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Athletes and technology
Whether you're an elite athlete or just a regular punter trying to improve your fitness, you can
be sure technology is going to have something to do with it.
From the shoes you wear to your workout gear or your bike helmet, you are benefiting from the
work of armies of performance analysts. Fitness equipment too is becoming ever more
sophisticated in the physiological feedback it can provide. Bathroom scales no longer simply tell
your weight, they can analyse your body fat percentage using bioelectrical impedance analysis
to measure the speed of an electrical signal sent through the body from the soles of your feet.
At the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) the science of performance analysis is reaching new
levels of sophistication. This willingness to adopt new technologies gives the AIS athletes a
competitive edge. For example, during the Sydney Olympics and Paralympics in 2000 the SWAN
(swimming analysis) system was used to turn every part of a swimmer's performance into a
timed sequence. It used seven cameras to capture 200 frames a second and the visual
breakdown could be viewed on screen just minutes after the event. Such a detailed record of an
athlete's performance allows coaches and athletes to pinpoint areas for improvement. It can
allow a direct comparison of the performance of two athletes even if they didn't perform in the
same event at the same place.
Last year, the AIS established a dedicated Performance Analysis Unit (PAU) to support athletes
and coaches in the use of technology in training and competition. Keith Lyons, head of the PAU
says innovations in computer and video technology offer athletes and coaches opportunities to
observe, evaluate and enhance performance. The PAU evaluates and advises coaches on some
of the many software packages available to assist performance...