The team of swimming of the United States, which is in 2024 Olympic Games, had as an ally in its preparation a technique based on scientific data. Developed by mathematician Ken Ono and his collaborator, Jerry Lu, the technology used creates 3D models of athletes and identifies possibilities for improvement.
What was supposed to be a biannual project with university athletes progressed to the Olympics after the studied swimmers stood out in national and international competitions.
Noticed by high-level teams — including the North American team, scientists began to monitor the preparations for important swimming competitions.
Ken Ono, from the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, United States, gave an interview to the magazine Nature this Wednesday (31) commenting on his project and the results of Olympic athletes.
“We help them [os atletas] swim a little more efficiently with precision training — using wearable technology to optimize individually [os resultados] for the tests he chooses. We identify targets of opportunity that can improve your performance that have been scientifically obtained.”
The improvements highlighted by the researchers help athletes reduce fractions of a second in their movements in the pool — which improves their rankings in swimming competitions. “What we do is a very small part, but it is exciting to see the medals come to fruition,” said the mathematician.
In the interview, Ono reported that he and Lu are not paid nor considered members of the coaching staff, as the number of coaches allowed at the Olympics is limited. So, the scientist classifies them as external consultants or even “friends and family” of the swimmers.
“There is a thirst for new applications of math and science beyond what people traditionally think of as math. So this gives me and my community of mathematicians around the world a new platform,” said the University of Virginia researcher.
And he added: “in a way, we are all studying probability distributions or mathematical phenomena, but in different contexts.”
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