The ‘red advantage’ is no longer true for Olympic combat sports

Wearing a red outfit in combat sports has been believed to provide an advantage for athletes, but a new study suggests there is no longer any truth in the claim.

In boxing, taekwondo and wrestling, athletes are randomly assigned either red or blue sports attire. Previous research in 2005 found that wearing red may be linked to a higher likelihood of winning in Olympic combat sports, particularly in closely contested bouts, but this had not been tested across multiple tournaments.

Psychologists from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Northumbria University joined with researchers from Durham University who led the initial study on the red advantage to test the hypothesis across sixteen major international tournaments.

Using advanced data analysis techniques, they analysed the outcomes of over 6,500 contestants from seven summer Olympic Games and nine World Boxing Championships held between 1996 and 2020.

Their analysis revealed that athletes in red won 50.5% of the time, meaning the colour the athletes wore had no significant effect on their performance. In close contests with a narrow points difference, those wearing red won 51.5% of the time, but this is also not considered to be a statistically significant bias.

The researchers did, however, find that in competitions held pre-2005 there was an advantage for those athletes wearing red. In close contests, 56% of victories were won by those in red attire.

The researchers believe that the red advantage has faded since 2005 due to an increased use of technology in scoring points and changes in tournament rules.

Their findings have been published in Scientific Reports.

Leonard Peperkoorn, a social psychologist from VU Amsterdam explained: “The advantage has likely faded due to changes in tournament regulations. In the past, referees played a larger role in assigning points. Today, scoring is increasingly supported by technology, and the clarification of rules leaves less room for interpretation in awarding points. As a result, combat sports are increasingly able to offer a level playing field.”

“This is an important synthesis going beyond single tournaments,” said Professor Thomas Pollet, an expert in human behaviour and social relationships in Northumbria University’s Department of Psychology, who co-authored the study. “When looking across many tournaments, the data suggest there is little evidence that the so-called red advantage currently plays an important role for combat sports at the elite level.”

Professor Russell Hill and Professor Robert Barton from Durham University’s Department of Anthropology led the initial 2005 study. They joined this new study to ensure there was consistency in the data collection and interpretation.

Professor Hill explained: “There has been enormous interest in the red advantage since our original study. While athletes wearing red once gained a potential benefit, this new and extensive analysis shows that the rule changes and awareness of the impact of clothing colour that have come since 2005 have helped remove its impact in combat sports.”

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Visit the Northumbria University Research Portal to find out more about Professor Thomas Pollet's work.

Meta-analysis of the red advantage in combat sports

Published open access in Nature Scientific Reports.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-81373-3