Un processus postcolonial : la genèse de la domination kényane dans les courses de fond vue par la presse sportive spécialisée française

FR. Les médias se font régulièrement l’échos des exploits, sinon des dérives, des athlètes kényan·e·s qui dominent les épreuves de course de fond les plus prestigieuses à travers le monde. Désormais coutumière de cette hégémonie, la presse sportive française commence à l’interroger dès les années 1960, tandis que l’athlétisme est-africain s’affirme au plus haut niveau international, manifestant sa volonté de comprendre et d’expliquer le « phénomène kényan ». L’objet de cet article est de montrer que l’éclosion au plus haut niveau international de l’athlétisme kényan dans la période post-coloniale est appréhendée par les journalistes français selon une rhétorique s’insérant dans un processus postcolonial. S’inscrivant dans le champ des postcolonial studies, cette étude vise à identifier et expliquer les transformations des modalités discursives selon lesquelles les journalistes français couvrent les succès kényans. Bien que le Kenya soit une ancienne colonie britannique, les textes étudiés reflétent la domination culturelle caractéristique de la période coloniale que les journalistes opposent à la domination sportive des athlètes kényan·e·s. Trois revues spécialisées dans l’athlétisme paraissant dans les années 1960, choisies tant par leur réputation que par l’éclectisme de leurs lignes éditoriales, sont analysées : l’Athlétisme, organe de presse officiel de la Fédération française d’athlétisme, Le Miroir de l’athlétisme, revue déclinée du journal Miroir sprint, proche du parti communiste français, et l’Équipe athlétisme magazine, associée au journal l’Équipe. Portant sur l’ensemble du discours, tant son contenu que ses stratégies énonciatives, l’analyse effectuée met en avant le recours par les journalistes français aux modèles rhétoriques utilisés par leurs homologues britanniques à la fin de la période coloniale. Identifiés par John Bale, ces modèles rhétoriques (la surveillance, l’appropriation, la négation et l’idéalisation) s’affirment progressivement à travers quatre étapes chronologiques de 1960 à 2000. La France n’ayant jamais colonisé le Kenya, cette démarche propose donc d’élargir la question postcoloniale aux interactions culturelles entre des pays dépourvus de liens coloniaux. *** EN. Media regularly report on the high performances, as well as the missteps, of Kenyan athletes occupying top places in the most prestigious international long-distance running competitions. If the French sports press has become accustomed to this podium hegemony, a desire to understand and explain the “Kenyan phenomenon” arose in the 1960’s, when East African athletics was gradually asserting itself at the highest levels of competition. The article aims to demonstrate that the narrative developed by French journalists on Kenyan athletics in the decades following African independences is part of rhetorical processes intertwined with postcolonial mechanisms. Embedded in the field of postcolonial studies, the research aims to identify and explain the evolution of discursive modalities used by French journalists to cover Kenyan sporting successes. Despite Kenya being a former British colony, specific characteristics appear in the analyzed text corpus and highlight how French journalists perpetuate cultural domination mechanisms, which sit in contrast with the sporting preeminence of Kenyan athletes. Three magazines published in the 1960s and specialized in the field of athletics were selected for the research, based on their reputation and the eclecticism of their editorial lines: L'Athlétisme, published by the French Athletics Federation ; Le Miroir de l'athlétisme, a magazine based on the Miroir sprint, known to be close to the French Communist Party ; and l'Équipe athlétisme magazine, a spin-off edition from the newspaper l'Équipe. The analysis of the discourse, from both content and enunciative strategies perspectives, highlights how French journalists resort to rhetorical models used by their British counterparts during the same period. Identified by John Bale, the models include surveillance, appropriation, negation and idealization, and appear chronologically in the press in four stages, from 1960 to 2000. Since Kenya was never under French colonial rule, the article suggests to broaden the postcolonial discussion to cultural interactions between countries without colonial ties. *** PT. Os meios de comunicação informam regularmente sobre as façanhas, senão os desvios, dos atletas quenianos que dominam os eventos de corrida de longa distância de maior prestígio em todo o mundo. Já habituada a esta hegemonia, a imprensa desportiva francesa passou a questioná-la nos anos 1960, enquanto o atletismo da África Oriental se afirmava ao mais alto nível internacional, demonstrando o seu desejo de compreender e explicar o “fenômeno queniano”. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar que a emergência do atletismo queniano no mais alto nível internacional no período pós-colonial é entendida pelos jornalistas franceses como uma parte retórica de um processo pós-colonial. Inserido no campo dos estudos pós-coloniais, este estudo visa identificar e explicar as transformações das modalidades discursivas segundo as quais os jornalistas franceses cobrem os sucessos quenianos. Embora o Quênia seja uma ex-colônia britânica, os textos estudados refletem a dominação cultural característica do período colonial que os jornalistas opõem à dominação esportiva dos atletas quenianos. Três revistas especializadas em atletismo surgidas na década de 1960, escolhidas tanto por sua reputação quanto pelo ecletismo de suas linhas editoriais, são analisadas: Athletics, órgão oficial de imprensa da Federação Francesa de Atletismo, Le Miroir de athletics, resenha da revista Miroir sprint, próxima ao Partido Comunista Francês, e a revista de atletismo Équipe, associada ao jornal L'Équipe. Abrangendo todo o discurso, tanto o seu conteúdo como as suas estratégias enunciativas, a análise realizada destaca a utilização pelos jornalistas franceses dos modelos retóricos utilizados pelos seus congêneres britânicos no final do período colonial. Identificados por John Bale, esses modelos retóricos (vigilância, apropriação, negação e idealização) afirmam-se gradativamente por meio de quatro estágios cronológicos de 1960 a 2000. Como a França nunca colonizou o Quênia, esta abordagem propõe, portanto, estender a questão pós-colonial às interações culturais entre países desprovidos de laços coloniais. ***

Building Bridges: A Conversation between Friends, about Language, Laziness, and Long-distance Running

This conversation took place in a shared Google Doc over several occasions in April and early May 2021, between friends and colleagues, artists and writers, Hannah Clarkson and Matilda Tucker, in the context of an ongoing experiment in collaborative writing. In their individual and collective practices, Clarkson and Tucker explore potential embodiments in language(s) of thinking and dwelling in the ‘here and elsewhere’ of places and spaces they may not physically be in, across cultural, geographical and/or emotional distance. They are interested in how language can be employed as a tool for empathy beyond concrete linguistic understanding; how translation as method opens up to modalities of fictioning and collective storytelling; and writing as an experiment in sharing everyday struggles and building collective narratives of care. An attempt to bridge gaps between the here and elsewhere of Stockholm, Berlin and all the other places that in this time of pandemic we cannot be, the text below is not a conclusion but a conversation. It is a thinking out loud - or rather, on screen - together, on themes of language and translation; belonging and resisting; work and laziness; former and formless selves.

The possibilities of the highlands in optimizing the condition of athletes

The objective of the research is to study the influence of restorative motor mode at the high altitude on functional condition of the sportsmen body during their stay in the mountains and the subsequent readaptation period. Materials and methods. Ten male sportsmen, whose specialization was medium and long-distance running took part in the research. The research was conducted in Bishkek during the 3-week stay in highlands (2350 m) and after their return to the foothills. During their stay in the mountains the sportsmen followed a specific motional mode in the form of outdoor activities. At the high altitude (2nd, 7th, 12th and 22nd days) and during the readaptation period (5th–6th and 18th–19st days) the condition of the respiratory function, cardio respiratory system and the maximum level of oxygen intake of sportsmen were evaluated. Results. During their stay in the mountains the increase of external expiration reserves and optimization of cardiovascular activity were observed. The level of maximum oxygen consumption after a decrease increased during the period of readaptation by 9,8% (P < 0,05). Conclusions. Outdoor activities at the high altitude conditions allow you to preserve and expand the functional reserves of the body of sportsmen during the transient period of the oneyear training macrocycle.

“Venice marathon”: participation of female Master Athletes shows a constant increase from 2003 to 2019

The marathon is the most classic Olympic running event. In several cities worldwide it has become very popular with participation increasing during the last 20 years, particularly by Master Athletes. There are evidences that long-distance running could provide considerable health benefits for older runners, specifically risk reduction of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, depression, and falls. Several studies have focused on the distribution of participants and their performance on famous marathons such as those of Berlin, Boston and New York. In this preliminary study we have analyzed data from several editions of the Venice marathon, a famous Italian race that attracts people from every corner of the world. The Venice marathon is listed in Abbott World Marathon Majors Wanda Age Group World Ranking and is Bronze Label certificated by IAAF, and Gold Label by FIDAL. The marathon starts outside Venice near Stra, then runs along the Brenta Riviera to Venice where the runners cross the canals over floating bridges set up for the race. For this study we analyzed data of the Venice marathon describing gender distribution in 17 editions (2003-2019), but groups of age-categories and their nationality only in 13 editions from 2007 to 2019. The analysis shows a steady increase in female participation, from 2003 to 2019.

Optimization of physical fitness of rowers-academics

The article reveals and analyzes the content of physical training of rowers-academics of two schools of higher sportsmanship: Kherson and Dnipro in the preparatory period. The training programs included exercises in gyms with different weights, namely lying down, squats with a barbell; rowing on an ergometer; long distance running. The magnitude of the training load, the intensity of training was determined by coaches depending on the condition of the athlete. Changes in the indicators of physical fitness of these athletes were studied. It is proved that after the training camp in the preparatory period of training rowers-academics the result on the rowing ergometer Concept 2 increased and the growth rate in the national team of Dnipro SHVSM was 1.2%, and in the national team of Kherson SHVSM 0.7%. According to the test, the thrust of the barbell lying - in the national team of the Dnieper SHVSM 11.7%, and in the national team of the Kherson SHVSM 27.8%. A promising area of further work is to study the features of technical training of rowers-academics. The need for targeted training in the training process from the stage of preliminary basic training to higher sports skills requires finding the best options for training planning in each age group and for different periods and stages of the annual cycle. The experience of the past years shows that the process of development of sports results in rowing is organically connected with the improvement of the physical fitness of the rower, but the reserves in this direction are not yet exhausted.

Design of Remote Real-Time Positioning Method for Long-Distance Running under Wireless Network Technology

Aiming at the problems of low precision, long time, and poor effect of current remote real-time motion location methods, a long-distance real-time motion location method based on wireless network technology was proposed. Through the analysis of wireless network technology, the basic structure and positioning technology of wireless sensor networks are studied. In addition, this paper adopts the core matrix Isomap node location algorithm based on partial least squares (PLS). The distance of geodesic between long-distance running nodes is used to characterize the dissimilarity between nodes, and the sample contribution rate of the partial least squares method is used to find and eliminate the phenomenon of short circuits in long-distance running fields. High-dimensional feature interval is mapped by centroid transformation and kernel transformation. The experimental results show that the method can improve the positioning accuracy and shorten the positioning time effectively.

Key psychological factors in long distance running

Purpose of the article is to identify the most important psychological factors influencing success among long-distance runners. Material and methods. The application of an electronic diagnostic survey (interview) was used as the research method in the study. The normalized questionnaire was applied as a research technique in the paper. Results.The analysis of the results was divided into parts, the first two of which concern the characteristics and environment of the respondents, and the remaining ones refer to the research problems formulated in the methodology section. The most numerous group of women have physical and mental trainings (32%) and the majority of men trains neither physically nor mentally (28%). Conclusions. There are many key factors in long-distance running. However, the most important ones seem to be stubbornness, motivation, self-confidence, optimism as well as support from family and peers. Runners are considered to be people who are often physically and mentally resistant. They are often able to sacrifice a lot to achieve their goals. The path taken by long-distance runners is often incomprehensible to their surroundings that is family, peers or employers.

Participation in Active Sport Tourism and Life Satisfaction: Comparing Golf, Snowboarding, and Long-Distance Running

Research has shown that participation in sport tourism can enhance wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between wellbeing generated through participation in active sport tourism and overall life satisfaction. Three different types of active sport tourism (i.e., golf, snowboarding, and long-distance running) were compared to explore whether the type of experience impacts the relationship between active sport tourism wellbeing and life satisfaction. Broaden-and-build theory was used as a theoretical foundation. Data were collected via an online self-administered questionnaire. Respondents were recruited via a Qualtrics panel (N = 418). Analysis of variance indicated that snowboarders rated the positive emotions acquired from active sport tourism significantly lower than golfers and runners. Furthermore, hierarchical multiple regression showed a significantly stronger relationship between positive emotions and life satisfaction for golfers and runners compared to snowboarders. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.

Impact of Long-term Endurance Performance on Muscles Stiffness in Marathon Runners Over 50 Years Old

The aim of this research is to evaluate marathon performance and asses the influence of this long-distance running endurance exercise on the changes of muscle stiffness in recreational runners aged 50 + years. Thirty-one male long-distance runners aged 50–73 years participated in the experiment. The muscle stiffness of quadriceps and calves was measured in two independent sessions: the day before the marathon and 30 min after the completed marathon run using a Myoton device. The 42.195-km run was completed in 4.30,05 h ± 35.12 min, which indicates an intensity of 79.3% ± 7.1% of HRmax. The long-term, low-intensity running exercise (marathon) in older recreational runners, along with the low level of HRmax and VO2max showed no statistically significant changes in muscle stiffness (quadriceps and calves). There was reduced muscle stiffness, but only in the triceps of the calf in the dominant (left) leg. Moreover, in order to optimally evaluate the marathon and adequately prepare for the performance training programme, we need to consider the direct and indirect analyses of the running economy, running technique, and HRmax and VO2max and DOMS variables. These variables significantly affect the marathon exercise.