Technorati Tags: sports Science,Technology
The Olympic wintertime games are starting in few days and athletes are finalising their preparations for Vancouver. I will be there with team GB in my second Olympic game after the exciting Beijing Olympics. In the last 3 years we have spent a lot of time helping and supporting our wintertime sports athletes to help them prepare in the best possible way for Vancouver. We are not alone of course. lots of countries are investing large sums to get edges in all areas of preparation. wintertime sports rely a lot on a variety of equipment for training and competition and in the race for success scientists from all over the world are checking out innovative technologies to give an edge to their athletes. team Canada has set the target to finish first in the medal table at their home games and to accomplish this dream has invested $ 8 millions in a programme with 55 top secret projects. Strangely enough, despite naming the project “Top Secret”, the Canadians are adamant to talk about it. Of course they are pleased of the terrific job which has been done and are not terrified to talk about it.
Top secret had two components. One dealt with the hardware of boots, skis, skates, poles, helmets and suits. The other focused on human physiology. In particular, a lot of work has been apparently done on recovery modalities.
We have done our work as well and hope to create few upsets in Canada. preparation and travel plans are the first priority as our athletes will be competing in another continent. So plans to cope with jet lag and speed up adjustment to the new time zone have been put in place as well as recovery methods to minimize the effects of sitting on a plane for hours. We have organised holding camps in Calgary and Lake Placid to supply our athletes with the best environment to prepare for the games. science and technology projects have been conducted with various sports on equipment development, innovative training, preparation methods and recovery modalities in partnership with our colleagues at UK sport and at the Scottish and English Institutes of Sport. Last but not least a terrific partnership with Adidas indicates we could supply our athletes with innovative clothing solutions.
You can see what team GB athletes think of our kit here:
So, we have our own cards to play and are looking forward to the next few weeks.
Recovery seems to be an hot issue and every country is checking out optimising recovery methods for athletes competing over few days during the Olympics. competition preparation and recovery are possibly the crucial areas where significant gains can be obtained. Physical and technological preparation is carried out for 4 years, but it is the little detail in the last few days which can make a significant difference for athletes on the big day.
Little details like what they drink, what they eat before their competition, the timing of food and special drinks intake, how they warm up, and a lot of of all in what physical and mental state they are when standing on the start line. Of course technology plays a big role, equipment can make a difference, but the winner is always the athlete as no equipment can win on its own!
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