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Why Do Athletes Become Stronger, Faster?

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Athletes: Is this new era something we have never seen before? The Olympic motto is, “citius, altius, fortius,” which is latin for, “Faster, Higher Stronger”, and athletes have fulfilled this motto rapidly, with countless record breaking numbers in just the past decade. However, a recent debate has arisen with the question, “Are athletes really becoming bigger, stronger, faster, and better?” Many people don’t agree with this idea that athletes have revolutionized. However, it is evident the athletes have become better over the years. Athletes are becoming better because they have broken many records set by past athletes, they are becoming physically more efficient, and they are being pushed harder than ever by their coaches. Firstly, Athletes …show more content…

A recent study conducted by Tyler Cowen shows that since 1987, gymnasts average height has shrunk from 5’3” to 4’11” so they were able to be more efficient during their events (Cowen). Through this, one can see that gymnasts are becoming more efficient by becoming shorter to perform events better. Next, many people have seen that, “In the 1920s, the average elite high-jumper and average elite shot-putter were the same exact size. But as that idea started to fade away, as sports scientists and coaches realized that rather than the average body type, you want highly specialized bodies that fit into certain athletic niches, a form of artificial selection took place, a self-sorting for bodies that fit certain sports, and athletes’ bodies became more different from one another” (Cowen). As one can see, over the past century certain sports have certain body types so the athletes can be more efficient. Thirdly, In a paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, “Bejan has shown that over the last 100 years elite swimmers have grown on average 4.5 inches, more than double that of the normal population (2 inches), while elite sprinters have shot up 6.4 inches. The height difference between Bolt and Eddie Tolan, the 5ft 6in record holder in 1929, is even more marked at 11 inches” (McVeigh). This shows that athletes have become more efficient because they are growing in size to become better at their individual sports.

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