What Is Biophysics? - : Sports Medicine, Medical and Paramedical Supervision, of Athletes in Training and

1. What is biophysics?
- Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods

traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all
scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations
2. How is biophysics applied to:
a. sports medicine ?
b. track and field events?
- A. sports medicine
- sports medicine, medical and paramedical supervision, of athletes in training and
in competition, with the goal of prevention and treatment of their injuries. Sports
medicine entails the application of scientific research and practice to the
optimization of health and athletic performance.
- B. track and field events
-The start from blocks is a fundamental component of all track and field sprint
events (≤ 400 m). This narrative review focusses on biomechanical aspects of the
block phase and the subsequent first flight and stance phases. We discuss specific
features of technique and how they may be important for a high level of
performance during the start. The need to appropriately quantify performance is
discussed first; external power has recently become more frequently adopted
because it provides a single measure that appropriately accounts for the
requirement to increase horizontal velocity as much as possible in as little time as
possible. In the "set" position, a relatively wide range of body configurations are
adopted by sprinters irrespective of their ability level, and between-sprinter
differences in these general positions do not appear to be directly associated with
block phase performance. Greater average force production during the push against
the blocks, especially from the rear leg and particularly the hip, appears to be
important for performance. Immediately after exiting the blocks, shorter first flight
durations and longer first stance durations (allowing more time to generate
propulsive force) are found in sprinters of a higher performance level. During the
first stance phase, the ankle and knee both appear to play an important role in
energy generation, and higher levels of performance may be associated with a stiffer
ankle joint and the ability to extend the knee throughout stance. However, the role
of the sprinter's body configuration at touchdown remains unclear, and the roles of
strength and anatomy in these associations between technique and performance
also remain largely unexplored. Other aspects such as the sex, age and performance
level of the studied sprinters, as well as issues with measurement and comparisons
with athletes with amputations, are also briefly considered.
3. At 6 feet 5 inches, Usain Bolt is tall for a sprinter. His large frame means that he takes
fewer steps per race than his opponents, but also comes with a cost: he faces more air
resistance. Now, physicists calculate that less than eight percent of Bolt's energy usage
contributed to his motion during his world record-setting performance of 9.58 seconds
in the 100 meters at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
The remaining 92 percent of his effort worked to overcome the forces of aerodynamic drag.
Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico made these calculations
after developing a mathematical model of Bolt's sprinting performance, published in
the European Journal of Physics.
The researchers used data collected by the International Association of Athletics

Federations, which captured Bolt's position and speed every 0.1 seconds. They built a
somewhat simplified model, writing that they assumed that he "develops a constant
horizontal force" throughout the race.
The data shows that Bolt's force peaks during the first second of the race, and after that
remains relatively consistent. His speed peaked around 7 seconds into the race, at over 27
mph. The researchers calculated a maximum power output of about 3.5 horsepower. Of
Bolt's total work during the race, 81.58 kilojoules, only 6.36 were "used to achieve motion,"
they wrote.
Air resistance tends to be highest when a runner reaches top speed. As anyone who has
placed a hand through the open window of a moving car knows, even at residential street
speeds, the wind force can be considerable.
In addition to velocity, other factors that influence the air resistance faced by a sprinter
include elevation, humidity and the body’s shape and surface area.
The researchers' calculations can also isolate the effect of wind speed on a performance.
Without the benefit of the Berlin race's soft tailwind, Bolt's time would have been a tenth of
a second slower, 9.68 seconds. This would still have beaten the world record at that time,
the 9.69 mark Bolt posted at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The researchers' model produces
estimates of the effect similar to those computed by other methods, they wrote.
If the tailwind had been the maximum speed under which a record can be set, 2.0 meters
per second, Bolt would have sped to a world record in 9.46 seconds, the researchers
calculated. No other human has ever recorded a faster time than Tyson Gay's wind-aided
9.68, which he tallied in 2012.
Granted, Gay recently tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He denied

knowingly taking anything illegal, but says he will not fight the suspension. However, his
positive test, and the other recent positive tests of many notable sprinters leave few of
Bolt's peers with clean records with respect to performance-enhancing drugs.
Considering that Bolt is the only man to ever run the 100 meter faster than 9.78 seconds
and never serve any drug-related suspension, it's natural to be a little suspicious of whether
Bolt could be clean. From LetsRun.com's Robert Johnson, here's one approach that explains
why Bolt might indeed be clean and still dominate the sport.
Without saying Bolt is certainly clean, Johnson points to two major factors to explain why he
may be a different category of sprinter. His height is combined with the "coordination and
quickness of sprinters who are normally much smaller," Johnson wrote, and Bolt had
exceptional success at a young age. The argument suggests that Bolt is the sprinting
equivalent of baseball's Babe Ruth -- an evolutionary jump that separates a transcendent
athlete from his peers.
The Associated Press recently covered Bolt's statements that his success has been achieved
without doping, at a recent media event in London:
"If the recent cases have cast doubt about Bolt's integrity, the 100- and 200-meter world-
record holder asked skeptics to check his résumé.
'If you were following me since 2002, you would know that I have been doing phenomenal
things since I was 15,' the 26-year-old Bolt said. 'I was the youngest person to win the world
juniors at 15. I ran the world junior [200] record 19.93 at 17. ... I have broken every record
there is to break, in every event I have ever done.'"
4. Create a simple track and field diagram and draw out the vector arrows where the
following can be observed in an average sprint

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1. What is biophysics?

- Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods

The researchers used data collected by the International Association of Athletics

Granted, Gay recently tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. He denied

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