The Relationship between the Color of Electronic Protectors and the Outcome in Taekwondo Matches: Is There Fairness in National Competitions?

The effect of the colour red in 20 years of Olympic taekwondo

The objectives of this study were (1) to analyse the relationship between the colour of the protectors and the outcome of 895 matches in the six Olympic Games in which taekwondo has been included, and (2) to analyse the effect of confounding factors through the different degrees of asymmetry between contestants. Data were recorded on the colour of each athlete's protectors, the scoring system, the sex of the athlete, the weight category, the round of competition, the winner of the match, the method of victory and the points scored by each athlete. Among the main results, a relationship emerged between male athletes wearing red and winning the match (p = 0.034) under the manual scoring system. There were relationships between female athletes wearing blue and winning the match in the quarterfinal (p = 0.014) and last 16 rounds (p = 0.021) using the manual and electronic scoring systems respectively. In female athletes, relationships emerged between wearing blue and winning the match with small (p = 0.008) and medium (p = 0.047) asymmetry under the manual system and with large (p = 0.036) asymmetry under the electronic system. The electronic system had a positive impact on the fairness of Olympic competition. Red tends to gain in importance as the asymmetry between the two athletes decreases, but not enough to give a competitive advantage. The results for Olympic competition held in the now concluded era of the manual system confirmed the presence of the colour effect as a result of psychological factors attributable to referees and judges.

Time-motion analysis of taekwondo matches in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

BACKGROUND

The aim of the present study was to determine the time-motion structure of high-level taekwondo matches during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in relation to sex, match outcome, weight category and match round.

METHODS

Overall, 7007 actions were recorded during the analysis of 134 performances (67 rounds of 24 matches: four rounds of 16, eight quarterfinals, eight semifinals and four finals) in male and female flyweight (≤58 kg and ≤49 kg, respectively), and heavyweight categories (≥80 kg and ≥67 kg, respectively). The attack time (AT), number of AT (AN), skipping time (ST) and pause time (PT) were registered.

RESULTS

The AT/ST ratio was ~1:1.5. Male athletes performed significantly longer (P<0.001) sum PT than female athletes. Flyweight athletes differed significantly from their heavyweight counterparts by having longer (P<0.001) average and sum AT, greater (P<0.001) AN, higher (P<0.001) AT/ST ratio, shorter (P<0.001) average and sum ST, and lower (P<0.01) (AT+ST)/PT ratio. Rounds 2 and 3 had average PT significantly longer (P<0.01) than round 1. Round 3 had sum PT longer (P<0.001) and (AT+ST)/PT ratio lower than in round 1.

CONCLUSIONS

The rule changes and the implementation of the electronic score recording system had a major impact on the time-motion structure of combat by generating a considerably higher AT/ST ratio than in the past. The comparisons indicated that the structure of the combat is modulated by weight category and phase of the combat. In practice, coaches could develop sport-specific high-intensity interval training using the time-motion indexes of the present study as guidelines.