Claire Davis forecasts who will benefit at the Olympics

Materials developments and engineering technology have long been known to have a major impact on sporting performance.

Pole-vaulting

In pole-vaulting, the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) rules state that ‘the pole may be of any material or combination of materials and of any length or diameter, but the basic surface must be smooth’. The sport has seen a huge change in the materials used for the pole, and in the world records achieved.

When it first started, rigid solid wood poles were used. Then in the early 1900s, lightweight bamboo poles were introduced along with a ‘box’ to receive the pole. In 1957, an aluminium pole was used by Bob Gutowski to set the world record height of 4.78 m. Later that year, Don Bragg used a steel pole to increase the record to 4.80 m. The next development was the introduction of glass fibre-reinforced polymer composite (GFRP) poles, which are flexible, allowing a different athletic style (feet first, vertically upside down approach) and a more energy-efficient vault. In 1994, Sergei Bubka set the current men’s world record of 6.14 m using a GFRP pole.

Tennis

Other sports have also seen major changes in the materials used for the equipment, and in subsequent performance. Tennis racquets have moved from wood and wood laminate frames to aluminium, and now GFRP and/or carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer composites. These can also contain Kevlar fibres, boron nitride ceramic fibres or, more recently, titanium fibres. The power of the racquet has increased, which results in the serve speeds being greater. The serve speed on fast courts, such as the grass courts of Wimbledon, was getting so high (the current record of 153 mph is held by Andy Roddick) that the response time of the receiving player approached an athletes’ reaction time and the game was becoming serve-dominated.

Spectators complained that tennis was changing and was not so interesting to watch. The International Tennis Federation introduced new fast, medium and slow balls for use on different court types. The ‘slow’ ball is six per cent larger, giving a 12 per cent increase in drag and hence a 10 per cent increase in response time for the receiver. The nature of the game has therefore changed again, partly in response to spectator wishes, and more rallies are being seen during tournaments on fast surfaces.

Other sports

Some sports are less sensitive to these changes. Track athletics can see moderate improvements in performance with the introduction of aerodynamic Lycra clothing or specialist running surfaces for fast times. But the influence of training, physiology and, unfortunately, chemical stimulants have had more significant effects. Other sports are heavily equipment-dominated; perhaps none more so than Formula 1 racing where the engineering technology can outweigh individual driver performance.

Is the influence of materials and engineering technology fair? The regulatory bodies for each sport limit equipment development to minimize differences between top athletes. A sport like Formula 1 racing is designed to showcase the teams’ different technological developments, although the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile has introduced rules to limit differences, for example engine capacity limits or a single tyre manufacturer for the 2007 season.

It is interesting to compare performance in sports that could be said to be ‘equipment and technology reliant’ or ‘athlete reliant’. In the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, the top eight countries in track cycling and rowing were Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Russia, and Italy. In track athletics, the top eight were USA, Russia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Greece, Cuba, Jamaica, Great Britain. The developed world dominates the former list, whilst quite a few developing nations are included in the latter. There are physiological and cultural influences on this data (success breeds success, and so on), however, the ability to invest in the infrastructure and equipment clearly brings results.

Implications for the Olympics

China has invested heavily, not only in the infrastructure for the Games in 2008, but also in the training and development of athletes and the latest and best equipment. I think we can expect to see Chinese athletes take many of the honours in Beijing.

In recent years, UK Sport has invested particularly in cycling and rowing to support the athletes and develop a competitive edge in equipment, and this has borne its reward in performance.

Investment to support athletes, improve training methods and facilities, develop and support new talent, and conduct equipment R&D are all required to provide that competitive edge.  

Dr Claire Davis is in the School of Engineering, Department of Metallurgy and Materials at the University of Birminham. She gave the BA Isambard Kingdom Brunel Award Lecture at the 2006 Festival of Science

This is an edited version of C. Davis (2007), Gaining a competitive edge, Materials Today, 10, Issue 1-2, p 60. It is reprinted with permission from Elsevier.