No one should forget Freeman's tight-fitting one-piece sportswear at the Sydney Olympics. It looked funny at that time and eventually helped her win the 400-meter championship. The shark skin that once looked quite uncomfortable by the swimming pool has now become an indispensable part of swimming in people's eyes.
At the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, the large-scale visual "bombing" of innovative technology made many people marvel that sports can be like this. In August's Beijing Olympic Games, sports technology will bring more shocking sensory experience to the whole world. A small change may be the distance between the champion and the runner-up.
Make barefoot people afraid to wear shoes
In last week's NBA Lakers game, the whole world should have noticed that Kobe Bryant's super dunk on his foot, which weighs only 13 ounces and has a diagonal upper, will be fully unveiled at the Beijing Olympic Games. However, the shock it brings to journalists is far less intense than other innovations. Here's a little pass-have you ever seen anyone wearing shoes in gymnastics?
At the beginning of April, the reporter walked into Nike Innovation Work Lab, a mysterious field that has never been opened to the outside world, and is now making nervous preparations for the Beijing Olympic Games. Different from the Athens Olympic Games four years ago, Nike's innovative products cover almost all 28 sports, and shoes alone occupy 24 sports, which is more than twice as high as the 1 1 sports involved in the Athens Olympic Games, and even includes gymnastics and taekwondo, which have never worn shoes before.
This idea is really incredible now. After all, many talents just understand and accept the influence of shoes on basketball and football. Gymnastics and Taekwondo are traditional barefoot events. Why do you have to wear a pair of seemingly redundant shoes?
With this question, the reporter saw this pair-or "a pair" of more suitable shoes in Nike studio, because it really looks not much different from girls' open-toed socks and has almost no weight. This pair of shoes, named Pidima, is the smallest sports shoes designed for Olympic athletes, specially developed to meet the needs of world-class gymnasts in vault competition.
R&D personnel told reporters that the vault is very similar to the long jump, requiring athletes to run at the fastest speed in a short distance, then leap over the vault with great strength to reach the maximum distance, height and speed, and finally land "steadily". Inspired by the track and field sports shoes, the designer successfully designed the lace-up rubber grip system of NikePidima to improve the speed and control of athletes from running to vault to landing. In other words, wearing these shoes can give athletes a great advantage in landing stability, which is modified by an China proverb that "barefoot people are afraid of wearing shoes".
Similarly, the reporter found the strange taekwondo shoes in a dazzling pile of shoes, which dressed the athletes as robots like foot covers. But it is this seemingly invincible force that can protect athletes from any harm in training and competition.
R&D staff told reporters that in order to get the most practical sports data, they began to contact top taekwondo athletes several years ago, including Chinese Olympic Champion Lowe and Chen Zhong. For these excellent athletes, the most critical issue is how to avoid injury during the competition. Fractures or abrasions on your feet will greatly reduce your competitive level, and then you may miss the medal. In order to protect athletes' toes from injury during training and qualifying, the team specially designed a padded "foot cover" for China team. The synthetic cushion is connected to the ankle and bends according to the foot structure, providing athletes with light protection and "zero distraction". Elastic perforated neoprene soft bottom can ensure that the cushion will not shift, and at the same time maximize the air permeability of the feet and the contact surface between the skin and the floor mat. This comfortable and highly protective revolutionary shoe was sought after by most taekwondo athletes as soon as it appeared.
As for how good it is to wear, an American Taekwondo athlete told reporters that she began to adapt to these unprecedented shoes two years ago. Many people may find it visually strange, but for athletes, these shoes actually fit their feet completely and will not affect the competition and training. What's more interesting is that the vamp is made of special material, which allows players to make a sweet and crisp sound when kicking each other's body, thus increasing the enjoyment of the game.
Stuff yourself in the refrigerator.
In the sweltering heat of August in Beijing, many people and journalists should have the same idea, that is, they can't wait to put themselves in the refrigerator and not go anywhere. This seemingly unconstrained idea was actually realized in Nike.
Sounds like a joke? The idea was really funny at first. The staff of Nike R&D told reporters that they found that most athletes want to keep their body temperature before the competition, especially in hot weather like Beijing, and they expect to keep their body temperature dry and comfortable at the last second before the competition. It is in view of this requirement of athletes that Nike originally designed a suit similar to a photographic vest. Engineers stuffed a lot of frozen ice into the pockets sewn all over the body. Although this ensured the low temperature to a certain extent, it still made the athletes feel quite uncomfortable. Hard ice blocks are placed on athletes' backs, making them look ridiculous like pangolins.
Only now, with the birth of PreCoolVest, no one will laugh at the childlike creativity of Nike R&D employees. They absorbed the design of classic metal skirt in 1960s, and then combined it with medical equipment materials, thus the precooler was born. The vest adopts triangular grid structure to maximize the contact surface between clothes and skin. The closer the sports vest is, the less ice is needed for heat dissipation, and the lighter the vest will be.
In front of the reporter, R&D personnel demonstrated a simple operation process: just open the water inlet above the vest, inject the water you want into it, then fold it up and put it in the refrigerator for freezing. Take it out a few hours before the game and put it in a special insulation bag to ensure that the vest will not melt within 3 hours. In addition, the design of reflecting radiant heat on the outside of the vest can slow down the melting speed of ice cubes. These seemingly funny triangular water injection blocks completely adopt the standard of medical packaging and will not leak water even if they are severely squeezed.
The staff of R&D kindly invited the reporter to put on this mysterious dress. Although it feels a little heavy, I have to admit that the clothes are still very close-fitting and cool, which is no different from the feeling of stuffing myself into the refrigerator. Engineers say that this thing can make athletes keep moving for about 2 1% in the competition. For the athletes who are about to compete in the hot Beijing, this is indeed a gospel.
In Nike Creative Lab, such an interesting idea is still being gradually realized. In the 100-meter dash, the athletes wearing Swift fabric have been able to improve their performance by 0.02 seconds, which is sometimes the ranking gap; By the pool, we no longer see dark shark skin. Instead, we use Swift fabrics and lighter swimsuits. The advanced design takes into account the figure of China people, so that the clothes can be close to the body and the back is no longer soaked by water. ...
No one can deny that the Beijing Olympic Games will bring a miracle to the whole world. Just like these revolutionary products, a slight change is pushing the whole Olympic movement forward. Eight years ago, we deeply realized the innovation and change brought by science and technology to competitive sports. Eight years later, we should not only get used to the visual stimulation in front of the TV, but also enjoy the convenience and innovation it brings, because one day, this seemingly unreachable thing may come into our lives.
"Shark costume" with different comments
Swimwear, known as "fast skin" and "shark skin", has attracted wide attention since it came out in April this year.
Speedo is the inventor of "shark skin" swimsuit. The principle of "shark skin" swimsuit is that the surface resistance of this new material is much smaller than that of human skin, and the athletes' performance can be improved by at least 3% and at most 7.5%.
At present, China swimming team also has 150 "shark suit" provided by Speedo and Adidas. Domestic experts generally believe that this kind of swimsuit does have high scientific and technological content in drag reduction, but as far as the current situation of players trying on it is concerned, it is not very ideal. Zhao Ge, head coach of the China Swimming Team, said that the problem is manifested in two aspects: first, some parts are soaked in water, such as the back and cuffs; Second, the shoulder extension movement is limited. Coach Zhao Ge said: This mismatch is related to the size ratio of the upper and lower parts of the swimsuit. Swimsuit is mainly designed according to the physical characteristics and muscle lines of European players, so China players feel uncomfortable.
It is reported that the United States, Australia, Britain, France, Russia and other countries will be equipped with this swimsuit in the swimming competition of the Sydney Olympic Games.
"Sleeveless Dress" and "Fast Service"
It is reported that Adidas has made new sportswear for British athletes one by one. One of the most creative is the dress of Lewis, a female heptathlon athlete. The tight suit with dark green ribbon lines highlights the athlete's lines, but the most novel is the sleeveless left arm. The research of Lewis and other throwers found that if the non-throwing arm is exposed, the brain's nervous attention will be focused on the wrapped arm, thus improving the throwing level.
At the beginning of August this year, a track and field suit designed by Nike will be provided to the Australian track and field team at any time. It is called "speed suit".
According to Nike's designer, this kind of clothing is made of five different fiber materials, and the different directions of these fiber textures can conform to the aerodynamic principle to the greatest extent, taking into account the temperature changes of different muscle groups and the influence of wind during exercise. For example, the hand is made of low-friction fiber, and the back is made of large mesh material to ensure heat dissipation on the back, while the stitching is on the back to reduce resistance.
Kaiser Freeman, Australia's 400-meter world champion, used to wear this kind of sportswear for training. She said, "When you wear this kind of clothes, you will feel like a piece of gauze passing through the clouds. It feels great. "
"Mysterious" running shoes
On August 10 this year, Canadian scientists said that they had designed a revolutionary running shoe that could help track and field athletes break the world record in the Olympic Games.
Nigel Galvao, from the Human Ability Laboratory of the University of Calgary, Canada, designed this kind of running shoes, which is based on the new discovery that vibration will have a destructive effect on human body.
Nigel said: "We think we will see some new world records. The average score of 30 athletes who tried new running shoes, including Olympic champion 100 meter Canada Bailey, increased by nearly 8%. " In addition, British sprinters will also wear a new type of "B-nail" running shoes. It is said that this kind of running shoes will support the athlete's whole body weight on the runway, instead of sinking like the previous running shoes, and the performance will be improved by about 4.3%.
Long-distance runner's "strong socks"
Adidas Company specially designed a new kind of sports socks-"strength socks" for long-distance runners from Germany, France, Britain and the United States. This kind of socks will wrap the whole calf when put on. Adidas designers said that this design will promote blood circulation and reduce the fatigue of athletes' legs, which is of great help to long-distance runners.
Bicycle sportswear designed by wind tunnel research.
Cyclists from Britain, America and other countries will put on a new set of sportswear. This kind of swimsuit for cyclists is designed after research in the wind tunnel, which will greatly reduce the air resistance of cyclists while riding, thus improving their performance.