London Olympics boss Seb Coe recently shared the results of some research he's been conducting into the performance of athletes who tweet:
"I have found quite a close correlation between the number of tweets at competitive times and the level of under-performance. I have found a direct correlation between the amount of activity an athlete enters into on social media and their ultimate performance when it really matters..."
It shouldn't be underestimated how tricky that research must have been for Coe or even his team to conduct. There are a vast number of athletes on Twitter competing in an incredibly diverse array of sports. Then there is the very problematic issue of the relative newness of Twitter which has only seen one previous Olympic Games. Add to that other non-Twitter related factors such as ageing, performance of competitors, climactic conditions, altitude, ill-health and injury and it is clear Coe has tackled some not insignificant challenges.
Clearly Coe is hoping to discourage athletes from tweeting during London 2012 out of concern for their performance.
There can't be any other reasons he'd want them to stop...
to discuss transport arrangements at the Games.
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