BACKGROUND Systematic surveillance of injuries and illnesses is the foundation for developing preventive measures in sport. AIM To analyse the injuries and illnesses that occurred during the XXII Olympic Winter Games, held in Sochi in 2014. METHODS We recorded the daily occurrence (or non-occurrence) of injuries and illnesses (1) through the reporting of all National Olympic Committee (NOC)...

INTRODUCTION Shoes are an important part of the sports equipment. They are constantly developed and improved. This is especially evident for winter sports, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, skating, etc. Usually, the design of ski boots is based on a trial and error method, where each prototype is tested on the outdoor terrain. This approach is very time consuming and expensive. It is affect...

The lower extremity dexterity test quantifies sensorimotor control for cross country skiing. Introduction: Research on top-level crosscountry skiing ability is predominately centered on the athlete´s physical fitness, biomechanical aspects of the skiing technique, and materials that make up ski hardware. Results concerning aerobic endurance capacity have been extended by new findings regarding ...

Roller skis are used by cross-country skiers for snow-free training, with the aim of imitating skiing on snow. The roller skis on the market that are constructed for use in the classical style are equipped with a front and a back wheel, one of which has a ratchet to enable it to grip the surface when diagonal striding and kick double poling. A new type of roller ski was constructed with a funct...

PURPOSE This study aimed (1) to determine whether paced breathing (synchronization of the expiration phase with poling time) would reduce the metabolic rate and dictate a lower rate of perceived exertion (RPE) than does spontaneous breathing and (2) to analyze the effects of paced breathing on poling forces and stride-mechanics organization during roller-ski skating exercises. METHODS Thirtee...