MathsSport
High jump and pole vault
The high jump and pole vault require the athlete to get as far off the ground as they can to clear horizontal bars. In both cases they get a running start. However, to look at the maths behind their sport, you need to look at how high they can jump from a standing start.
Sweet spot
You don't need to be a professional sportsperson to work out where the sweet spot is located – you can do it with maths.
Flying through water
Swimming records have tumbled thanks to futuristic swimsuits designed with mathematical precision.
One, two, three...fore!
What have golfing and grandfather clocks got in common? It's all in the swing...
The footballing mathematicians
Studying maths doesn’t stop you from playing world-class football. Harald Bohr was a Danish mathematician who won a silver medal at the 1908 summer Olympics. He also played for the Danish club Akademisk Boldklub alongside his Nobel Prize-winning brother, the physicist Niels Bohr.
Running the numbers
Is it fair to let an athlete with carbon fibre limbs compete in the Olympics? Sports scientists use statistics to find out.