I think: Therefore I am less good

Scientists have apparently found that too much thinking can be detrimental to sporting performance.

This conclusion comes from respected scientific journal The Daily Mail. It reported the findings of a selection of academic studies that it says show novices in sport think too much, which in turn causes their performance to suffer.

In one study the University of Chicago used brain scans to find that good golfers use less of their brain than novices when deciding on shot selection. The preliminary results from a study in Britain showed similar results amongst hockey players. Sadly no specific information on swimming was available.

‘Novices are distracted by everything going on around them. The experts are much more able to focus specifically with their eyes, and, in turn, with their brains.’ said Zoe Wimshurst of Surrey University, one of the academics responsible for the British study.

‘Could it be that people who are very good at sports don’t have to think about it so much? Aren’t we in danger of confusing correlation with causation?’ responded one eight year-old with no formal scientific training when interviewed on the subject by The Wobbly Block.

Colin Brown, director of London Swimming and an expert in the minimisation of cognitive activity, unfortunately had no comment to make.

Martin: Training hard

A British teacher has announced plans to swim all the way across the Atlantic Ocean.

Setting off in May, Peterborough-born Daniel Martin will attempt the colossal swim as part of a ‘global triathlon’ that will take him running, swimming and cycling across the globe. Naturally he hopes to raise money for charity along the way.

Disappointingly however, it transpires that the self-styled ‘extreme athlete’ will not be attempting the 3,500 mile swim in one go – choosing instead to record his exact position at the end of each day and resume from there the following morning.

On his official website Martin says he hopes to ‘become the first man in history to swim the Atlantic’. In order to achieve this aim he will have to cope with such minor distractions as barnacles, jellyfish, sharks, treacherous weather conditions and water temperatures just above freezing.

He will also have to contend with the fact that France’s Ben Lecomte became the first person to successfully swim the Atlantic back in 1998, though again not in one go.

On a more positive note, the 28 year-old will no doubt be delighted to discover that completing a crossing of the Atlantic is worth 10,000 points in the British Swimming Masters Decathlon Competition.