The reason why some athletes have their belly button covered in the race walking event

Three race walking events have been programmed for the Paris Games, including a new event - the Marathon mixed relay race with each team comprising one man and one woman, who must complete two legs, alternating each (male 11.45km, female 10km, male 10km, female 10.745km). Before that, we have the standard 20km race walks - which both take place on Thursday 1 August. The men get the ball rolling at 1:30 a.m. ET starting off from the Trocadéro, taking us over Pont d’Iéna, along Quai Jacques-Chirac then back again. The women’s race, which follows the same route, starts at 3:20 a.m. ET.

Like at the previous Games in Tokyo, we are likely to see the curious practice of some athletes with their navels taped over for the duration of the race. Why they choose to do this has generated much debate. The simplest answer is steeped in culture and superstition.

Cultural beliefs: the naval the body’s center of gravity

Asian athletes, especially those of Tibetan or Chinese heritage, share the culturally established belief that energy can be lost through the belly button, a superstition that extends to the idea that bad energy can even be absorbed through it. As such, many athletes from the region choose to cover the area with tape or a bandage - essentially to trap their inner energy.

There is also another theory that energy actually flows through the navel. Some athletes, in addition to wearing a covering, also employ an energy stone - a stone that, according to different cultures, acts as a positive energy magnet.

The chakra theory holds that the navel is the first part of the human body to be formed after the conception of the fetus and this is connected via the umbilical cord to the placenta and thus to the mother. As the baby is nourished through this, in some cultures it is believed that bad energy can also enter through the navel.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Design and Nature and Ecodynamics, the navel is the body’s center of gravity, which, researchers explain at great length, is why taller athletes have an advantage in the short distance, sprint events.

When is the new Marathon mixed relay race at 2024 Paris?

The first edition of the new Marathon mixed relay race which features 25 teams covering a marathon distance of 42.195 kilometers, will take place on the same circuit as the 20km race walks. The event is scheduled to start at 1:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday 7 August, at the Trocadéro start point.

In the men’s 20km, Italy’s Massimo Stano will be defending his title against a star-studded field which will include reigning world champion Álvaro Martín, Toyko 2020 silver medalist Koki Ikeda, who recorded the third-fastest race in history and current European champion, Perseus Karlström.

In the women’s event, Antonella Palmisano, who took gold in Tokyo will defend her crown with China’s Liu Hong looking to get among the medals for the fourth Games in a row.