Is New Tech Giving Olympic Athletes Unfair Advantages?

by Michael Sitver · August 3

The 2012 Olympics have arrived and with it, a new controversy over technology in sports. The Olympics is a tradition that dates back literally thousands of years, but new technology is giving athletes from richer countries a clear advantage.

We obviously can’t stop progress, and sports have changed and will continue to change, but where we draw the line is where the controversy lies.

In the Washington Post Article linked here Eliza Mackintosh (great name) mentions a few examples where this new technology is giving athletes possible unfair advantages. New Nike uniform technology employed by the Americans can shave over .02 seconds in a 100 meter race, which can be the difference between silver and bronze metals.

A full body swimsuit by Speedo which helped swimmers including Michael Phelps win in ’08 has been all out banned.

In another example that comes to my mind, the PGA tour is banning Belly Putters and other extremely scientific clubs which through R & D can offer a serious competitive advantage.

New and Scientific Pro V1X

So, there’s no talk of stopping these advancements outright because you can’t stop progress, but we do need to decide where to draw the line. There are far more pressing matters in the world, but we do need to think about it. Check out one example of the evolution of sports tech with the golf balls below. What do you think of all this? Leave a comment and let me know.