why do athletes always run counterclockwise?

The athletics events began Thursday at the Stade de France on a purple track on which the athletes, as they have for more than 100 years, run in an anti-clockwise direction.

At the Stade de France, since Thursday 1^er August, the athletes participating in the sprint, middle-distance and long-distance events at the Paris Games ran on a purple track, a first in Olympic history. However, there was less originality in the running of the races: the competitors always ran in an anti-clockwise direction. Nothing unusual. Athletics events have been organized this way since 1913. We explain why.

Between 1896 and 1912, athletes at the first modern Olympic Games ran the track clockwise, from left to right. After several complaints from runners, who sometimes felt dizzy and reported bad sensations, the International Athletics Federation decided to reverse the running direction.

Since 1913, runners have been moving in a counterclockwise direction. It is scientifically proven: this direction, more natural for the body, helps increase performance. Blood circulation, coordination and spatial awareness are better in an athlete who starts his strides in this counterclockwise direction.

For neurological reasons, moreover, athletes feel more comfortable with the rope on their left. This was proven by Japanese scientist Hideaki Fukami in 2004. The right hemisphere of the brain, the one that controls the perception of space, controls the opposite part of the body, that is, the left half. The perception of the body would therefore be better when turning to the left.

Top athletes have taken part in the experiment. When running 400 metres to the left or 400 metres to the right, the running time is not the same. In a counter-clockwise direction, the running time is on average two seconds shorter.