Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand Norway.
Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2014 Jan;9(1):122-7. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2013-0396. Epub 2013 Oct 1.
Almost half of the record 98 events being held at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games were either not held 20 years ago at Lillehammer or have been substantially modified. The Olympics as a global sports event are not stationary but must adapt and evolve in response to changing demands, just as the remarkable athletes who are competing do. While the Winter Olympics program has steadily grown since Chamonix in 1924, the rate of development has greatly accelerated in the last 20 years. Three factors seem to be instrumental. First, the Winter Olympics program has become more gender balanced. Female hockey teams are battling for gold, and this year women will compete in ski jumping for the first time. Most Winter Olympics sports have equal numbers of events for men and women today, although female participation still lags somewhat behind. Second, many traditional events have been modified by sport-governing bodies toward a more "TV friendly" format. Time-trial starts have been replaced by mass or group starts. "Sprint" and team events have been added to spice up traditional sports like cross-country skiing and speed skating. Finally "extreme" sports like half-pipe and ski-cross have crossed over from the X Games to the Olympics, with some arguing that the Olympics need these popular sports more than the X Games sports need the Olympics. All of these changes create new research questions for sport scientists who are also willing to adapt and evolve.
在 2014 年索契冬奥会上举行的 98 项赛事中，有近一半的赛事要么在 20 年前的利勒哈默尔没有举行，要么已经进行了实质性的修改。作为一项全球性的体育赛事，奥运会并非一成不变，而是必须适应不断变化的需求而发展，就像那些正在参赛的杰出运动员一样。虽然自 1924 年夏蒙尼冬奥会以来，冬奥会的项目一直在稳步增加，但在过去的 20 年里，其发展速度大大加快。有三个因素似乎起到了关键作用。首先，冬奥会的项目变得更加性别平衡。女子曲棍球队正在争夺金牌，而今年女子将首次参加跳台滑雪比赛。如今，大多数冬奥会项目的男子和女子项目数量相等，尽管女性的参与度仍有些滞后。其次，许多传统项目已经被体育管理机构修改，以适应更“适合电视转播”的形式。计时赛的开始已经被集体或团体赛取代。传统运动如越野滑雪和速度滑冰增加了“冲刺”和团体项目。最后，像半管和滑雪越野这样的“极限”运动已经从 X 游戏跨越到了奥运会，一些人认为奥运会比 X 游戏更需要这些流行的运动。所有这些变化都为运动科学家们创造了新的研究问题，他们也愿意适应和发展。
