Paralympics 2012:

technology giving athletes the edge

Did you watch the paralympics in London last summer ?

It seems clear that technology and science is now helping paralympic athletes to achieve ever greater feats and consider what may be possible in the future.

The Paralympics now combine  human competitiveness, perseverance  and engineering ingenuity. The games will inspire a generation of Paralympians, but also engineers and scientists too. Technology developed for the track and field will transform lives beyond the Olympic Park.

However, sport technology is controversial. Does technology give an unfair advantage?  

Of course there should be rules, but there should be leeway to push technological advancements. Engineers and athletes should apply their minds to eking out tenths of seconds by using new materials, different construction methods and by serious testing.

Usain Bolt does not simply pull on a pair of Dunlop Greenflash and a pair of Bermuda shorts before bolting it down the track. His kit is developed in laboratories and tested again and again. It should not be any different for the Paralympics.

Training takes time and perseverance. So does research and development to give athletes to the means to improve their results.