Five High-Tech Tools to Boost Athletes to Olympic Glory
Tuan C. Nguyen
Athletes are using cutting-edge training devices that they hope will give them a competitive advantage
ver 2,500 of the world's best athletes, spanning 88 countries, will descend upon the Russian coastal city of Sochi to take part in the Winter Olympics. It shouldn't come as a complete surprise that Norway, with a population of roughly 5 million, stands atop the all-time medal count. Though in part attributed to living in a region where glaciers, lakes and snow-powdered mountain ranges make up 70 percent of the inland mass, the Norwegian team’s dominance in the cold weather games runs much deeper.
A fascinating report in the Wall Street Journal highlighted the fact that a winter sports club can be found in nearly every Norwegian city and town. And in contrast to their neighbors, the Swedes, urban centers are located in close proximity to wilderness areas. But what if your backyard doesn't consist of the kind of rugged terrain tailor-made for skiing and biathlon training?
In the quest to stay on par with the most elite, competing nations have invested heavily in advanced technologies, such as sensors, augmented reality and other cutting-edge systems. Coaches are increasingly incorporating these gadgets into training regimes designed to allow Olympic hopefuls to reach and sustain an optimal level of performance year-round. For the last seven years, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association has run a multi-million dollar lab project that helps top competitors train better using a treadmill modified with gas tanks. Skiers on the machine are supplied adjusted levels of nitrogen and oxygen in order to recreate atmospheric conditions at varying altitudes, comparable to what's experienced during cross-country events in Sochi. A wearable apparatus tracks a skier's progress by measuring downhill speed and pivoting motion.