In an unofficial race in Vienna in 2019, Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge became the first person ever to run a marathon in under two hours. A new study shows how teamwork made that feat possible.
Elite marathon runners are often accompanied by team members who swap in and out to keep them on pace. Scientists know from experiments on live participants and from computer simulations that running between these pacers can reduce an athlete’s drag.
In the new study, mechanical engineer Massimo Marro of the École Centrale de Lyon in France and colleagues measured the drag force felt by manikins in a wind tunnel, which allowed the team to test different drafting configurations readily. Inside the tunnel, the team replicated Kipchoge’s 2019 formation, which featured five pacers in a V in front with two more in the rear. This arrangement reduced about half the drag felt by the athlete — enough to trim about three and a half minutes off his time, the team found.
The researchers also identified three new formations that could further maximize performance.
2023-08-15 18:01:00
Source from www.sciencenews.org