New Swedish‑Norwegian study during the Para World Championships in Östersund
What factors affect the performance of para-athletes in cross-country skiing and biathlon? During the Para World Championships in Östersund, a research project is underway in which competing skiers are equipped with sensors for various measurements.
"There hasn't been much research done in cross-country skiing and biathlon for para athletes, but the area is particularly interesting as there are many different factors and parameters to take into account. We hope that our research will provide increased knowledge about what is required of the athletes and contribute to the development of the sports," says David Sundström, researcher at the Sports Tech Research Centre at Mid Sweden University.
The Para World Championships will be held in Östersund on 20–29 January at Östersund's ski stadium. Photo: Annacarin Aronsson.
In para sports, different classification systems are used to group athletes into different classes based on how their disability affects their ability to perform the specific sport. The researchers hope that the results of the study can help further develop the classification systems to create as fair a sport as possible for the athletes.
The project is led by Cecilia Severin, researcher at the Centre for Elite Sports Research (SenTIF) at the Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science at NTNU in Trondheim and is a collaboration with the Sports Tech Research Centre and the National Winter Sports Centre at Mid Sweden University.
Vemund Övstehage at NTNU mounts a sensor on Anja Wicker, Germany, before her race on Friday. Photo: Annacarin Aronsson.
During the World Championships, the skater's position and acceleration are measured along the entire course and can show things like speed and how the different terrains affect the athletes in different ways. In addition, the skater is weighed using a snow-covered scale that is placed in the warm-up area to be able to estimate the influence of external forces.
"We want to increase the understanding of how factors such as distance, terrain, and equipment can affect the performance of the different classes in para-cross-country skiing and biathlon. That's why we carry out measurements in all classes at all the World Championships distances except the relays to have as good a basis as possible," says Cecilia Severin.
Parts of the study are financed through the collaboration agreement between Mid Sweden University and Östersund Municipality and the Rolf and Gunilla Enström Foundation linked to the research project Augmented Sports. On the Norwegian side, the project is funded by the VI Foundation.
Contacts:
Cecilia Severin, SenTIF, NTNU, Trondheim, cecilia.severin@ntnu.no, +47-413 22 182
David Sundström, Sports Tech Research Centre, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, david.sundstrom@miun.se, 010-142 86 94
Craig Staunton, National Winter Sports Centre, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, craig.staunton@miun.se, 010-142 80 56
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