Sport & science

There has been a very informative series of article by Owen Slot in The Times about the role of technology in gaining those vital marginal improvements in the performance of our Olympic hopefuls. Swimmers, for example, are benefitting from the expertise of experts in computational fluid dynamics, fish locomotion & naval architecture plus an array of monitoring equipment which helps them to implement their recommendations.

There are troubling aspects to this – the expense, the unfairness to athletes in disciplines or from countries which do not have the money to throw behind such intensity, & increasing professionalization of sport which may only add to the reluctance of the rest of the population to engage in sporting activity just for the fun of it, or its health giving properties.

One can but hope that the cross-fertilisation goes both ways – the scientists also learn, gain new perspectives on, their own disciplines.

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