A mathematical analysis of the influence of adverse and favourable winds on sprinting.
A mathematical analysis of running performance, based on the first law of thermodynamics and originally derived for still air conditions, is extended to account for the effects of favourable and adverse winds. Solutions to the full theory have been obtained by numerical integration of the governing equations. Simplifications to the full calculation procedure have also been investigated. Calculations for races over a distance of 100 m show that the advantage to an athlete of a following wind increases progressively with increasing wind speed. A favourable wind of 2 ms-1 provides a benefit of about 0.18 s on running time.
D000392:Air Movements; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D012420:Running; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014919:Wind