ABSTRACT
Colouration of sportswear has repeatedly been reported to influence the outcome of sportive contests. Hill & Barton (2005a) investigated the outcome of four combat sports in the Athens 2004 Olympics, and concluded that wearing red is consistently associated with a higher probability of winning. In these combat sports, namely boxing, tae kwon do, Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling, the contestants were randomly assigned red or blue outfits or body protection. In all 4 sports, the chance to win when wearing a red outfit was higher compared to a blue one. The ratio of red to blue wins in all 4 sports combined amounted to 55:45.
