able athletic shoes, and sophisticated cameras that capture every angle and moment of an event were not available. Today’s technologies are a far cry from the unsophisticated methods available to the Olympic Games’ athletes, judges and spectators of yesteryear. As one Olympics historian notes, “Today, technology has a more profound effect on sport than it did in those early years, by literally changing the way most sports are played” (Australian 1).
It is difficult to know where to begin with respect to covering the impact of modern technology on the Olympic Games. New technologies impact the Olympic Games, athlete performance, athletic gear, judges and spectators around the world. Equipment is now aerodynamically designed. Computer-aided design and new technologies produce bicycles made from Kevlar and tear-shaped helmets that increase speed. Swimming pools are now designed by computers in ways that minimize wave interference and allow for greater grip for kick-turns off the walls (Australian 1). Body-hugging suits made of Lycra and silk are designed to minimize wind resistance which increases speed. Even sneakers are now designed to maximize performance and represent state-of-the-art technological creations. As one observer notes, “In 1992 Dave Johnson ran his quickest all time leg in a 4x400m relay while he was wearing an incredible pair of inflatable sprinting shoes called the Insta-Pump. These new shoes, made by Reebok, have different organic cells, which are inflated with a hand-clutched canister of carbon dioxide” (Technology 2).
Swimmers now wear swimsuits that are made of state-of-the-art materials to reduce drag. Speed skaters now wear the lightest boots that technology can produce. Skis are now gender-oriented and completely redesigned from previous models. They now
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