Recent technological advancements could be the difference between winning a gold or silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics. That is according to a new report from the Institute of Mechanical Developments, which said that innovation has become a key part of sporting success over the last few years, meaning that more affluent countries will be at a distinct competitive advantage.
US and British athletes, for instance, will benefit enormously from having their clothing and equipment individually designed to meet their needs. They will, in fact, be offered a full body scan to establish their body contours to determine how their equipment should be designed.
The British boxing team, which is expected to excel in London, has been training with overhead cameras that chart their movements during a fight. The harnesses of mountain bikes, meanwhile, will be fitted with nano-coatings that repel liquid, which helps to stop drag from mud or water.
"Technology is as much a part of an athlete's armoury as nutrition, training and coaching," the report from the Institute of Mechanical Developments explained.
Professor Steve Haake, director of the centre for sports engineering research at Sheffield Hallam University, told the Guardian newspaper that Britain is leading the way in its use of innovation. "It started in this country as a discipline in its own right 25 years ago," he said. "The rest of the world has been playing catch-up ever since."
Critics, however, have suggested that relying on technology to boost performance goes against the Olympics ethos, and leaves less affluent countries at a disadvantage. Reflecting on this accusation, Dr Emily Ryall, the vice-chair of the British Philosophy of Sport Association, said: "The Olympics is never going to be a fair competition. So much high-performance sport is driven by technology now, from sports nutrition to psychology to clothing and footwear."
How do you feel about the use of cutting-edge technology, though? Is it fair or not?
