The rich get richer and the poor get poorer : the Matthew mechanism as an approach to explain selection effects and the occurrence of multiple medalists in the "production" of international success in alpine ski racing
Deutscher übersetzter Titel: | Die Reichen werden reicher und die Armen werden ärmer : der Matthäus-Effekt als Zugang zur Erklärung von Selektionseffekten und das Auftreten von mehrfachem Medaillengewinn bei der "Produktion" von internationalem Erfolg im alpinen Skirennsport |
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Autor: | Barth, Michael; Güllich, Arne; Emrich, Eike |
Erschienen in: | Current issues in sport science |
Veröffentlicht: | 3 (2018), Art.-ID 008, S. 1-14, Lit. |
Format: | Literatur (SPOLIT) |
Publikationstyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
Medienart: | Elektronische Ressource (online) |
Sprache: | Englisch |
ISSN: | 2414-6641 |
DOI: | 10.15203/CISS_2018.008 |
Schlagworte: | |
Online Zugang: | |
Erfassungsnummer: | PU201810007331 |
Quelle: | BISp |
Abstract des Autors
The study addresses two questions that are under debate in the literature and exemplifies their examination in alpine ski racing. Firstly, are successful athletes the product of a long-term continuous intervention and/or socialization process or do they rather emerge via repeated selection processes? Secondly, to which extent is a nations’ collective success composed of many athletes’ singular successes or of a few athletes’ multiple successes? The study involved the national squad of the Austrian Ski Federation. Data collection comprised membership in a national squad and World or Olympic medal success and was carried out via document analysis (seasons: 1986-2016). The mean annual athlete turnover rate ranged from 24-57% across squad levels while the turnover rate varied substantially over time within each squad level. Among all national squad athletes, the incidence of being a successful (i.e., medal winning) National Team athlete was 8.9% (95% CI: 6.0%; 12.5%). Twenty-eight athletes won a total of 112 medals, 21 athletes achieved winning two or more medals. The six most successful athletes won 56 medals, comprising 50% of all medals won. The study suggests that successful elite athletes emerge from repeated selection and filtering processes. The observation of multiple medalists and a high concentration of exceptional success among a few athletes is reflected with regard to potential causes that rest on characteristics of the individual athlete, on social mechanisms (e.g., Matthew mechanism) of the elite sports system, or both.