The ‘physiologization’ of skiing: the lab as an obligatory passage point for elite athletes?
Journal article, 2019

In The Pasteurization of France, Bruno Latour argued that the rise of hygiene was dependent on collaboration between Pasteur, the hygiene movement, scientists and others. He also pointed at the importance of obligatory passage points such as the Pasteurian laboratory, to ensure the scientization and rationalization of hygiene. This article argues that there has been a similar process in elite sports, a ‘physiologization’ where scientists, sport organizations and specialized coaches have transformed training from a deeply personal and experiential matter to something universal and scientific. Physiologists made the test lab an obligatory passage point for athletes who wanted to compete on the highest level. Through theories of sportification and science and technology studies this paper analyses the scientization of endurance sports.

sportification

endorphins

Training

high-altitude

rationalization

obligatory passage point

skiing

Author

Daniel Svensson

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Science, Technology and Society

Sverker Sörlin

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Sport in Society

1743-0437 (ISSN) 1743-0445 (eISSN)

Vol. 22 9 1574-1588

Learning to exercise: the role of upper-secondary schools for elite athletes in the development of training for cross-country skiing

Swedish Research Council for Sport Science (D2018-0026), 2018-01-01 -- 2019-12-31.

Subject Categories

Sport and Fitness Sciences

History of Technology

History

DOI

10.1080/17430437.2018.1435031

More information

Latest update

4/6/2022 5