Track and Field Athletics

Fayyaz Ahmed, generally known as Fuzz, is the UK Athletics National Event Coach for High Jump, and the coach of Olympic bronze medallist Robbie Grabarz. Fuzz trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London and implements RADA principles into his coaching. The aim of this study was to explore the complexities and shades of self, social interaction and micro-behaviour through an illumination of a case
study using this elite level coach. An interpretive phenomenological analysis using Goffman (1959) as a theoretical lens, explored Fuzz’s delivery through semi-structured interviews and observational field notes. We used a multifaceted approach in data interpretation, incorporating a deductive method alongside continual analysis and theme generation. The main findings, drawn from Goffman’s concepts of performance,
manner and front, highlight the intricacies of the coach–athlete relationship and the continual development of the coaching persona.

Athletes exist and function in an environment of complex relationships; however, little is known about the influence of particular relationships for athletes’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviors towards doping in sport. Among adolescent and young adult athlete populations, parents and coaches have been highlighted as particularly influential, but when and how they influence athletes in this context is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the role of significant others in this domain. Design: Cross-sectional qualitative methodology. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 British (M = 8) track and field student-athletes. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the transcripts. Results: Prominently, the parent-athlete relationship influenced athletes’ lives in and beyond sport. Parents shape(d) athletes’ personal morals by establishing their initial sense of right and wrong. In turn, this appears to guide athletes’ decision-making and behaviors even after leaving the family home. Additionally, parents impacted the trajectory of participants’ athletic careers and their approach toward sport in general. Ensuing from this, participants exhibit a desire to give back to their parents. Cumulatively, the parent-athlete relationship (in)directly deters athletes from doping. Conclusion: Given the enduring significance of the parent-athlete relationship for shaping athletes’ attitudes, experiences and behaviors towards doping, parents should be prioritized with targeted anti-doping education. Specifically, parents should be provided with doping knowledge (e.g., risks, warning signs, consequences), and then equipped and empowered to transmit this information to athletes. Such an approach has the potential to simultaneously increase the engagement of parents and athletes in anti-doping efforts and education.

Abstract
Revisions to global anti-doping policy and growing evidence of systematic doping in sport means athletes and athlete support personnel are increasingly encouraged to ‘blow the whistle’ on doping. Yet, individuals' thoughts, feelings, and anticipated behaviours in reporting wrongdoing of this kind are unknown, hindering its promotion. To inform current anti-doping efforts, this study explored student-athletes' anticipated behaviours relative to blowing the whistle on performance enhancing drug (PED) use and their underpinning attitudes.

Design

Qualitative methodology.

Method

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 track and field university student-athletes from the UK (N = 14) and US (N = 14). Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Addressing doping presents a true moral dilemma and is not a dichotomous process whereby athletes either report doping or do nothing. Instead, four options for addressing others' PED use emerged: (1) confront PED user directly, (2) report to ‘someone’, (3) report to anti-doping ‘authorities’, or (4) ignore the behaviour. Underpinned by relational concerns and empathy, direct confrontation was participants' preferred approach to addressing doping.

Conclusion

Student-athletes are reluctant to blow the whistle on doping so the currently promoted method for reporting wrongdoing may be met with resistance. Instead, student-athletes indicate a willingness to personally confront PED users, which has the potential to protect both the doping athlete and whistleblower, while simultaneously reducing the presence of PEDs in sport. Thus, these findings serve to stimulate debate and discussion within anti-doping efforts regarding the possibility of confrontation being encouraged as an effective deterrent to sport doping.

ENGLISH
During the fascist regime, sport was widely used  as a form of propaganda, by glorifying the victories of the Italian athletes, and as a factor for the nationalization of the masses, in order to strengthen the consensus for the regime and create the «new man», strong and vigorous, worthy heir of the ancient Romans.
Women’s sport, however, did not have the same development as the men’s sport, as the traditional mentality and the regime itself did not like to the female involvement in sport activities.
Nevertheless, some sport women were able to reach a great popularity and, in such a way, they changed, at least in part, the opinion about their participation in athletic activities and, more in general, about the role of women in society. Among them there was Ondina Valla, winner of the 80 metres hurdles race at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
ITALIAN
Negli anni del regime fascista lo sport, com’è noto, fu ampiamente utilizzato sia a scopo propagandistico, attraverso la celebrazione delle vittorie degli atleti italiani nelle competizioni internazionali, sia come fattore di nazionalizzazione delle masse, al fine di cementare il consenso per il regime e creare l’ «uomo nuovo», forte e vigoroso, degno erede degli antichi romani.
Lo sport femminile, tuttavia, non ebbe il medesimo sviluppo di quello maschile, giacché la mentalità tradizionale e il regime stesso non apprezzavano il coinvolgimento delle donne nelle attività sportive.
Ciò nonostante, alcune sportive raggiunsero una grande popolarità e, in tal modo, modificarono, almeno in parte, l’opinione sulla  partecipazione femminile alle attività atletiche, e, più in generale, sul ruolo delle donne nella società. Tra loro c’era Ondina Valla, vincitrice della corsa sugli 80 metri a ostacoli alle Olimpiadi del 1936.

Female athletes have been known to complain about sexism (gender bias and sexist comments by the sports-media) opining that it impacts negatively on their perception of performance. This research investigated the impact of sports-media narratives (positive or negative) on female track and field athletes' perceived performance in the Ibadan metropolis. A survey research design was used. It was anchored on the Hypodermic Needle Theory and Media Agenda Setting Theory, which stresses audience weakness and malleability in the face of the deliberate media onslaught. Three (3) Female Athletic Clubs were conveniently selected and the 120 female athletes purposively sampled for the study. Author-developed and validated Female Athletes Sports-media Response Questionnaire (FASRQ) with (r=86) was the instrument for data collection. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results indicated positive significant relationship between positive sports-media narrative and perceived performance among female track and field athletes in Ibadan metropolis (r = .785**, N= 117, p < .05) and positive significant relationship between negative sports-media narrative and perceived performance among female track and field athletes in Ibadan metropolis (r = .638**, N= 117, P < .05). It was recommended that sports-media should endeavor to balance their reportage, be neutral and objective, and portray a good image of female track and field athletes in their narratives.

Bien que traditionnellement associé aux sports individuels, l’athlétisme se pratique en groupes, en tribus. Pour mieux comprendre les formes tribales de participation chez les jeunes, des analyses qualitatives et quantitatives ont été réalisées. Les analyses qualitatives s'appuient sur une observation participante, régulière et outillée (3 fois par semaine auprès de 26 jeunes athlètes) et 12 entretiens individuels. Les analyses quantitatives s'appuient sur les bilans des cinq dernières années de la Fédération Française d’Athlétisme (23104 jeunes licenciés). Les résultats font ressortir trois profils de pratiquants. Le premier profil est celui du pratiquant non-compétiteur postmoderne/dionysiaque : il s'agit de jeunes qui pratiquent l'athlétisme pour le bien-être et le plaisir que leur procure l'activité. Le second profil est celui du compétiteur moderne/prométhéen : ce sont de jeunes compétiteurs qui cherchent à réaliser des résultats et battre leurs records. Le troisième et dernier profil est synthétique. Il s'agit des jeunes qui viennent aux compétitions mais qui ne s'intéressent pas à la performance. Leur objectif est essentiellement de partager des moments forts avec leurs amis et de faire la fête. Ces trois profils de pratiquants sont à prendre en compte, dans leurs singularités, par la Fédération Française d'Athlétisme, les comités départementaux, les clubs et les entraîneurs.


Although traditionally perceived as an individual sport, athletics tends to be practised in groups, in tribes. In order to better understand the tribal forms of participation among young people, qualitative and quantitative analyses have been performed. The qualitative analysis was in the form of a participative observation, at regular intervals (three times a week), with 26 young athletes and 12 individual interviews. The quantitative analysis was based on the records provided by the French Athletics Federation (23,104 young licence holders). Results reveal three types of participants. The first category is called Postmodern/Dionysian and corresponds to those who practise without competing: it includes young people who practise athletics for well-being and pleasure. The second category is called Modern/Promethean and corresponds to those who compete: it includes young competitors who want to see progress and beat their records. The third and final category is a combination of the two. It includes young people who go to competitions but are not bothered by their performance. Their objective is essentially to share valuable experiences with friends and to party. The distinct nature of these three categories of participants should be better recognised by the French Athletics Federation, the local athletics committees, and coaches.
Keywords : Athletics, Modern, Postmodern, Youth

First Review by Dr. Debashish Chowdhury Background: Success in athletic performance is recognised as resultant of accurate-most effective reproduction of acquired skills into performance excellence. To ensure this, athletes try to embrace various authentic therapeutic techniques. These intervention regimes, being mediated by diverse emotional and cognitive-motivational processes enable the athletes excel in their performance. Aim: This experiment was conducted to examine efficacy of visuo-motor behaviour rehearsal (VMBR), and composite biofeedback intervention regimes, on mood states, in modulating transient emotional aspects inhibiting performance of athletic skills. Method: Promising athletes of Malaysian national Sports Council (n = 39) experiencing crises concerning performance deficiencies were recruited as participants. They were subjected to assessment of mood states, substantiated with simultaneous evaluation of autonomic measures of arousal and thirty-meter-dash performance. Followed by that, athletes were exposed to VMBR and biofeedback training regimes. Impacts of psychotherapeutic training regimes were evaluated during Mid-term, post-intervention, and post-follow-up evaluation sessions. Results: Mid-intervention analyses revealed facilitative impact of only biofeedback intervention, while both post-intervention and post-follow-up evaluations confirmed that both the intervention regimes improved thirty-meter-dash performance among athletes. No such improvement as such was evident among athletes of the control condition. Besides all these, the multiple linear regression analyses outcomes revealed differential predictive associations between mood factors and thirtymeter-dash performance outcomes, evident among athletes of different experimental conditions. Conclusions: Post-intervention analyses revealed facilitative impacts of both the intervention regimes in improving thirty-meter-dash performance among athletes. At pre-intervention phase, athletes of VMBR group were evident to perceive lesser extent confusion, while at post-intervention phase, lesser perceived anger was evident to predict faster thirty-meter-dash. Biofeedback trainees on the other hand, perceived lesser extent of fatigue at the pre-intervention phase, which predicted faster dash performance. But the post-intervention evaluation revealed athletes of biofeedback condition had higher extent of depression and lower extent of confusion, which eventually got regulated by virtue of biofeedback training, and hence those athletes could display faster dash performance.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate differences between the flow experiences of NCAA Division I team athletes versus individual athletes. A volunteer sample of 104 collegiate athletes completed a 42-item flow questionnaire. Multiple linear regressions showed mean flow scores for team athletes were significantly higher than individual athletes (β = -1.66, p = 0.004), with an R2 value of 0.03. The type of sport was a significant predictor of three of the nine dimensions of flow, with the largest difference explaining 9% of the variance. The results of this study are unique and answer the repeated call in the literature for team flow research. In summary, team sport athletes experienced total flow at a higher overall rate than individual sport athletes, allowing for the conclusion that team sport athletes can and do experience flow.