Does SAFP’s wig really add only negligible weight and drag?

I would like to see a study that tests the effects of hair and baggy clothing in a wind tunnel.

I imagine that they'd be quite significant, considering that similar studies that test the effects of wind resistance on traditional cycling jerseys (non-tailored skin suits) and new form-fitting skin suits, have revealed a power saving between 6-10%.

Female Samson. Her hair gives her +0.1 kW. Proven better than long nails (+0.085 kW).

I think the only female sprinter who races with their natural hair is Abby Steiner. I could be wrong though

She said she brought 10 wigs in a separate piece of luggage. My guess is that a fairly small and light one will be worn in the final.

SAFP was only half as ridiculous as Twanisha Terry was with huge pig tails and and a whole bunch of waist jewelry. Why not just wear a parachute? It is not a race decided by hundreds of a second or anything.

Stop

But it's interesting listening to a bunch of guys that can't get a woman critiquing how women look

Have wondered this myself:

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Nafissatou Thiam of Team Belgium reacts after competing in the...

Patrick Smith

Nafissatou Thiam of Team Belgium reacts after competing in the Women's Heptathlon High Jump on day three of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 at Hayward Field on July 17, 2022 in Eugene,...

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Oregon , United States - 17 July 2022; Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland...

Sam Barnes

Oregon , United States - 17 July 2022; Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland before competing in the women's 400m during day three of the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

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Well, speaking of wind resistance, men's shorts and loose fitting singlets are def a negative. They should be required to wear racing briefs or spandex one pieces like Ingebrigtsen, it would draw more women to the Sport after what happened to Devon Allen 😋hunk DQ situation, we need more sex appeal.

#dropTheShorts #spandexSir

Steering away from the race/sex baiting, the actual physics and physiology here are a bit more complicated. In cycling, you can see an fairly exact relationship between aero drag, power output, and speed. In running/sprinting there is aero drag, but the power output is dependent on things like footspeed and stride efficiency.

Also, and probably most important, a cycling time trial is ~60 min at basically steady state, where aero is everything. A 100m and basically all heptathalon events are short sprints, where >50% of the event is spent accelerating, and to a large degree, the best accelerator wins. Weight would be important here, and I have no idea how much wigs weigh, but to think it's greater than 1% the weight of the runner is pretty extreme.

Lastly, these athletes are trying to earn a living. Winning is important, but not as important as being marketable. If flashy hairstyles and jewelry make you more marketable it may actually be the wisest decision to forgo a percentage of pace in favor of notoriety.

Irony is that they wear all the brightly colored wigs to stand out, to look different than all the other sprinters, but then everyone starts wearing brightly colored wigs, so the only way to stand out is to have natural hair.

did you really just say Abby is the only one with natural hair??? Aleia Hobbs & Ta Lou both have natural hair

If you meant that 1% is negligible, it’s not. It’s 1% more work, there being no way around the physics of that. 1% more work may or may not translate to a 1% reduction in average speed, but the pace reduction effect would be in that ballpark, so for a 10s race, about 10 centiseconds, which is costly, and that’s just the impact of the dead weight without accounting for any drag.

I'm with you.

It would take some real data to convince me that wearing a wig or having a long pony tail DOESN'T cost at least one-hundredth of a second over a ten second effort.

I have to guess that some athletes either don't believe that or make a choice to put appearance ahead of getting the very best possible result. But, that's their life and their decision.

Ur literally the only one who mentioned race/sex lol.

I'd like to see someone wear a cape. A red and blue cape. Judges allow that?

Racists are rarely explicit