10 ways technology has changed the Olympics

With the summer’s sporting masterpiece now upon us, we look at 10 disciplines soon to come under the spotlight. How has technology changed the Games?

From the naked eye to photo finishes, standard trunks to streamlined swim suits, technology has driven elite sport to new heights with every revisit of the Olympic Games.

Given the two-year gap between each summer and winter edition, and the marketing opportunity such a showpiece presents, it’s only natural that technology and science companies from all over the world battle to give athletes the most telling edge.

Here are some great examples of how technological tweaks and overhauls have completely changed ten of the Olympics’ best-known disciplines.

Swimming

Most technological shifts in the pool have come in the lead up to each Olympics. Training technology like underwater cameras measuring form, biomarkers monitoring physiological performance and even swimsuits increasing speeds by remarkable lengths have added to the sport.

Taking the latter as a bizarre example, the LZR swimsuit was created for swimmers at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, where a remarkable 98pc of all medalists wore the outfit.

Compressing the torso, while also adding extra buoyancy, helped swimmers of the suit break almost 100 world records in under 18 months. Rule changes were inevitable and now both length and texture of swimsuits operate under stricter parameters.