning and losing. The work is published in the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics.

“There’s a surprising misconception that persists up to the present day among some athletes and their coaches that aerodynamic resistance would not be significant in track and field events,” said lead author Professor Bert Blocken, head of Heriot-Watt University’s aerospace programme at the university’s School of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

“This is compared to faster sports such as cycling, speed skating and skiing – where the impact of clothing and even hairstyle has been firmly established over the past decades. But our research shows this opinion is fundamentally wrong and that hairstyle and clothing can cause significant drag in long jump and 100 metres sprint events. In both events, the impact on performance is enough to lose out on a gold medal.”

The Heriot-Watt team worked with researchers from and KU Leuven University in Belgium and American simulation software company Ansys to develop the study, with Southampton University providing wind tunnel facilities. The results showed that long, curly hair can increase athlete drag by up to 8.7 per cent in both the long jump and the 100m sprint. Wearing both a loose-fitting top and loose-fitting shorts also increases drag by more than 23 per cent in both disciplines, compared to wearing a tight-fitting top and tight-fitting shorts.

“These differences can be decisive in high-stakes sporting events, where a fraction of a second or a centimetre can be the difference between winning or losing out on a medal,” said Professor Blocken, who has previously advised professional sports teams on aerodynamics at events including the Tour de France.

According to Prof Blocken, while braids or dreadlocks may look like ‘heavier’ styles that could impede performance, they tend to be positioned more behind the back of the athlete while sprinting. As a result, these styles are more sheltered from the wind than loose, curly hair, and more aerodynamic as a result.