Knowledge Nuggets

Since 2011, Norwegian high-performance athletes have filled out weekly health surveys in the 12-18 months before every Olympic and Paralympic Games. From London 2012 to Tokyo 2020, researchers found that 32% of Olympic athletes and 37% of Paralympic athletes were injured at any given time. This data allows coaches and physicians to better protect the...

We often think about the stress that an athlete experiences before a major competition, but what about their coach? Research suggests that many Paralympian coaches set high expectations for themselves which can lead to stress and burnout. Strategies that help coaches manage their expectations and the expectations of athletes and support staff are key to...

Did you know that Tokyo is the first city to host the Paralympic Games for a second time? Tokyo first hosted the Paralympic Games in 1964, where 378 Paralympic athletes competed for 419 medals. Now, 57 years later, 4,237 athletes will be competing for 1,522 medals. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games kick off today and run...

At the Olympic Winter Games, there are 93 medals to be won across 31 events in Biathlon, Nordic Combined, Nordic Skiing, and Ski Jumping. Since 1924, Canadian athletes have won only six medals in these events—and none since 2006. Read about how the four Canadian Nordic sports are teaming up to improve their international performance...

Transitioning out of sport after standing on an Olympic or Paralympic podium, or after provincial/territorial competition, can be difficult. Tips to support athlete mental health through this transition include: Detrain your body and mind to adjust to the different but challenging demands of life after sport. Find purpose in the day to day by exploring...

For Equestrian Canada, advancements in the use of technology allowed their sport to find novel and cost effective ways to engage with stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included working with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to have some of their events shown on its streaming platform, which has helped to increase the visibility of the...

A new study has shown that coaches of Olympic gold-medal swimmers are likely to be more agreeable, less narcissistic, and have a greater perception of emotion than many of their counterparts. It also found that traits like extraversion, openness to experience, and conscientiousness have little impact on a coach’s success.

Karate is a traditional Japanese sport that originated on the island of Okinawa in the 17th century. It will be making its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 with two types of events. Kata features solo demonstrations of offensive and defensive movements that are judged, and Kumite is a sparring event in which athletes are awarded...

Canadian track cyclist Georgia Simmerling is the first, and only, Canadian to compete in three different sports at three different Olympic Games: alpine skiing (Vancouver 2010), ski-cross (Sochi 2014) and track cycling (Rio 2016). After claiming bronze in the women’s cycling team pursuit in Rio, Simmerling will take to the track once again in Tokyo.

Although Olympic athletes are known for their meticulous pre-competition routines, many aspects of competition are out of their control. For example, research shows that Olympic swimmers have 0.32% improved performance when they race in the evening compared to in the morning—showing that time of day could be enough to make or break a podium performance.