Olympics Technology

The modern Olympics are quite different than they were just a century ago because of the advent of technology. In 1900, when American Francis Jarvis was declared the winner of the 100 meters, he was said to be "the winner by one foot from Walter Tewksbury, who beat Australian Stan Rowley by inches" (Australian 1). It was not even until the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles that officials began using stop-watch and camera technologies to gauge results. After a delay of several hours, if stop-watch technology could not determine a winner, judges were provided with newsreel footage to help them determine a winner. The significant advance in technologies of all types since the 1930s has dramatically change the nature of the Olympic Games, including the equipment and apparel used by athletes, the devices available to judges to determine winners, and even the games themselves. From aerodynamic swimsuits to electronic real-time coverage of the games, technology has radically changed the Olympics for athletes, judges and spectators. As Jason Powell argues, "More now than ever, technology is playing a significant role in today's world of sports, and its presence will most certainly play a part in rewriting some of the record books" (1). We will now examine the ways in which technologies have had an impact on the Olympic Games.

The early modern Olympic Games mainly relied on human senses as far as technology is concerned. This wa

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aking imperceptible differences obvious to the viewer" (Powell 1). Such technologies also have an impact on training, as coaches and athletes view the results in ways that allow them to shave precious seconds off of performance times. Innovative graphics, on-screen speedometers, helmet cams, and other technological advances further increase the accuracy of judges and increase the enjoyment level for spectators. Internet technologies have enabled spectators to follow the games as they occur in real time, further enhancing the appeal of the Olympic Games. Many advances in technologies of this kind were specifically developed for use in the Olympics and have made their way into other sporting events like NFL football and NBA basketball. If we look at the way technologies have changed pole-vaulting, we can see that they often change the very nature of the sport or game. Pole-vaulters used to jump over the high-bar with their feet point down in Olympic matches a century ago. Today's athletes now perform a sophisticated gymnastic maneuver in which they basically do a somersault as the jump occurs. This is the result of technology redesigning athletic movement to maximize performance. So, too, bamboo poles used to be used by p

Category: Science - O