Why do so many sprinters keep their hair long/loose?

August 9, 2024 8:10 PM

Casual race observer here, wondering why some of these these world-class sprinters, whose races can be decided in hundredths of seconds, sometimes wear their hair long so it flies out behind them when they're running. Doesn't that slow them down? Obviously it probably only has the tiniest effect…but also these races are determined by the tiniest differences in speed. Please explain it to me!
posted by BlahLaLa to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (11 answers total)

According to a physics prof in Wired it's worth maybe a 1% time reduction if you don't have long hair adding drag. I guess the runners think that a few thousandths of second in a 100m dash is not worth the loss of their preferred hairstyle. Kinda hard to argue that it's likely a race will be that close -- the fastest times ever set typically vary by hundredths of a second.

Which, I guess if you tie the world record, maybe you cut your hair the next day. Or buy a scrunchie.
posted by axiom at 10:52 PM on August 9

The Cathy Freeman suit didn't catch on, for further research.
posted by freethefeet at 12:05 AM on August 10

It's one of the biggest days of their life so they want to look good
They've experimented in practice & read research so they know the difference in speed is miniscule
The boost in confidence from looking great is better than the dip in speed from wind drag
"These sprinters" aka Black women are subjected to worldwide scrutiny and or judgement about their hair and are expected to hew to a Eurocentric and racist beauty standard at all times

I encourage consideration that scrutiny and or judgement about the perceived logic of Black women's hair is a tired and in fact racist line of inquiry)
posted by nouvelle-personne at 1:33 AM on August 10 [28 favorites]

Best answer: Just a slight expansion of what axiom said RE: the physics professor's analysis in Wired:

He found things like jewelry or big hair could theoretically have as much as 1% decrease in acceleration or a 1% increase in drag.

But when you work out the effect of that on the elapsed time - which is what you actually care about for racing purposes - it comes out more in the range of one thousandth of a second.

"Races are decided by hundredths of a second" you might say. The effect of the hair is, at most, a whole order of magnitude below that threshold.

It is so small that if, for example, you were to run 50 races then cut your hair and run 50 more (doing this over a period of weeks or whatever so that fatigue doesn't factor) it would be extremely doubtful you could even detect any difference in performance at all - even using very, very sensitive statistics. Other factors are going to be one and two and three orders of magnitude larger.

Finally, with regard to hair, when he is talking about hair that might affect the runner's time at the 1/1000th of a second level, he is specifically talking about "big hair" that would make a noticeable difference in the runner's drag profile.

But hair that is long and streaming backwards from the runner isn't doing that at all. In fact you could possibly make the case that hair streaming back behind the runner might help reduce the drag a little, similarly to the long tails that extend at the rear of extremely aerodynamic vehicle designs. These help the laminar flow continue further back and actually reduce drag by a fair little bit.

Regardless of those details, the aerodynamic effect of the hair streaming back behind is likely yet another order of magnitude smaller yet.

In other words, the effect of the hair streaming back appears to be negligible from a practical perspective - even for people who are concerned about time differences in the 1/100th of a second realm.
posted by flug at 1:59 AM on August 10 [13 favorites]

Just a lil context about how this type of racialized curiosity is a part of the endless scrutiny / judgement about Black women's hair or grooming in sports:
Surya Bonaly's hair
Florence Griffith-Joyner's nails, makeup, and clothing
Venus William's beads
Gabby Douglas' hair
Sha'Carri Richardson's hair
Simone Biles' hair
Like can we just let Black women live
posted by nouvelle-personne at 2:01 AM on August 10 [50 favorites]

This article about Samson’s hair, might be worth a read in this context. His hair was his thing and he was the guy who tore a lion apart! As a competitor, boosting your own self confidence and psyching out your opponents with some distinctive aspect of your appearance, is likely more than worth any small and theoretical drag time penalty. For sprinters, who only have a few seconds in actual competition, that context is particularly important. Show me an outstanding sprinter who blends into the background. There are Philistines out there!
posted by rongorongo at 2:18 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]

I was listening to a podcast and a former Olympian (who did not sport long hair) said that athletes may feel that if they look their best, they will perform at their best.
posted by synecdoche at 3:41 AM on August 10 [6 favorites]

You FEEL faster when your hair is streaming out behind you. It's one of the ways to get the joy from running flat out - it's exhilarating.
posted by Jane the Brown at 4:16 AM on August 10 [6 favorites]

Aside from the quite valid "just let people be" argument, there's also: you're talking about it. People are talking about it. People notice. People notice and talk about you. When you're at the top of your sport and people are talking about you, sponsorship money is going to find you easier. Much nicer to be an athlete when you don't have to work third shift at Home Depot between your practice sessions.
posted by phunniemee at 6:59 AM on August 10 [2 favorites]

Mod note: One comment and response removed. Please stay focused on answering the OP's question and refrain from observations that derail from that conversation.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:22 AM on August 10 [1 favorite]

Maybe self-expression, which may include amplifying Black culture, is a core value. Sha'Carri Richardson has demonstrated that she can still win with long hair and long nails, so keeping those personal statements is badass, and being badass has a competitive edge.

Mark Spitz shaved his body except for his luxurious hair and mustache, so this is not unprecedented.
posted by theora55 at 7:25 AM on August 11 [1 favorite]