Olympics:Technological Advances

Belal A. Siddiqui12 KEB 458

A2KE/10

The Olympic Games are the leading international sporting event wherein thousands of athletes, with more than 200 nations participate. The event takes place every four years.

While us sports fans tend to think that athletes change the world of sports, there's actually another factor that often gets overlooked—technology.

Not only the event, but the athletes too rely on technology. An Olympic swimmer could lose millions in endorsements for being only a half-blink slower than his opponent!

The introduction of cutting-edge technology has become a hallmark of the Games. Whether they’re worn in competitionor used in preparation, the best of these advancements are helping set world records at an unprecedented pace.

Technology is the main reason we can now witness things likethese:

What are Olympic games?And role does technology play in it?

It wasn’t hard to tell that China’s Ye Shiwen was about to break a world record in the women’s 400-meter individual medley on 28 July, 2000.

Ye Shiwen(Chinese Olympic

Swimmer)

Viewers could clearly see she was outswimming not only the other competitors, but also a vertical yellow line down the pool, as she broke the record of 4:29.45, winning in 4:28.43.

Major Technological BreakthroughsIn The History Of Olympics

Timing Consistency:Los Angeles, 1932

Since the beginning of the modern Games in Athens in 1896, judges supplied their own stopwatches and served as timekeepers.

This practice turned out varying degrees of accuracy and legitimacy in results.

But official automatic timing was introduced at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, when Omega unveiled its Olympic chronograph with a fly-back hand.

This introduction marked the first time in the history of the Games that a single manufacturer supplied identical stopwatches with observatory precision-rating certificates for timekeeping, and it increased the accuracy and reliability of results dramatically.

Major Technological BreakthroughsIn The History Of Olympics

Televised Broadcasts: Berlin, 1936 and London, 1948

The 1936 Berlin Olympics were not only the first Games televised, but were also the first televised sporting event. A receiver placed in the Olympic Village enabled the athletes to view the competition.

London hosted the first summer Games in 1948 after World War II. These Games were the first to be shown on home television.

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) purchased the rights to transmit the Games at a cost of US $3,000 to an official audience of 500,000 people within the British Isles.

Of course, today’s cable, satellite and Internet outlets, along with broadcast television, cover every aspect of the Games in real time for spectators around the globe.

Major Technological BreakthroughsIn The History Of Olympics

Electronic Timing: Tokyo, 1964

The theme of the 1964 Tokyo Games-- the first to be held in Asia-- was Scientific Olympics. Befitting this theme, the official timer of the Tokyo Games, Seiko, unveiled its new, fully electronic automated timing system, which boosted accuracy tremendously.

The system linked a starting pistol with a quartz timer and a photo-finish apparatus to record finish times, making it possible to record results down to 1/100th of a second.

Seiko credits the company’s technology development for the Games during the early 1960s as the impetus for its other timing technology innovations.

Major Technological BreakthroughsIn The History Of Olympics

Virtual Imaging: Sydney, 2000 Orad Hi-Tec Systems Ltd., a world leader in virtual set

technologies, introduced the first use of virtual imaging in Olympic competition.

Its Virtual World Record Line debuted during Sydney Olympic qualifying swimming trials.

The line, connected directly to the electronic timing in the event pool, featured a superimposed line on the water’s surface and graphics depicting existing world records. These graphics enabled viewers to watch athletes approach and exceed the current world record as the events unfolded.

Adding to the excitement, Orad expanded their visual imaging innovations for the swimming events by combining the superimposed Virtual World Record Line with the illusion of a submerged flag in each swimming lane to represent the athletes' home countries.

After their success at the Sydney Games, NBC Sports and Olympics Chairman Dick Ebersol declared Orad’s graphics to be “one of the greatest advances in Olympic television ever.”

Best Use of Technology In the Olympics

Drug Screenings (All Sports)

Used By: The International Olympic Committee/World Anti-Doping Agency.

The Tech: Performance-enhancing substances have been an issue in sports since testosterone was first synthesized in the 1940s. In order to combat the increasingly clever ways of concealing use, the IOC enlisted GlaxoSmithKline, a noted pharmaceutical company, to assist in new state-of-the-art lab tests that can measure more samples, and, if necessary, radioactively test for drugs not yet detectable.

The Result: Albanian weightlifter Hysen Pulakuand Uzbekistan gymnast Luiza Galiulina were pegged as dopers, while judoka Nick Delpopolocame back with a positive test for marijuana.

Best Use of Technology In the Olympics

Spider Tech tape (All sports)

Used By: Athletes across the board.

The Tech: The binding kinesiology tape was developed by chiropractor Kevin Jardine to alleviate pain that might otherwise compromise performance. Unlike regular medical tape, SpiderTech comes in different lengths and widths, allowing the user to create patterns that best cover the affected muscle.

The Result: Cyclist Dotsie Bausch took home a silver medal and kayaker Adam van Koeverden also earned silver in the 1,000-meter men’s single.

Best Use of Technology In the Olympics

Nike Pro TurboSpeed(Sprinting)

Used By: the U.S., Russia, Germany, China The Tech: Like something out of a Marvel comic,

Nike’s latest custom-fit track suit may indeed make superheroes out of mere mortals. Dimpled fabric on the arms and legs -- think a golf ball -- reduces drag. The end result is something Nike says can move faster than skin and shaves 0.023 seconds off the previous version.

The Result: Ryan Bailey qualified for the 100 m finals for the first time.

Best Use of Technology In the Olympics

Ossur Flex-Foot Cheetah (4x400 Relay)

Used by: Oscar Pistorius.

The Tech: Undeterred by the childhood amputation of his legs below the knees, Pistorius began sprinting as a teenager using Ossur’s distinctive carbon-fiber blades. The prostheses are intended to mimic normal ankle and joint function, duplicating it well enough to keep Pistorius competitive against able-bodied runners. As the J-shaped blade takes off, it compresses energy; when the limb moves forward, it releases energy.

The Result: Pistorius became the first double amputee to place in an Olympic contest, finishing second in the 400 meter sprint preliminary.

Best Use of Technology In the Olympics

Speedo Fastskin 3 System (Swimming)

Used By: the U.S. swim team The Tech: Speedo designed the first full-body LZR

swimsuit, reputed to have aided more than 92% of 2008 medalists, was banned following the Beijing Games. Reworked to fit governing body standards, the company’s new suit now fits kneecap to navel (or kneecap to shoulder for women) and compresses the body to improve buoyancy and reduce drag by an estimated 16.6%. Custom caps and goggles that enhance peripheral vision complete the “system.”

The Result: Michael Phelps dominated with eight gold medals in London, bringing his career total to an all-time Games record of 22. The U.S. women’s team set a world record at the medley relay, taking 0.14 off the previous time. In all, the U.S. team garnered 30 medals in non-marathon competition, three times more than their closest competitor, China.

Importance of Technology In Olympics

In 1900, when American Francis Jarvis was declared the winner of the 100 meters, he was said to be "the winner by one foot from Walter Tewksbury, who beat Australian Stan Rowley by inches.”

It was not even until the 1932, that officials began using stop-watch and camera technologies to gauge results. After a delay of several hours, if stop-watch technology could not determine a winner, judges were provided with newsreel footage to help them determine a winner.

The significant advance in technologies of all types since the 1930s has dramatically change the nature of the Olympic Games, including the equipment and apparel used by athletes, the devices available to judges to determine winners, and even the games themselves.

From aerodynamic swimsuits to electronic real-time coverage of the games, technology has radically changed the Olympics for athletes, judges and spectators.

"More now than ever, technology is playing a significant role in today's world of sports, and its presence will most certainly play a part in rewriting some of the record books"

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games_ceremony

http://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1686051.html

http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Technological_Innovations_and_the_Summer_Olympic_Games

http://www.askmen.com/top_10/sports/10-new-olympic-technologies.html

Images from various sources; Google Images.