Sport aerodynamics: A case study of ski jumping

Research project P 14388 Sport aerodynamics: A case study of ski jumping Wolfram Müller 09.10.2000 Winning or losing in sports is related to a number of factors and `in many sports anthropometrics, biomechanics and aerodynamics play a major role. Questions of safety, health and fairness are often associated with man-made regulations, but a scientific basis- for the development of trend-setting regulations is missing in many dangerous kinds of sports. This research project focuses on ski jumping and ski flying, where safety and health enhancement strategies are urgently necessary. In this project the aerodynamical and biornechanical factors influencing competitive performance will be investigated. Ski jumping puts high demands on the athlete`s ability to control posture and movement, but the performance is also determined to a large extent by the aerodynamic features of the equipment used and by a low body weight. Many of today`s ski jumpers are alarmingly underweight to the point of having a body mass index of 16.4 kgm72. Several cases of anorexia have been reported. Extremely low body weight is also a recent trend in several other sports (bicycle racing, climbing, rhythmic gymnastics, etc.). This investigation of ski jumping will employ field studies, wind tunnel measurements, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, computer simulations of the flight trajectory and anthropometric data acquisition in order to establish a reliable basis for correcting misguided and dangerous trends. Adequate scientific approaches, such as the one described here for ski jumping, should also be used in other dangerous kinds of sports in order to reduce the given health risks there.