Why are the running tracks at the Paris Olympics purple?
2024-07-27
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
The 2024 Paris Olympics opens.
As the host city of this Olympics and also known as the fashion capital, the visual design of the Paris Olympics has naturally attracted much attention.
The most discussed one should be the "lavender field in the track and field" - the purple track and field track of the Paris Olympics.
Aren’t running tracks always red? Why was the running track for the Paris Olympics designed to be purple?
Olympic track color can be chosen by yourself
In daily life, whether it is professional competitions or on campus, most running tracks are red. But with the current level of technology, it is not difficult to make a colorful running track. Why are most running tracks still "default" red?
Firstly, red is a relatively stable color. Even if the red track is exposed to sunlight for a long time, it will not fade too seriously. Secondly, red can give people a strong visual stimulation, and can also make the human nerves and muscles excited and impulsive, which helps athletes quickly enter the competition state. Moreover, the red track and the green inner field are also very beautiful in color matching.
The reference picture of the 400-meter track and field race provided by the World Athletics Federation is red and green. Source: worldathletics.org
However, the red runway has advantages, which does not mean that runways of other colors are bad.In fact, the Paris Olympics was not the first to use a non-red track. The 2009 Berlin World Championships used a blue track. At the time, physiologist Bream said that blue could "work miracles" because it reminded people of the vast sky and ocean, and made people feel broad-minded and free. It was also on this track that Bolt set the world records for the men's 100m and 200m.Since then, blue running tracks have been used more and more frequently, and many stadiums, parks, etc. in my country have also used blue running tracks.
The 2016 Rio Olympics also used a blue runway - yes, the International Olympic Committee did not strictly stipulate the color of the runway.The Olympic organizers can choose the specific color of the running track.So why did the Paris Olympics choose purple?After consultation between the Paris Olympic Committee, the International Association of Athletics Federations and the International Olympic Broadcasting Services, the track for this year's Olympics was not the traditional red, but purple, with the light purple being the track area, the dark purple being the service area, and the turning area at the end of the track being gray. The choice of gray was to echo the gray cinder track of the 1924 Paris Olympics.
In this regard, Alain Blondel, sports manager for athletics at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said: "The main purpose of doing this is to provide a track that is different from those we have seen before, maintaining the creative approach that the organizing committee has maintained since its inception and breaking the rules."If the goal was to break the mold, they certainly achieved it. There is no official explanation for why purple was chosen, but there are many popular theories.Among them, the most widely circulated is that this is "inspired by the lavender fields of Provence."There are large tracts of lavender growing in the Provence region in southern France. The scenery is beautiful and stunning. At first glance, large tracts of purple flow like an ocean. This purple lavender has also become one of the symbols of France.Image source: Tuchong CreativeThe Olympics were held during the lavender blooming season. At this time, the Provence region was in full bloom with real flower fields, and the venues in Paris not far away were another kind of flower fields.In addition, there is also a view that the choice of purple is related to the color of the national flag. Adding the blue and red of the French flag (blue, white, and red) together will result in purple.In fact, in addition to the runway, many other designs at this year's Paris Olympics also used purple. Source: Instagram@paris2024Of course, in addition to cultural symbols, functionality in actual operations also needs to be considered.Alain Blondel, head of track and field events at the Paris Olympics and retired French decathlete, once said about the color impact of the purple runway: This design not only creates a strong contrast between the runway and the audience seats during TV broadcasts, highlighting the athletes' image, but also helps athletes perform better, because color has a significant impact on the athletes' condition.As can be seen from the picture, what Alan Blondel said about the purple track forming a contrast with the audience seats during the broadcast does make some sense. So how does the color affect the athletes' condition?Art theorist John Eaton proposed color theories such as three primary colors and twelve color wheels in his book "Color Composition" (the book was later improved and rewritten by his successor Josef Albers). He officially began to deconstruct and quantify the role of color, allowing people to grasp the mystery between color and psychology.Our protagonist today, purple, is a color that is beneficial to competitive games.From the perspective of color tone, purple is a cool color that can bring a sense of reduction, thus giving people a sense of calmness and stability. Moreover, unlike blue, which is also a cool color, purple also incorporates some warm red that can give people a sense of advancement and expansion. In other words, purple combines the passion of red and the calmness of blue, making it both calm and not too depressed, thus making the mood more balanced, calm and energetic.In order to stand out in the competition, athletes need not only excellent physical fitness and skills, but also a stable mental state. This purple running track can also be regarded as a psychological buff for athletes.Technology in the Purple RunwayIn addition to its advantages such as good appearance and ability to help stabilize the psychological state, the purple runway itself also has a high technological content.The company that developed, designed and produced the purple track is Mondo Sport & Flooring, a company known for its high-tech and environmentally friendly materials. It has been cooperating with the IAAF since 1987, and its relationship with the Olympics dates back to the 1976 Montreal Olympics.Image source: mondo official websiteAccording to Mondo, the purple running track has two layers: the upper layer that contacts the sports shoes and can drain water, and the lower layer that is relatively soft and has pores of a specific shape and can be compressed. The pores in the lower layer can not only accumulate the elastic potential energy when the athletes step on it, but also return the elastic potential energy to them when they start running or jumping, reducing the burden on the athletes' joints and preventing injuries.It is worth mentioning that there is currently no reference data that can fully explain the "interaction" between the track and the athlete, and it is not feasible to obtain reference data entirely through actual testing. After all, the interaction between the track and the athlete is highly variable and difficult to record and cover with data. In other words, it would be very difficult to design a track using traditional testing methods.Finally, Mondo chose to design the track using a method that simulates the dynamic interaction process. This can simulate the interaction between athletes and the track, and can be repeated many times, breaking through the limitations of traditional methods and time.Image source: mondo official websiteThis track is also used in this Paralympic Games. Its good grip (the ability of the tires to resist slipping and keep the tires under the driver's control when they are in contact with the ground) and resistance allow the track to interact well with wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs.In addition, this is an environmentally friendly runway.Calcium carbonate is a material often used in the construction of athletics tracks, but the mining of calcium carbonate raw materials may have a negative impact on the environment. Mondo has developed a new composite material for athletics tracks that incorporates calcium carbonate-rich shellfish shells typical of the Mediterranean, reducing the mining of calcium carbonate and the environmental impact it brings.According to the official website, paving the runway with biocarbonate is equivalent to offsetting the emissions of a Euro 4 diesel car driven 60,000 kilometers. In addition, it avoids tens of tons of waste from being landfilled. Image source: mondo official websiteIn addition, the purple track is made of synthetic rubber, natural rubber, mineral components, pigments and additives, of which about 50% is made of recycled or renewable materials. Traditional synthetic rubber tracks are usually made of petrochemical products whose main components are styrene and butadiene through polymerization.Finally, I wish the athletes good results on the purple track.1. Albers, J. (2012). Color Composition. Chongqing: Chongqing University Press.2. Zhou Jian. (2020). Color Composition. Beijing: China Textile Press.4. Chen Guan. (2004). Color psychology characteristics of primary color system. Journal of Minzu University of China, (05), 92-94. DOI: 10.15970/j.cnki.1005-8575.2004.05.0185. Yan Han. Color psychology.Author: Minmin Almond White
