September 18, 2000
Technology and the Olympics
Tidbit Archive
| As the Olympics grow in size, scope, and political and economic
importance, athletes and the nations that support them are driven to seek
every possible advantage in their quest for medals. Science and technology
provide such advantages, and, as their products are introduced into competition,
they create a dynamic similar to an arms race. If one competitor
uses a new technique or device that yields an advantage (and it is judged
to be consistent with the rules of the game), others are forced to adopt
it in order to keep pace. The "Fastskin" full-body swimsuits are
having this effect among swimmers in Sydney this year, just as fiberglass
poles came to dominate pole-vaulting some years ago.
In other respects, too, the Olympics, like many sports, are becoming increasingly technological. The pervasiveness of television and the Internet, the use of computers to manage competitions, keep records, and disseminate results, the growing field of biomechanical research applied to sports, the need for precision time-keeping devices, even the kind of lights used for night competitions are all examples. The Internet has been full of Olympic materials for months. The links below provide a few current examples of the use of technology as well as some interesting reports and commentaries on technology, sport, and the Olympics. |
Links:The Official Site of the 2000 Olympic Games. Perhaps the most effective demonstration of how technology--in this case the Internet--is being used in the Olympics.
NBCOlympics.com. Television-oriented site with reports from Sydney and more, from the network that is broadcasting the games in the United States.
IBM's Olympics site. "Officially it's called the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. We call it an IBM e-business." Included on this promotional site is a page showing how many hits the IBM Olympics web servers are getting and where they are coming from.
"Green Technology Lights the Olympics." From the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organistion (CSIRO--the Australian government's central research lab).
Troxel's Olympic Technology--"the world's fastest cycling helmet" developed by Troxel for the U.S. Olympic cycling team.
Science & the Olympics from "The Why Files," a project of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Education.
Olympic Timing--a report on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, September 15, 2000 (in RealAudio -- scroll down near the bottom of the page). An interview with an electrical engineer from the U.S. Olympic Committee on how finishing times are measured so precisely.
cnnsi.com (CNN-Sports Illustrated) Olympics site . Another excellent media site with reports on the Olympics. See the July 2 report on the new high-tech bodysuits being used by swimmers this year.
"Technology and the Games." From the Rochedale State School in Queensland, Australia.
"The (Post) Modern Olympics." Subtitled "Technology and the Commodification of the Olympic Movement," this article by Professor Michael R. Real of San Diego State University takes a critical look at what technology, especially television is doing to the Olympics. Long, and not an easy read--at least for those who are not into postmodern sociocultural analysis.
The Sports Biomechanics Lab, at the University of California, Davis. Among its projects is a virtual reality bobsled simulator that is helping to train the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team.
Sports Technology Hotlist. Lots o'links from the MIT Media Lab.
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