Olympics is often considered a stage for human triumph, where athletes push the boundaries of what’s possible.
But little do people talk about technology used behind the scenes to constantly improve the human potential.
We’ve all seen memes around Yusuf Dikec’s no frills standout performance to grab a silver medal in shooting.
Yusuf’s achievement is fantastic!
But it is an exception not a norm.
That’s why Nike and Adidas run billion dollar research arms in the quest to find the fastest running shoes.
Nike Vaporfly, which was released in 2017, was one such standout innovation.
Get this – before Vaporfly, only 19 women had ever run a marathon (~26 miles/42 Kms) in less than 2 hours and 20 minutes.
In 2023 alone, 26 different women breached that benchmark.
It is almost a hockey stick graph of men and women breaching historically unachievable benchmarks in running.
On a stage where every microsecond counts, I don’t see why similar technology enhancements (of course, within the specs of the governing bodies) can’t be made to swimwear and a plethora of track and field sports?
While outliers will always amaze us with their extraordinary feats, but it’s the collective advancement of athletes that truly signifies progress.
And Technology, for sure, holds the key to unlocking this potential!
Checkout the full FT article here
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