Amy Williams, who won gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and her specially designed skeleton bobsled. Image: johnwick04.
Last month leading researchers in sports technology met at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London to demonstrate just how far their field has come over recent years. The changes they make to athletes' equipment and clothes may only make a tiny difference to their performance, but once they're added up they can mean the difference between gold and silver.
In this podcast we talk to Steve Haake, Head of the Centre of Sports Engineering Research at Sheffield Hallam University, about the aerodynamics of a skeleton bobsled; Michael Caine, Director of the Sports Technology Institute in Loughborough, about designing shoes that can give you the tiniest of advantages; and Scott Drawer, Head of Research and Innovation at UK Sport, about the science of coaching.
You can also read the accompanying article.
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