One Answer

  1. All athletes run counterclockwise according to the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) standard. This rule has quite a logical justification: most athletes are right-handed, and it is the right leg that is the “push” when running. As a rule, it is slightly better developed and may even be a few millimeters longer. Therefore, it is more convenient to push off from the ground with the right foot, taking the body to the left — that is, running the rounded sections of the distance exactly counterclockwise.

    There is, however, another justification for this rule: according to some historians (in particular, Norman Douglas, author of the controversial “History of Europe”), the ancient Greeks began to run counterclockwise in competitions. They justified this rule by contrasting nature (natural development) and sports (artificial development), while deciding to run in competitions against the movement of the sundial. It is not possible to confirm this theory, but it can be assumed that the Greeks were guided to a greater extent by banal convenience.

    It's not just athletes who move counterclockwise. In the same way, horse races at racetracks, car races, and motorcycle races are held. The only type of competition where the movement takes place mainly in a clockwise direction is Formula 1.

    A source:

    newrunners.ru

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