Anyone who thinks that competing in the Olympics is solely the responsibility of the athlete is mistaken. In cross-country skiing for example, a factor that has been reported to effect the skier's performance up to 3% is the type of wax on the bottom of their skis, and the way it interacts with the given snow conditions. These weather conditions are obviously something that change every day, even every hour, so recalculation of the prime wax to use is frequently necessary. These scientists, referred to as "prep specialists" take the results of conditions from the track, and create a specific micro structure of wax that will maximize performance, by allowing the skis to grip the snow in exactly the right way. Anyone who believes science can't lead to a gold medal should think again.
The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) (2010, February 22). Olympic cross-country skiing: Going for the glide. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 24, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222082520.htm
Posted by Lily Hutson
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The science and technology in the Olympics is definitely undeniable and usually on the breaking edge. I was unaware of the ski wax--that's pretty interesting but I know in men's luge, the event that suffered the tragedy, the german's pride themselves in their tech innovations in the sport and claim they ride the fastest sleds. And it seemed to work too--they won the gold and silver medals in the men's competition.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really interesting to know, and I definitely agree that technology takes a significant part in Olympic matches since 0.1 seconds matters within each games. I remember seeing an article that many technology has developed for swimsuits that national swimmers wear. Adidas was known to use a fabric called teflon which gives more advantages for swimmers. However, it is a little disturbing to know that these high-tech equipments cost money and that contestants who are not financially eligible to spend that money will automatically have a disadvantage towards the swimmers who does.
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