In the most varied sports events with a circular path, athletes run counterclockwise. Is it a matter of tradition, a natural tendency, follows the sense of reading, or has to do with the corioli effect?
If you have ever seen athletics, horsepower racing, indoor cycling or (amazing) basebol, you must have noticed that in all these modalities athletes Run in the opposite direction to the clock pointers.
Why does this happen and why does it seem to be the norm worldwide?
There are those who argue that it is an ancient tradition, but this tradition did not use uninterruptedly – nor in all events, explains the. For example, the corridors of Oxford e Cambridge They ran towards the clock hands until the 1940s.
The route in the opposite direction to the clock pointers is however used for a long time – Ancient Greece Corridors e as the team of Rome they ran in this sense.
According to a study published in 2013 in International Journal of Educational Development“Diz a Lenda que as corridas of the team no circus the biggest of Roma, no sixty 6 ac; They ran traditionally towards the pointers From the clock, until a unlucky driver accidentally hit Emperor Nero on the face with his whip. ”
“The driver was immediately executed by Nero and, the next day, all races were played in the opposite direction, that is, contrary to that of the pointers of the clock,” the study adds.
The Coriolis Effect
The mere tradition does not seem to be a plausible explanation, however, that sports tests invariably take place towards the clock pointers, and some researchers have tried to advance with scientific explanations – or at least with a rational reason.
There are those who suggest that the choice has to do with the Coriolis effect – The strength exerted by the earth’s rotation movement that, in the northern hemispherecauses the water draining from the washbasin counterclockwise.
“Due to the effect of the rotation of the earth, an athlete who runs in the opposite direction to the clock pointers will have a slight advantageresulting in a faster time, ”tries to explain a user on The Guardian.
“In the southern hemisphere, this effect is inversebut as sport grew in the northern hemisphere, the races in the opposite direction to the pointers of the clock remained, Despite the International Athletics Statute“Adds the user.
“The proof of this phenomenon is that none of the current world records of athletics was established south of the Ecuador ”, considers the user.
Maybe there Other explanations for preponderance From the northern hemisphere in the world records, including the largest number of evidence that follows, but it is a more plausible explanation than the one, humorously, by another user: “Perhaps because they are running against the clock?”
So should the sports tests that take place in the southern hemisphere be disputed in the opposite direction?
In truth, There is little evidence that the Coriolis effect has an impact in the performance of the athletes – and there are those who emphasize to force the athletes, south of Ecuador, to run clockwise, would probably hurt your performance.
This idea is sustained in the fact that most people are dextras, that is, have a dominant right side -Therefore, running in the counterclockwise direction makes sense, because it forces the dominant leg to work (slightly) more when it turns.
This gives athletes advantage when they run on a track in the opposite direction to the clock pointers, because it allows your most powerful leg Stay outside, facilitating curvesexplains the IFLS.
In fact, when we run in the opposite direction to the clock pointers, we steps Longer with the right leg – which allows more propulsion and speed in the curves (if we have the ruling right side, of course).
The natural tendency
One published in 2013 in Neuroscience Letters He found some evidence that they suggest that humans really prefer to run in that direction.
“We tested the spontaneous behavior of 13 adults who had to run around a circle in an empty and symmetrical space, depending on the starting position (from the left, center or right) and the right direction of the gaze (for 1 of 5 targets that went from left to right) ”, reads in the study.
The authors of the research observed a significant global trend to run contrary to the clock pointers in all conditions.
“This was particularly notorious when participants had to start at central position and look ahead Before you start. More than 80% of participants to become the opposite direction of the clock pointers in this Perfectly symmetrical condition“Note the investigators.
“The starting position, look and direction of the head modulated the trendwithout masking the anti-hourly trend, ”conclude the study authors.
The research identified the trend, but I do not find the cause.
Spectators
Another normally advanced idea is that the opposite direction to the clock pointers seems more pleasant for the publicwhich can see the athletes to travel From left to right – The direction in which, in most languages, people are used to reading.
The explanation applies, for example, to Cases of Speed Evidenceshorter – 100m, 200m or 400m – that take place in a line. There are no curves, the issue of the dominant side or the Coriolis or the natural tendency to choose a meaning in a circle – just spectators to look at.
But the idea does not explain why the 13 participants in the above study, who were not exactly running to the show, preferred to do so counterclockwise.
Thus, although tradition and dominance on the right may play an important role, the main factor will be linked to Need for normalization of sports tests – which would otherwise be disputed quite arbitrary.
