The Olympics: a fun fact every day

• Fun Fact 17 (25 February): Open data exchange in Thialf

New opportunities to improve skating performance – and the skating experience! Sports, science and the business world are taking their first steps towards the digitization of the skating sport with the development of the fan dashboard.

Together with KPN and Sportunity the UG developed algorithms that can predict the finishing time of skaters after one round. Fans can follow the skater’s speed structure live via the fan dashboard, including the predicted finishing time after one round.

Read the news article (in Dutch)

• Fun Fact 16 (24 February): Summer and Winter Olympics

Tonight at 1:30 a.m. the four-man bobsleigh event will take place. Former UG Economics student Timothy Beck competed in this event during the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002. Four years later he was the flag bearer. Beck is one of the few Dutchmen who competed in the Summer (as a relay sprinter) as well as the Winter Olympics.

Timothy Beck on the Wall of Fame

• Fun Fact 15 (23 February): The secret of the inner lane

UG econometrists showed that, statistically speaking, it can make quite a difference whether a skater starts in the inner or outer lane in the 1000m event. This topic was then placed on the agenda of the International Skating Union Congress.

• Fun Fact 14 (22 February): The advantage of starting late

Tomorrow Kjeld Nuis will compete for his second gold medal in the 1000m skating event. Ruud Koning, Professor of Sport Economics, conducts research on the advantage of a later start in the 1000m and 1500m events – skaters starting later have the opportunity to focus on their competitor’s finishing times. Koning estimates that skaters are pushed to go 0.15% faster on average when the best time is fictitiously improved by one second.

Example

Imagine a race in the 1000m event. The best time in the race at that moment is 70 seconds. Nuis then expects a certain finishing time. If the best time at the moment he starts is 69 seconds (instead of 70), i.e. 0.5 seconds per 500m faster, this will push him to skate 0.075% faster (0.15% x 0.5). Nuis skates a 1000m in, say, 69 seconds, so this means a difference for him of 0.05 seconds (69 x 0.075%). Koning: ‘The effect is very small, but it can be just enough to make the difference between a medal or no medal.’

• Fun Fact 13 (21 February): Gene doping

Hidde Haisma, Professor of Therapeutic Gen Modulation, is working on the development of a gene doping detection assay. He received a research grant from the World Anti-Doping Agency for a project focusing on the development of the test.

• Fun Fact 12 (20 February): Pim Mulier, founding father of modern sport

Former UG PhD student Daniël Rewijk shows that sports can be about much more than athletic achievements alone. He gained his PhD with research on Pim Mulier, founding father of modern sport in the Netherlands. Mulier was keen on edification of the masses, and believed that sport would only be valuable if it took on a form that reflected the behaviour of the elite. It was all about the sporting gentleman’s code of conduct. Read the press release Captain of ‘Young Holland’ blew his own trumpet (March 2015) or watch the report the NOS made with Rewijk about the 150th anniversary of sports pioneer Pim Mulier’s birth.

• Fun Fact 11 (19 February): Not too many gold medals, please

After a weekend without Dutch medals, today’s 500m event offers our skaters new opportunities. Rector magnificus Elmer Sterken confessed to Dagblad van het Noorden that he secretly hopes Team NL won’t win too many more gold medals. This is because he, together with Gerard Kuper and PhD student Fabian ten Kate, predicted five gold medals for the Netherlands, whereas last week ‘we’ already won six. The good news: their prediction of 18 Dutch medals in total is still on track, according to Sterken.

• Fun Fact 10 (18 February): The home advantage in skating

It looks like the 500m skating event for women will be a battle between the Japanese Nao Kodaira and Shwang Wa Lee from host country South Korea. Research has shown that the home advantage plays a role in many sports. Will Lee be able to benefit from this today? Research conducted by Ruud Koning, Professor in Sport Economics, does not give her reason to hope. The home advantage plays a relatively small role in skating, says Koning. The differences in individual skills and the ice rinks is more important.

• Fun Fact 9 (17 February): The Dutch are doing well

The skaters have a day off. So no new skating wins for the Netherlands today. This gives us time to actually enjoy the amazing medal table. Our country is also present in the top of several scientific rankings. In the Quality of Nationality Index, developed by UG Professor Dimitry Kochenov, the Dutch nationality is in 8th place. The index measures the quality of nationalities in the world and is based on factors such as peace, stability and the freedom to travel.

• Fun Fact 8 (16 February): Olympic Wall of Fame

Up till now, approximately 50 UG students have participated in the Olympics. Beautiful pictures highlighting their achievements can be found on our Olympic Wall of Fame in the ACLO Sports Centre. Curious? You can find a list of their names on our website!

• Fun Fact 7 (15 February): Sven Kramer's task

Today Sven Kramer, Jorrit Bergsma and Ted-Jan Bloemen will compete for the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000m speed skating event — an event the Dutch, who are great skating aficionados, have been looking forward to for months. The key to success lies in a task-oriented mindset, says UG graduate and sports psychologist Mark Schuls on the Sport Science Institute Groningen website.

• Fun Fact 6 (14 February): Valentine's Day

Doing sports together turns out to be the perfect date! Our student sports association ACLO offers more than 85 sports, including Olympic sports such as skiing, snowboarding, skating and ice hockey.

• Fun Fact 5 (13 February): Ice skating lecture

Today the men skate the 1500m. Former professional skater and TV commentator Erben Wennemars showed in december which result was needed for the men to qualify for these Olympic games. His lectures are based on recent research by UG-students.

• Fun fact 4 (12 February): The hunt for the new Ireen Wüst

Olympic champion Ireen Wüst will compete in the 1500m this afternoon. But is there a successor to this queen of skating? Lecturer Marije Elferink-Gemser conducts research into talent recognition and development in young athletes. She recently studied how young skaters develop their skills in the 1500m . See also the interview with PhD student Inge Stoter on the best strategy for this number one skating event .

• Fun fact 3 (11 February): ‘There’s no such thing as a mentally weak top-class sportsperson’

Sven Kramer has only one goal this Sunday morning: winning three gold medals. In an interview for de Volkskrant, Professor of Sports Psychology Nico van Yperen talks about the pressure Kramer puts on himself. According to Yperen, this pressure will only inspire Kramer more. See also the interview in our Magazine: 'There's no such thing as a mentally weak top-class sportsperson'.

• Fun fact 2 (10 February): ‘Speed skating is a very peculiar sport’

’Saturday 10 February is an important day for speed skater Ireen Wüst. This year is the fourth year she qualified for the Olympics, and on Saturday she hopes to once again win a gold medal. Four years ago, movement scientist Bert Otten researched Wüst's speed skating technique. Through the use of a skating suit full of sensors, he revealed details that her coaches hadn’t noticed before. Watch the video (in Dutch).

• Fun fact 1 (9 February): UG economists predict 5 gold medals for the Netherlands

Today the opening ceremony officially kicked off the 2018 Winter Olympics. UG economists predict that the Netherlands will win 18 medals in Pyeongchang: Five gold, six silver and seven bronze medals. Read more about their prediction.