How science improves the performance of athletes. This is the theme of the science post during the weekends of these Olympic Games. Example with athletics. A report by Solenne Le Hen
:quality(50)/2023/09/12/solenne-le-hen-65008813d77c2426172285.png)
Published
Reading time: 3 min
:quality(50)/2024/08/02/080-hl-mkaczkowski-2332918-66ace08631db6483155077.jpg)
Today, many sports disciplines call on researchers to win more medals. This is particularly the case in France. For example, with athletics. At Insep, the Institute of Sport and Performance, the athletics training track has been refurbished in recent months, with fiber optics under the tartan.
On the athletics track, Orpheus does what she calls “scales”, warm-up exercises. Under the sprinter’s feet, optical fiber. “We have about two kilometers of fiber, explains Alexandre Guyon des Diguères, from the Insep performance center. It goes all around the track, and we move it from corridor to corridor, to capture as much information as possible.”
The fiber is capable of detecting all contacts with the ground, underlines Alexandre Guyon des Diguères.
“Every time we walk on the track, the optical fiber records, an animal that passes, it records, a leaf that falls, it can record it. It’s very, very sensitive.”
Alexandre Guyon of Digueresfrom the Insep performance center
:quality(50)/2024/08/02/athle-alexandre-guyon-des-digueres-sur-la-piste-1-66ace2297af18659979602.jpg)
For the moment, the data feedback system has not yet been installed, but soon, with artificial intelligence, coaches will be able, thanks to this optical fiber, to time the athletes precisely and break down their race.
“We will be able to break it down, say to ourselves at 10 meters, this is where he is, or at 20 meters, are we still good, and so on, instead of taking different times at different places, adds Alexandre Guyon des Diguères. So it’s really a gain in race kinematics for coaches and athletes.”
The level of precision should make it possible to identify whether the athlete relies more on the right or left foot, to know the amplitude of his stride, to calculate his exact training load, and therefore to gauge his risk of injury. Thomas Jordier, a 400-meter specialist, believes that science is essential to advance athletics today.
:quality(50)/2024/08/02/gettyimages-1242551669-66ace4c3ae43a922744339.jpg)
“It’s going to be super important to have this kind of reference, and for us, to know when I’m tired, when I can accelerate, and how I should accelerate. And all of that will help us to be more precise, more meticulous on the axis of performance and training especially.”
Thomas Jordier400 meter specialist
Former champion Marie-José Pérec, after whom this track is named, is almost jealous of so much technology.
“Everything that is done at the technological level, in fact we find it, and it is very important for the athletes. I am delighted that my name is associated with such a level of performance, it touches me a lot.”
Marie-José Perectriple Olympic champion, a legend of the 200 and 400 meters
Investing in science and technology is what “small nations” like Norway, Switzerland and Estonia have done in recent years, explains Thomas Jordier. They have since become major countries in world athletics, concludes the 400-metre specialist.