Tag Archive for: Statistics

James Marshall

Penetrating the data smog through better visualization

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As anyone who witnessed the UK government’s recent presentation on COVID-19 data will know, data is only useful if it can be read and understood clearly. For those who missed the broadcast, the presentation consisted of many slides of data with the BBC banner on the screen blocking out the titles! The audience of millions was left looking at lines and bar charts that had no context or explanation. Unfortunately such examples can easily be found in the world of sport too. Read more

Craig Pickering

Sports Science Monthly – September 2020

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Every month we take a deep dive into the latest research in sports science. In the September edition we start off looking how wind affects sprinter performance. We then look at countermovement jump ability of sprinters, interpreting statistics, cannabidiol, bullsh*t, and more. Read more

Craig Pickering

How long does it take to develop an Olympian?

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Back in 1993, Anders Ericsson made his name by publishing a study in which he claimed that deliberate practice—the time spent practicing a skill designed solely for the purpose of performance enhancement—was the main differentiator between good and elite violinists. This soon became highly popularized—although Ericsson is keen to point out not by him—as the 10,000 hour rule. Read more

Martin Bingisser

The decade in review: women’s hammer throw world rankings

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Earlier this week we ranked the top male hammer throwers of the decade. Today we continue to look back at the 2010s by ranking the top female hammer throwers, including a look back at interesting trends and statistics. Read more

Martin Bingisser

The decade in review: men’s hammer throw world rankings

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Who was the best male hammer thrower of the 2010s? Every year we rank the top 10 hammer throwers in the world. With the decade coming to an end, we crunched the numbers to rank the top throwers of the decade and highlight some cool statistics and trends that emerged over the last 10 years. Read more

Martin Bingisser

Looking back at 2019: women’s hammer throw world rankings

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Yesterday we released our men’s world rankings. Today it’s time for our women’s rankings. For the first time since 2012, Anita Wlodarczyk is not the top ranked athlete. It was a changing of the guard this year and our complete women’s hammer throw rankings are below. Read more

Martin Bingisser

Looking back at 2019: men’s hammer throw world rankings

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It was a bit of a strange year in the hammer throw. For the first time ever, the World Championships took place in October. Also, for the first time ever, there were four medal winners. In the end, some of the top established throwers continued to add to their credentials. But it was also a year for new names, as five of our top ten athletes were unranked last year. Our complete annual rankings for the men’s hammer are below. Read more

Martin Bingisser

Youth hammer record books rewritten 2019

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The past year was a historic one for high school hammer throwing. A dozen state records fell indoors and outdoors, and the all-time rankings were again rewritten. Below is a summary of the biggest records and all-time performance in 2019.
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Martin Bingisser

2019 youth hammer throw state rankings

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As we continue up our look back at the 2019 season it is time to look at how the event is spread across the country. As we do every year, we like like to take a look at the sport through a geographic lens to show which states are on the rise and where the sport is spreading. Read more

Martin Bingisser

Analyzing the 2019 high school hammer throw season

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The end of the year is upon us, so it is time to start looking back at the highlights of the 2019 season. Already last month we looked at the 2019 high school hammer throw all-Americans and the final 2019 national performance lists, with over 250 throwers making the cut. Now we want to dig a bit beyond the quantity and into the quality. Read more