The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." Faster, Higher, Stronger. And athletes have fulfilled that motto rapidly. The winner of the 2012 Olympic marathon ran two hours and eight minutes. Had he been racing against the winner of the 1904 Olympic marathon, he would have won by nearly an hour and a half. Now we all have this feeling that we're somehow just getting better as a human race, inexorably progressing, but it's not like we've evolved into a new species in a century. So what's going on here? I want to take a look at what's really behind this march of athletic progress.
Moto e lojerave Olimpike eshte "Citius, Altius, Fortius" Me shpejte, me larte, me forte. Dhe atletet kane permbushur ate moto shume shpejt Fituesi i maratones Oplimpike te 2012 vrapoi dy ore e tete minuta. Ne do ishte duke garuar kunder fituesit te maratones Olimpike te vitit 1904, ai do te kishte fituar me afer nje ore e gjysme. Tani te gjithe ne e kemi kete ndjenje se jemi duke u bere me te mire si qenie njerzore, duke perparuar ne menyre te pandalshme por nuk eshte se kemi evoluar ne qenie te reja brenda nje shekulli. Pra, cka po ndodh ketu? Dua te shikoj se c'fshihet pertej ketij marshimi te zhvillimit te atletikes.
In 1936, Jesse Owens held the world record in the 100 meters. Had Jesse Owens been racing last year in the world championships of the 100 meters, when Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt finished, Owens would have still had 14 feet to go. That's a lot in sprinter land. To give you a sense of how much it is, I want to share with you a demonstration conceived by sports scientist Ross Tucker. Now picture the stadium last year at the world championships of the 100 meters: thousands of fans waiting with baited breath to see Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history; flashbulbs popping as the nine fastest men in the world coil themselves into their blocks. And I want you to pretend that Jesse Owens is in that race. Now close your eyes for a second and picture the race. Bang! The gun goes off. An American sprinter jumps out to the front. Usain Bolt starts to catch him. Usain Bolt passes him, and as the runners come to the finish, you'll hear a beep as each man crosses the line. (Beeps) That's the entire finish of the race. You can open your eyes now. That first beep was Usain Bolt. That last beep was Jesse Owens. Listen to it again. (Beeps) When you think of it like that, it's not that big a difference, is it? And then consider that Usain Bolt started by propelling himself out of blocks down a specially fabricated carpet designed to allow him to travel as fast as humanly possible. Jesse Owens, on the other hand, ran on cinders, the ash from burnt wood, and that soft surface stole far more energy from his legs as he ran. Rather than blocks, Jesse Owens had a gardening trowel that he had to use to dig holes in the cinders to start from. Biomechanical analysis of the speed of Owens' joints shows that had been running on the same surface as Bolt, he wouldn't have been 14 feet behind, he would have been within one stride. Rather than the last beep, Owens would have been the second beep. Listen to it again. (Beeps) That's the difference track surface technology has made, and it's done it throughout the running world.
Ne 1936, Jesse Owens mbajti rekordin botëror në 100 metra. Nese do merrte pjese ne kampionatin boteror vitin e kaluar 100 metersh ne garen e 100 metershit, kur sprinteri xhamaikan Usain Bolt e perfundoi, Owrns kishte akoma 14 hapa per te vrapuar. Kjo do te thote shume per sprint. Per t'ju treguar se sa shume eshte, une dua te ndaj me ju nje demonstrim te konceptuar nga sportisti Ross Tucker. Tani, imagjinoni stadiumin vitin qe kaloi ne kampionation boteror te 100 metershit: mijera fansa duke pritur per te pare Usain Bolt, njeriun me te shpejte ne histori; nente burrat me te shpejte ne bote rrotullohen ne blloqet e tyre. Dua qe te pretendoni se Jesse Owens eshte ne ate gare. Tani mbyllni syte per disa sekonda dhe paraperfytyroni garen. Krisme! Arma shkrepet. Nje sprinter Amerikan kercen ne fillim. Usian Bolt fillon qe ta arrije ate. Usain Bolt e kalon ate, dhe ndersa vrapuesit mbrrijne te fundi, ju do te degjoni nje bip ku secili garues kalon nje pjese. (Bip) Kjo eshte pjesa e plote e gares. Mund te hapni syte tani. Bip i pare ishte Usain Bolt. Bip i fundit ishte Jesse Owens. Degjoni perseri ate. (Bip) Tek e mendoni keshtu, nuk eshte ndonje diference e madhe, apo jo? Dhe duke pasur ne konsiderate se Usain Bolt fillon duke vene ne levzije veten e tij poshte nje qilimi posacerisht te fabikuar i dizejnuar per te lejuar ate te vrapoj aq shpejt sa njerezisht eshte e mundur. Jesse Owens ne anen tjeter, vrapon ne shkrumbë, hi nga druri i djegur, dhe ajo siperfaqe e bute i shpenzon shume me shume energji kemebeve te tij ndersa vraponte. Pervec blloqeve, Jesse Owens kish nje peshqir kopeshti qe iu desh ta perdorte per te germuar gropa ne menyre qe te niste. Analizat biomekanike te shpejtesise se nyjeve te Owens tregojne se nese do kish qene duke vrapuar ne te njejten siperfaqe sikurse Bolt, ai nuk do të kishte qenë 14 metra prapa, ai do te kishte qene brenda te njejtes vije. Ne vend te sinjalit te fundit, Owens do te kishte qene bipi i dyte. Degjojeni edhe nje here. (Bip) Kjo eshte diferenca qe ka bere tknologjia me pisten, dhe eshte e bere ne te gjitha pistat e botes.
Consider a longer event. In 1954, Sir Roger Bannister became the first man to run under four minutes in the mile. Nowadays, college kids do that every year. On rare occasions, a high school kid does it. As of the end of last year, 1,314 men had run under four minutes in the mile, but like Jesse Owens, Sir Roger Bannister ran on soft cinders that stole far more energy from his legs than the synthetic tracks of today. So I consulted biomechanics experts to find out how much slower it is to run on cinders than synthetic tracks, and their consensus that it's one and a half percent slower. So if you apply a one and a half percent slowdown conversion to every man who ran his sub-four mile on a synthetic track, this is what happens. Only 530 are left. If you look at it from that perspective, fewer than ten new men per [year] have joined the sub-four mile club since Sir Roger Bannister. Now, 530 is a lot more than one, and that's partly because there are many more people training today and they're training more intelligently. Even college kids are professional in their training compared to Sir Roger Bannister, who trained for 45 minutes at a time while he ditched gynecology lectures in med school. And that guy who won the 1904 Olympic marathon in three in a half hours, that guy was drinking rat poison and brandy while he ran along the course. That was his idea of a performance-enhancing drug. (Laughter)
Konsideroni nje ngjarje me te gjate. Ne 1954, Sir Roger Bannisiter u be personi i pare i cili vrapoi nen kater minuta per nje milje. Ditet e sotme, studentet e universitetit e bejne ate cdo vit. Ne raste te rralla edhe nje nxnes i shkolles se mesme mund ta beje. Deri në fund të vitit të kaluar, 1.314 burra kishin vrapuar nen kater minuta per milje, por sikur Jesses Owens, Sir Roger Bannister vrapoi ne hi te bute dhe kjo i harxhoi me shume energji kembeve te tij sesa bejne pistat sintektike te sotme. Keshtu une konsultova ekspertet e biomekanikes per te zbuluar sa me ngadale vrapohet ne hi sesa ne pista sintetike, dhe konsensusi i tyre ishte nje perqind e gjysem me ngadale. Pra nese aplikoni nje perqind e gjysme te shendrrimit te ngadalshem per secilin person qe vrapon kater milje ne nje piste sintetike, kjo eshte ajo cka ndodh. Kane mbetur vetem 530. Nese e shikoni nga kjo perspektive, me pak se dhjete ne vit i jane bashkuar klubit te nen- kater milje që nga Sir Roger Bannister. Tani, 530 eshte me shume sesa nje, dhe kjo është pjesërisht për shkak se ka shumë më shumë njerëz qe trajnohen sot dhe jane duke u trajnuar me me inteligjence. Edhe femijet e koelgjit jane profesionist ne trajnimet e tyre te krahasuar ndaj Sir Roger Bannister, i cili trajnohej per 45 minuta qe ishte larguar nga leksionet e gjinekologjise ne shkollen e mjeksise. Dhe ai djali i cili fitoi maratonen olimpike te 1904 ne tre ore e gjysme, ai djale ishte duke pire helm miu dhe raki pederisa vraponte ne piste. Kjo ishte idea e performances se tij. (Buzeqeshje)
Clearly, athletes have gotten more savvy about performance-enhancing drugs as well, and that's made a difference in some sports at some times, but technology has made a difference in all sports, from faster skis to lighter shoes. Take a look at the record for the 100-meter freestyle swim. The record is always trending downward, but it's punctuated by these steep cliffs. This first cliff, in 1956, is the introduction of the flip turn. Rather than stopping and turning around, athletes could somersault under the water and get going right away in the opposite direction. This second cliff, the introduction of gutters on the side of the pool that allows water to splash off, rather than becoming turbulence that impedes the swimmers as they race. This final cliff, the introduction of full-body and low-friction swimsuits.
Duket qarte, se atletet jane bere me te pjekur sot rreth ilaceve qe rrisin perfromancen, dhe kjo ka bere ndryshimin ne disa sporte disa here, por teknologjia ka bere ndryshim ne te gjitha sportet, nga ski me te shpejta tek kepucet e lehta. Hidhni një sy të dhënave për stilin e lirë not ne 100-metër. Rekordi gjithmone eshte duke pesuar renie, por eshte nderprere nga keto shkembinj te thikte. Shkembi i pare, ne 1956, eshte hyrja rrokullisese. Ne vend se te ndaleni dhe ktheni, atletet mund te kaperdinje nen uje dhe te shkojne menjehere ne drejtimin e kundert. Shkembi i dyte, eshte prezantimi i kanalit ne anen tjeter te pishines, qe e lejon ujin te sperkat, ne vend se te bej turbulenca qe ti pengonte notuesit ndersa garojne. Ky shkemb i fundit, futja e rrobave te banjes trup tere trupit dhe me ferkim te ulet.
Throughout sports, technology has changed the face of performance. In 1972, Eddy Merckx set the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour at 30 miles, 3,774 feet. Now that record improved and improved as bicycles improved and became more aerodynamic all the way until 1996, when it was set at 35 miles, 1,531 feet, nearly five miles farther than Eddy Merckx cycled in 1972. But then in 2000, the International Cycling Union decreed that anyone who wanted to hold that record had to do so with essentially the same equipment that Eddy Merckx used in 1972. Where does the record stand today? 30 miles, 4,657 feet, a grand total of 883 feet farther than Eddy Merckx cycled more than four decades ago. Essentially the entire improvement in this record was due to technology.
Permes sportit, teknologjia ka ndryshuar formen e performances. Ne 1972, Eddy Merckx vendosi rekordin për distancë më të gjatë të cilklizmit në një orë në 30 milje, 3774 metra. Tani ai rekord sa vjen e permiresohet teksa biçikletat u permiresun dhe u bene me aerodinamike gjate tere 1996, ku u vendos per 35 milje, 1,531 metra, aferisht pese milje me larg sesa Eddy Merckx ne vitin 1972. Por më pas në vitin 2000, Bashkimi Ndërkombëtar i Ciklizmit dha urdher se kushdo qe deshiron te mbaj ate rekord duhej ta bente me pajisjet e njejta thelbesore qe Eddy Mercks perdori ne 1972. Ku qendron rekordi sot? 30 milje, 4,657 metra, ne nje total prej 883 metra me shume sesa Eddy Mercks kreu nje cikel me shume sesa kater dekada me pare. Ne thelb, i gjithe permiresimi ne kete ne kete regjistrim ishte per shkak te teknologjise.
Still, technology isn't the only thing pushing athletes forward. While indeed we haven't evolved into a new species in a century, the gene pool within competitive sports most certainly has changed. In the early half of the 20th century, physical education instructors and coaches had the idea that the average body type was the best for all athletic endeavors: medium height, medium weight, no matter the sport. And this showed in athletes' bodies. In the 1920s, the average elite high-jumper and average elite shot-putter were the same exact size. But as that idea started to fade away, as sports scientists and coaches realized that rather than the average body type, you want highly specialized bodies that fit into certain athletic niches, a form of artificial selection took place, a self-sorting for bodies that fit certain sports, and athletes' bodies became more different from one another. Today, rather than the same size as the average elite high jumper, the average elite shot-putter is two and a half inches taller and 130 pounds heavier. And this happened throughout the sports world.
Megjithatë, teknologjia nuk është e vetmja gjë qe i shtyn atletët përpara. Ndërsa në të vërtetë ne nuk kemi evoluar në një specie të re në një shekull, pishina gjenetike e sporteve konkuruese me siguri ka ndryshuar. Ne gjysmen e pare te shekullit 20, instruktore te edukimit fizike dhe trajneret paten idene se mesatarja e tipit te trupit ishte me e mira per te gjithe llojet e sportit: gjatesi mesatre, peshe mesatare, pavarsisht sportit. Dhe kjo u tregua ne trupat e atleteve. Ne 1920, mesatraja e elites ne kercim se larti dhe mesatarje e elites ne flakjen se gjyles ishin te se njejtes madhesi. Por pasi idea filloj te venitej, pasi shkenctaret e sportit dhe trajneret kuptuan se ne vend te mesatres se tipit te trupit, ajo qe duhej ishin trupa te specializuara qe pershtaten per sporte te caktuar, nje forme e re perzgjedhjeje artificiale zuri vend, nje vet-perzgjedhje per trupa qe i pershtaten sporteve te caktuara, dhe trupat e atleteve u bene me te ndryshem nga njeri tjetri. Sot, me shume sesa madhesia e njejte sesa mesatraj e elites se kercim se lartit mesatarja e elites se flakjes se gjyles eshte dy inq e gjysme m e gjate dhe 130 pund me e rende. Dhe kjo gje ka ndodhur me te gjitha sportet e botes.
In fact, if you plot on a height versus mass graph one data point for each of two dozen sports in the first half of the 20th century, it looks like this. There's some dispersal, but it's kind of grouped around that average body type. Then that idea started to go away, and at the same time, digital technology -- first radio, then television and the Internet -- gave millions, or in some cases billions, of people a ticket to consume elite sports performance. The financial incentives and fame and glory afforded elite athletes skyrocketed, and it tipped toward the tiny upper echelon of performance. It accelerated the artificial selection for specialized bodies. And if you plot a data point for these same two dozen sports today, it looks like this. The athletes' bodies have gotten much more different from one another. And because this chart looks like the charts that show the expanding universe, with the galaxies flying away from one another, the scientists who discovered it call it "The Big Bang of Body Types."
Ne fakt, nese hartoni lartesine kundrejt grafikes se mases nje te dhene per te dyja sportet ne gjysem e pare te shekullit 20-te, duket keshtu. Ka disa shpërndarje, por eshte si grup rreth mesatres se tipit te trupit. Pastaj ajo ide filloi te largohej, dhe ne te njejten kohe, teknologjia digjitale-- radio e pare, pastaj televizioni dhe interneti-- dha miliona, ose ne disa raste biliona, te njerezve nje bilete per te shpenzuar performanca sportive te elites. Stimujt financiare, fama dhe lavdia i sigurojne atletëve elite te arrijne kulmin, dhe largoi performancen e klases se larte. Ajo pershpejtoj perzgjedhjen artificiale per trupa te specializuar. Dhe nese ju hartoni te dhena te njejta per keto dy sporte sot, do te duket keshtu. Trupat e atleteve jane bere shume me ndryshe nga njeri-tjetri. Dhe per shkak se kjo grafike duket si grafiket qe tregojne universin e zgjeruar, me galaksite qe fluturojne nga njera tek tjetra, shkenctaret te cilet e kane zbuluar ate qe quajne "Big Bengu i tipave te trupit."
In sports where height is prized, like basketball, the tall athletes got taller. In 1983, the National Basketball Association signed a groundbreaking agreement making players partners in the league, entitled to shares of ticket revenues and television contracts. Suddenly, anybody who could be an NBA player wanted to be, and teams started scouring the globe for the bodies that could help them win championships. Almost overnight, the proportion of men in the NBA who are at least seven feet tall doubled to 10 percent. Today, one in 10 men in the NBA is at least seven feet tall, but a seven-foot-tall man is incredibly rare in the general population -- so rare that if you know an American man between the ages of 20 and 40 who is at least seven feet tall, there's a 17 percent chance he's in the NBA right now. (Laughter) That is, find six honest seven footers, one is in the NBA right now. And that's not the only way that NBA players' bodies are unique. This is Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man," the ideal proportions, with arm span equal to height. My arm span is exactly equal to my height. Yours is probably very nearly so. But not the average NBA player. The average NBA player is a shade under 6'7", with arms that are seven feet long. Not only are NBA players ridiculously tall, they are ludicrously long. Had Leonardo wanted to draw the Vitruvian NBA Player, he would have needed a rectangle and an ellipse, not a circle and a square.
Në sport ku lartësia është e çmuar, si basketbolli, atletet e gjate zgjaten me shume. Ne 1983, Asociacioni Kombetar i Basketbollit nenshkrujati nje marreveshje inovative duke i bere lojtaret partner ne lige, duke i dhene aksione ne te ardhurat e biletave dhe konratat televizive. Papritmas, kushdo qe mund te ishte lojtar deshironte te behej NBA, dhe ekipet filluan te pastronin boten per trupat qe mund te ndihmonin ata te fitonin kampionatin. Pothuajse brenda natës, përqindja e njerëzve në NBA të cilët janë të paktën shtatë feet (afer dy metra) te gjate u dyfishuan me 10 përqind. Sot, nje ne 10 lojtar ne NBA eshte te paketen shtate feet (afer dy metra) i gjate, por njeriu shtate feet eshte jashtezakonisht i rralle ne popullsine e pergjithshme-- aq i rralle saqe nese nje Amerikan ndermjet moshes 20 dhe 40 vjec i cili eshte te pakten shtate feet i gjate (afer dy metra) ka gjasa 17 perqind gjasa qe ai eshte ne NBA tani. (Te qeshura) Kjo do te thote, te gjesh gjashte shtatelarte te sinqerte nje prej tyre i ke ne NBA tani. Dhe kjo nuk eshte arsyeja se trupat e lojtareve te NBA jane unik. Ky eshte "Njeriu Vitruvian" i Leonardo Da Vincit propocionet ideale, me gjeresi te krahve te barabarte me gjatesine. Gjersia e kraheve eshte saktsisht e barabarte me gjatesine time. E juaja eshte ndoshta pothuajse gati. Por jo ne mesataren e lojtarit te NBA. Mesatarja tek nje lojtari NBA eshte poshte 6'7", me krahe te cilet jane te gjate 2 metra. Lojtaret e NBA jo vetem qe jane ne menyre qesharake shtatelarte, ata ne menyre absurde jane te gjate. A deshironte Leonardo te vizatonte lojtarin Vitruvian te NBA, ai do të kishte nevojë për një drejtkëndësh dhe një elips, jo një rreth dhe një katror.
So in sports where large size is prized, the large athletes have gotten larger. Conversely, in sports where diminutive stature is an advantage, the small athletes got smaller. The average elite female gymnast shrunk from 5'3" to 4'9" on average over the last 30 years, all the better for their power-to-weight ratio and for spinning in the air. And while the large got larger and the small got smaller, the weird got weirder. The average length of the forearm of a water polo player in relation to their total arm got longer, all the better for a forceful throwing whip. And as the large got larger, small got smaller, and the weird weirder. In swimming, the ideal body type is a long torso and short legs. It's like the long hull of a canoe for speed over the water. And the opposite is advantageous in running. You want long legs and a short torso. And this shows in athletes' bodies today. Here you see Michael Phelps, the greatest swimmer in history, standing next to Hicham El Guerrouj, the world record holder in the mile. These men are seven inches different in height, but because of the body types advantaged in their sports, they wear the same length pants. Seven inches difference in height, these men have the same length legs.
Pra, ne sporte ku madhesia eshte e çmuar, atletet e medhenj jane bere me te medhenj. Ne anen tjeter, ne sporte ku te qenurit shtat vogel eshte avantazh, atletet e vegjel jane bere me te vegjel. Mesatarja e gjimansteve femra elite u zvoglua mesatarisht prej 5'3 ne 4'9 gjate 30 viteve te fundit, e gjitha ne te miren e raportit fuqi- peshe dhe e gjitha per rrotullim ne ajer. Dhe perderisa te medhenjt u bene me te medhenj dhe te vegjelit me te vegjel, te çuditshmit u bene me te çuditshem. Gjatesia mesatare e parakrahut i nje lojtari polo uji, ne raport me kraun ne teresi, eshte zgjatur e gjitha ne te miren e hedhjes. Dhe ndersa te medhenjt u bene me te medhenj, te vegjlit me te vegjel, dhe te çuditshmit me te çuditshem. Në not, tipi ideal trupit është një bust i gjatë dhe këmbët e shkurtra. Eshte si nje byk i gjate i lundres per shpejtesi ne uje. Dhe e kundërta është e dobishme në vrapim Ju dëshironi këmbë të gjata dhe një bust të shkurtër. Dhe kjo tregohet në trupat e atletëve sot. E shihni Michael Phelps, notuesi me i mire ne histori, duke qendruar perkrah Hicham El Guerrouj, bartesi i rekordit boteror. Këta njerëz janë shtatë inç të ndryshme në gjatesi, por për shkak të llojeve të trupit avantazh në sport e tyre, ata veshin pantallona me gjatësi te njejte. Shtatë inç ndryshim në gjatesi, keta njerez kane te njejte gjatesi te kembeve.
Now in some cases, the search for bodies that could push athletic performance forward ended up introducing into the competitive world populations of people that weren't previously competing at all, like Kenyan distance runners. We think of Kenyans as being great marathoners. Kenyans think of the Kalenjin tribe as being great marathoners. The Kalenjin make up just 12 percent of the Kenyan population but the vast majority of elite runners. And they happen, on average, to have a certain unique physiology: legs that are very long and very thin at their extremity, and this is because they have their ancestry at very low latitude in a very hot and dry climate, and an evolutionary adaptation to that is limbs that are very long and very thin at the extremity for cooling purposes. It's the same reason that a radiator has long coils, to increase surface area compared to volume to let heat out, and because the leg is like a pendulum, the longer and thinner it is at the extremity, the more energy-efficient it is to swing. To put Kalenjin running success in perspective, consider that 17 American men in history have run faster than two hours and 10 minutes in the marathon. That's a four-minute-and-58-second-per-mile pace. Thirty-two Kalenjin men did that last October. (Laughter) That's from a source population the size of metropolitan Atlanta.
Keshtu ne disa raste, hulumtimi i trupave qe mund te shty performancat atletike me tutje perfundoi duke u futur ne boten konkurruese popullsi njerezish te cilet nuk ishin fare konkurrues me parë, si vrapuesit ne distance Kenian. Ne mendojme per Kenianet si maratonist te shkelqyer. Kenianet mendojne per fisin Kalenjin si maratonist te shkelqyer. Kalenjin përbëjnë vetëm 12 për qind te popullise Keniane por shumica e vrapuesve elite sot. Mesatarisht, ata kane nje fiziologji unike: kembe shume te gjata dhe shume te dobeta ne ekstremitet, dhe kjo eshte per shkak te prejardhjes se tyre në gjerësi shumë të ulët në një klimë shumë të nxehtë dhe të thatë, dhe një adaptim evolucionar qe jane gjymtyrët tejet të gjata dhe shume te holle ne ekstremitet per qellime ftohje. Është e njëjta arsye që një radiator ka mbështjellje të gjatë, për rritjen e sipërfaqes krahasuar me volumin per te leshuar ngrohjen jashte, dhe per shkak qe kembet jane si lavjerres, sa me te gjata e me te dobeta deri ne ekstremitet, më shumë energji-efektive lenkundet. Per te vene suksesin e vrapimit te Kalenjin ne prespektive duke konsideruar se 17 amerikan ne histori kane vrapuar me shpejte se dy ore e 10 minuta ne maratone. Kjo eshte kater-minuta- e- 58-sekonda-per-milje. Tridhjet-e-dy Kalenjin e kan bere kete gje Tetorin e kaluar. (Te qeshura) Kjo eshte nga nje burimi popullesia me madhesine e Atlantes metropolitane.
Still, even changing technology and the changing gene pool in sports don't account for all of the changes in performance. Athletes have a different mindset than they once did. Have you ever seen in a movie when someone gets an electrical shock and they're thrown across a room? There's no explosion there. What's happening when that happens is that the electrical impulse is causing all their muscle fibers to twitch at once, and they're throwing themselves across the room. They're essentially jumping. That's the power that's contained in the human body. But normally we can't access nearly all of it. Our brain acts as a limiter, preventing us from accessing all of our physical resources, because we might hurt ourselves, tearing tendons or ligaments. But the more we learn about how that limiter functions, the more we learn how we can push it back just a bit, in some cases by convincing the brain that the body won't be in mortal danger by pushing harder. Endurance and ultra-endurance sports serve as a great example. Ultra-endurance was once thought to be harmful to human health, but now we realize that we have all these traits that are perfect for ultra-endurance: no body fur and a glut of sweat glands that keep us cool while running; narrow waists and long legs compared to our frames; large surface area of joints for shock absorption. We have an arch in our foot that acts like a spring, short toes that are better for pushing off than for grasping tree limbs, and when we run, we can turn our torso and our shoulders like this while keeping our heads straight. Our primate cousins can't do that. They have to run like this. And we have big old butt muscles that keep us upright while running. Have you ever looked at an ape's butt? They have no buns because they don't run upright. And as athletes have realized that we're perfectly suited for ultra-endurance, they've taken on feats that would have been unthinkable before, athletes like Spanish endurance racer Kílian Jornet. Here's Kílian running up the Matterhorn. (Laughter) With a sweatshirt there tied around his waist. It's so steep he can't even run here. He's pulling up on a rope. This is a vertical ascent of more than 8,000 feet, and Kílian went up and down in under three hours. Amazing. And talented though he is, Kílian is not a physiological freak. Now that he has done this, other athletes will follow, just as other athletes followed after Sir Roger Bannister ran under four minutes in the mile.
Megjithatë, edhe ndryshimi i teknologjisë dhe ndryshimi i gjenit ne sporte nuk vlen per te gjitha ndryshimet ne performnaca. Atletet kane mendime te ndryshme nga me pare. A keni parë ndonjëherë në një film kur dikush merr një goditje elektrike dhe ata hidhen nëpër dhomë? Nuk ka shpërthim atje. Çfarë ndodh është se impulsi elektrik është duke shkaktuar qe të gjitha fibrat e muskujve të tyre te dridhen në një herë, dhe ata janë duke hedhur veten nëpër dhomë. Ata ne te verete jane duke kercyer. Kjo është fuqia që përfshihet në trupin e njeriut. Por normalisht ne nuk mund te kemi akses ne të gjithë atë. Truri ynë vepron si një limitues, duke na penguar ne qasje në të gjitha burimet tona fizike, sepse ne mund ta lendojme veten tone, duke shkeputur ndonje pjesez ose ligament. Por sa me shume qe mesojme se si funksionon ai limitues, aq me shume mesojme se si mund ta shtyjme pak me tutje, ne disa raste duke bindur trurin se trupi nuk do te jete ne rrezik per vdekje duke shtyre me shume. Durim dhe ultra-durim sportive shërben si një shembull shume i mire. Ultra-durimi dikur ishte menduar i dëmshem për shëndetin e njeriut por tani e kuptojmë se ne kemi të gjitha këto tipare që janë perfekte për ultra-durim: nuk ka qime trupi dhe një tepri te gjëndrave te djerses qe na mban me te freskte teksa vrapojme: bel te ngushte dhe kembe te gjate krahasuar me kornizat tona; siperfaqe te madhe te nyjeve per absorbimin e goditjes. Ne kemi nje hark ne kembet tona qe vepron si suste, gishta te shkurte qe jane me mire per shtyerje pastaj per te shtrenguar gjymtyret dhe kur vrapojme, ne mund te kthejme bustin dhe supet tona keshtu perderisa mbajme kokat tona drejte. Kushërinjtë tanë primati nuk mund ta bëjë këtë. Ata duhet te vrapojne keshtu. Dhe ne kemi muskuj te medhenj te ndenjurash qe na mbajne ne kembe teksa vrapojme. A keni pare ndonjehere prapanice te majmunit? Ata nuk kane kane kocka sepse nuk vrapojne ne kembe. Dhe perderisa atletet kane kuptuar se ne jemi te bere per ultra-durim, ata kane marre persiper vepra te cilat kane qene te pa imagjinushme me pare, atletet si vrapuesi Spanjoll Kilian Jornet. Ky eshte vrapuesi Kilian ne Matterhorn. (Te qeshura) Me një xhup te lidhur rreth belit të tij. Eshte aq e rrepire saqe ai nuk mund te vrapoj ketu. Ai eshte duk u terhqur nga nje litar. Kjo eshte nje ngjitje vertikale e me shume se 8.000 feet, dhe Kilian shkoj lart e poshte ne me pak se tre ore. E mrekullushme. Aq i talentuar sa eshte ai, Kilian nuk eshte fanatik fiziologjik. Tani qe ai e ka bere kete, atlet te tjere do te ndjekin, ashtu si atlet te tjere kane ndjekur pasi Sir Roger Bannister vrapoi per kater minuta ne milje.
Changing technology, changing genes, and a changing mindset. Innovation in sports, whether that's new track surfaces or new swimming techniques, the democratization of sport, the spread to new bodies and to new populations around the world, and imagination in sport, an understanding of what the human body is truly capable of, have conspired to make athletes stronger, faster, bolder, and better than ever.
Ndryshimi i teknologjise, ndryshimi i gjenve, dhe ndryshimi i mendimit. Risite ne sport, nese ka pista te reja ose teknika te reja te notimit, demokratizimi i sportit, perhapja e organve te reja dhe popullsia e re rreth botes, dhe imagjinata ne sport, nje kuptim se per cka eshte ne gjendje te beje trupi i njeriut, kane vendosur te bejne atletet me te forte, te shpejte, me guximtar, dhe me te mire se kurre me pare.
Thank you very much.
Faleminderit shume.
(Applause)
Duartokitje