Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Role of Technology in Sporting Performance
The Role of Technology in Sporting Performance
sporting performance"
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
The role of technology in
sporting performance
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Pole Vaulting
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thatpicturetakr/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Pole Vaulting - history
19th & 20th Ash or hickory poles, hands moved up
century pole during vault
1889 USA banned hand movement
1900 - 1942 Introduction of bamboo poles
Early 1900’s Box introduced to receive pole on ‘plant’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32912172@N00/ / CC BY 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Pole Vaulting - history
1957 Bob Gutowski (USA), aluminium pole first
used, world record (WR) 4.78m
1957 Don Bragg (USA), steel pole WR 4.80m
≈1956 Introduction of flexible composite (fibre-glass)
poles
1961 WR first broke with composite (fibre-glass) pole
http://www.flickr.com/photos/driever/ / CC BY-NC 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/deadyankee/ /
CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Effect of technology on
performance
Current world record:
Men: 6.14m (Sergei Bubka 1994) Women: 5.06m (Yelena Isinbayeva 2009)
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Modern poles
Uniaxial composites (fibre volume fraction of 66%):
GFRP modulus ≈ 35 GPa
CFRP modulus ≈ 140 GPa
Failure strains:
Glass fibres ≈ 2.6 %
Carbon fibres ≈ 0.6 - 1.1 %
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Modern poles - microstructure
Resin
Inner
ply
Fibre
bundle
Angled
plies
Cross section through a vaulting pole showing bundles of glass fibres in
resin matrix.
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
What the
athletes say
‘I usually take around 10 poles to
each competition, each of them
different. The poles are all of a
different length and therefore
stiffness. Which one I use depends
on how much speed I am generating
on the runway. I start out with softer,
longer poles until I’m fully warmed up
and then I’ll keep switching as my
speed and confidence increases. The
wind conditions will also dictate which
pole I use.’
Uploaded by Silvjose
Stacy Dragila
This image is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 Unported license.
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Modern poles
As you push the technology to the limit then
failures can occur resulting in potential
safety implications - poles occasionally
break during a jump in an unpredictable
manner .
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Athletics - running
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pulfi/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Sprinting
http://www.flickr.com/photos/philmcelhinney/ /
CC BY-SA 2.0
Decrease in winning times for 100m was 15 ms yr-1 in 1900, now 6 ms yr-1
i.e. hence pace of improvement has slowed
Performance improvements come from:
Better prepared athletes - improved training, nutrition etc.
Limited engineering technology - shoes, clothing and track surfaces
Chemical technology ?
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
How much effect does
engineering technology have
on sport?
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Is technology only used to
increase performance?
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Javelin
By the mid-1980s some athletes could
throw javelins further than 100 m. This
forced the IAAF to change the rules as the
javelins were in danger of being thrown ‘out
Matti Järvinen throwing the javelin at the 1932 of the stadium’.
Summer Olympics.
The new rules stipulated that the centre of mass should be moved forward
by 4 cm. This helps to keep the nose down, reducing the lift on the javelin
and cutting the distance it can travel.
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Cycling
In 1972, Eddy Merckx set the 1
hour distance record, in
Mexico City on a traditional
steel framed bicycle, of 30.716
miles
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7448869@N03/ /
CC BY-NC 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Cycling
Subsequently aerodynamic, streamlined Kevlar and carbon fibre
composite bicycles increased
the record to 35.031 miles, set by Chris Boardman in 1996.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyberdees/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
In 2000 Chris Boardman returned to a traditional bicycle to break Eddy
Merckx’s record (30.716 miles) at 30.722 miles.
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Tennis
The change in racket frames from wood
to aluminium then to fibre reinforced
composites has resulted in larger racket
heads. An increase in the sweet-spot
area on the racket face means the
‘power’ of the racket has increased,
which has increased the speed of the
game.
Deformation of the racket
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mischiru/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Synthetic strings
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Tennis
The serve speed has increased to
the current record of 155 mph.
Spectators have complained about
the lack of rallies and excitement in
the game.
To slow the game down on fast
surfaces new balls are being
introduced. One new ball type is 6%
larger giving a 12% increase in drag
and hence 10% increase in
response time for the receiver.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Golf
During impact the golf ball compresses by up to 10%.
Different construction and materials (e.g. polybutadiene,
polyurethane, ionomer) are used to create balls with
different properties (more spin or more distance).
Hence can optimise performance by selection of equipment
to suit individual players (professional or amateur).
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Is technology only used to
increase performance?
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
What are the ‘new
technologies’ being
introduced?
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Swimming
Design of new swimming
suits - Jason Lezak’s suit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamdawson/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Track cycling
• Riding on a 47º inclined track.
• Two main disciplines
(i) short ‘sprint’ distances (1 km)
(ii) longer ‘pursuit’ distances (4 km).
• Lightweight carbon fibre composite
bicycles with only one gear and
no brakes.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinpalmer/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Track cycling
505 g 980 g
• Weight ∝ 1/acceleration
But cannot reduce weight at the
expense of stiffness.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgsbikes/ /
/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Track cycling
505 g 980 g
• Weight ∝ 1/acceleration
But cannot reduce weight at the
expense of stiffness. High
stiffness and good aerodynamics
for foam filled solid wheels. http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgsbikes/ /
/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Track cycling
505 g 980 g
• Weight ∝ 1/acceleration
But cannot reduce weight at the
expense of stiffness. High
stiffness and good aerodynamics
for foam filled solid wheels.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgsbikes/ /
Resin required to lock / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
skin to core and for
aerodynamics.
Excess resin results in
excess weight.
Research has been
carried out to reduce
resin ingress into foam
and has led to weight
saving of 46g whilst
maintaining stiffness.
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Smart materials
Piezo-electric ceramics:
application of a current /
voltage results in mechanical
deflection … or vice versa
Use of piezo-electric ceramics
in active damping mechanisms
to reduce vibrations
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phrequency/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Smart materials
Shape memory alloys and thermocolour change
‘Smart’ clothing for heat release / retention
Nano-tex materials using nano-materials for stain / spill repelling, cooling
Thermochromic dyes
for monitoring body temperature
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nnova/ / CC BY-2.0
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
Does technology affect
country performance?
How does,
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
International technology gap
2008 Olympic Medal table:
‘Missing’ top GDP countries?
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
International technology gap
2008 Olympic Medal table:
‘Missing’ top GDP countries? Spain (8), Canada (9), Brazil (10), India (12)
(IMF data 2007)
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
International technology gap
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
UK sports technology spend
UK Sport funding (‘01 to ‘05) and (‘09 to ’13):
(World class performance programme supporting athletes + research spend)
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
What are the ‘new
technologies’ being
introduced?
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).
THANK YOU
Acknowledgements:
Dr Martin Strangwood
Dr Stephen Kukureka
Stuart Monk
Catherine Caton
Liz Wilcock
Blake Raynor
Amy Cleeton
This work and its content is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence to Claire Davis (Except where stated otherwise).