Dudley Tabakin

A large following and interest in barefoot running has been developed lately, encouraged by Christopher McDougall's book "Born to Run" which describes the Tarahumara or Rarámuri, an indigenous peoples from Northern Mexico, who have been known to run long distances in thin soled sandals. We recently assisted a runner with some video analysis as he trains to run a marathon wearing theVibram FiveFingers minimal shoe.

This week University of Southern California football running back, Stafon Johnson, was bench pressing during training when the bar slipped out of his hands and landed on his throat causing severe laryngeal as well as neck injuries. Understanding the use proper bench press technique may not have helped Johnson avoid this accident but it can help athletes avoid injuries such as tendon or muscle tears as well as build the muscles more effectively.

In Rugby Union in the past, penalty kicks of more than 50 meters were seldom, if ever attempted, but now the likes of Dan Carter and Francois Steyn are regularly scoring points with penalty kicks from as far out as 60 meters. The players may be be fitter and stronger now than ever before, but they also kick better and further because they study and improve their technique using video.

We know and have seen how video analysis can be used to analyze a tennis players performance, but it can also be used in real time or almost real time to track the ball and even make close line calls. Of course I am talking about the "Shot Spot" or Hawk-Eye system.

Usain Bolt's 9.58 second, 100 meter dash at the 2009 IAAF World Athletic Championships in Berlin was truly incredible. He is the fastest man on earth and only one question remains -How much faster can he go? In this article we take a look at some data from the final provided by the IAAF Biomechanics Research Project and try to predict how fast he can go.

When most people think of the Olympic Games, the first sport that comes to mind is Gymnastics. We love to see gymnasts flipping and twisting through the air. A core movement in gymnastics is the back flip. In this article we will examine the take off for a standing back flip and show you how to use video to analyze your own performance.

The start often determines the end of a track sprint race. A great start out of the blocks can often mean the difference between victory and defeat in a race often won by 100ths of a second. We use video to analyze one of the great sprinters, Tyson Gay as he starts a fast race.

The World Swimming Organization FINA has recently made rules which will ban the new polyurethane swimsuits in spring next year. Meanwhile,the FINA World Championships are taking place this month in Rome. Records are being broken, wins are being challenged and the polyurethane suit as at the center of all this controversy.

The IAAF World Championships begins in less than a month and all eyes will be on the 100m and 200m world record holder, Usain Bolt from Jamaica. We all remember the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when Bolt ran the 100m in 9.69 seconds, throwing out his arms and pumping his chest before crossing the line. There has been a lot of speculation about how fast he could have run with some suggesting a time of 9.55 seconds.

The Tour de France is the ultimate in road cycling competition. Covering 3500 kilometers (2187 Miles) over 22 days, the event tests the cyclists mental and physical strength. To complete in this grueling endurance test, the athletes need to be in peak fitness, but they also need to ensure their technique is as efficient as possible. Energy can be preserved, injuries prevented and more power created with good technique.