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Technology doping is the practice of gaining a competitive advantage using sports equipment. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) considers prohibiting technologies if they are "performance-enhancing" or "being against the spirit of the sport". In 2006, WADA initiated a consultation on technology doping which is now officially recognised as a threat, whilst the decision to allow or ban a new technology, specifically relating to sports equipment, is the responsibility of each sport’s own governing body. [1]
Since most sports require equipment of some sort, it can be tricky to determine what is technology doping and what is not. The governing authorities of different sports usually make judgment calls about the technological advances in their sport’s equipment. Technological advancements are often allowed unless the governing authorities feel they threaten the integrity of the sport. A report released immediately before the 2012 Summer Olympics quotes an extensive public survey that shows that people fear that sports engineering could: overshadow the triumph of human spirit and effort, make certain sports easier, create unfairness so the "best athletes" might not win, and ensure that rich athletes and countries have an advantage over the poor ones. [2]
The LZR Racer is a swimsuit by Speedo that was launched in 2008. It is made with a material that was designed to mimic shark skin. The suit allows for better oxygen flow to the muscles, holds the body in a more hydrodynamic position, and traps air which adds buoyancy.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this suit was worn by many swimmers. In fact, some swimmers wore two or more of these suits at once to increase buoyancy. In total, 23 out of the 25 swimming world records broken at the Beijing Olympics were broken by swimmers wearing this suit. In subsequent competitions, many world records were broken by swimmers wearing the LZR suit.
There was widespread discussion over whether these suits were so technologically advanced that using them was technology doping. In 2009, FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) decided to ban all body-length swimsuits. Men's suits could only maximally cover from the waist to the knee. Women's suits could only cover from shoulder to knee. They also stipulated that the fabric used to make the suits must be a "textile" and the suit could not have fastening devices, such as zippers. These new rules took effect in January 2010.
The Nike Vaporfly running shoe was launched in 2017. Its sole has Pebax foam and a full-length carbon fiber plate. As with the LZR case, it was debated whether they were a form of technology doping. [3]
A New Zealand firm has created “IonX shirts” which are made of a material that claims to contain a negatively charged electromagnetic field. It further claims that the shirt helps increase blood flow, which in turn helps deliver more oxygen to the muscles and remove lactic acid from the muscles more quickly. The World Anti-Doping Agency has ruled that since there is no scientific publication that confirms the material actually changes the body’s ion charges or enhances performance and also the material does not contain prohibited substances, this technology is not banned as of now.
Researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, an Australian science agency, created a garment that can monitor movement and give feedback. For example, a basketball player can wear the material in the form of a sleeve. Then sensors in the material send information to a computer when the player takes shots and responds with audible tones, giving the athlete real-time feedback on their movements. Athletes can learn patterns of tones that indicate successful or unsuccessful movements and use these to make improvements. The material helps correct the athlete’s movement and helps the athlete gain muscle memory so they can continue to perform well once the material is taken away.
In cycling, mechanical doping is the use of a secret motor to propel the bicycle. It is banned by the Union Cycliste Internationale. One of the first allegations of mechanical doping was in the 2010 Tour of Flanders. The first, and so far [update] only, confirmed use of mechanical doping was at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. Bike inspections have become commonplace in road racing since the 2015 season. Riders found guilty of mechanical doping are subject to a fine ranging from 20,000 to 200,000 Swiss Francs and a suspension of at least six months. [4] In the 2016 Tour de France, French officials utilized thermal cameras to enforce their policy against mechanical doping. [5]
Amputees can compete in the Paralympic Games using artificial limbs. There has been significant debate on whether the artificial limbs confer an advantage over able-bodied athletes and whether athletes using them can participate in the Olympic Games. There has also been debate on the effect of the length of the artificial limbs in the Paralympic Games.
Prior to the Women's World Gliding Championship at Lake Keepit 2020, the competition organisers mandated the use of a real time tracking system to make the sport more appealing to the general public. To maintain the challenge of the race the positions of each competitor was delayed by 15 minutes. After a few days of competing, the extreme accuracy with which the Australian pilots predicted the movements of their opponents lead to suspicions, and on the penultimate day of the contest the Australian team captain Terry Cubley (EO of the GFA), admitted hacking (whilst denying cheating) the live tracking, bypassing the 15 minute delay and radioing the real time position of the competing teams to the Australian pilots, giving them a substantial tactical advantage. [6] [7] [8]
Recumbent bicycles broke cycling world records in the early 1930s before they were banned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 1934.
Many sports set standards for equipment, to prevent unfair advantages between competitors. This often involves the types of materials the equipment is made from or dimensions/sizes. For example, tennis racquets must not exceed the maximum length and width limits. Association football balls must not exceed weight limits. Golf clubs must fit shape regulations.
One-design racing is a type of vehicle racing in which all competitors pilot identical vehicles. In theory the race depends only on the difference in the skill of the crew rather than the quality of the vehicle.
Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for persons with a disability and do not have an able-bodied equivalent. Disability exists in four categories: physical, mental, permanent and temporary. At a competitive level, disability sport classifications are applied to allow people of varying abilities to face similar opposition.
Speedo International Limited is a British distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England, known for its swim briefs. The company has roots in Australia but is not based there anymore. Founded in Sydney in 1914 by Alexander MacRae, a Scottish emigrant, the industry-leading company is now a subsidiary of the British Pentland Group. Today, the Speedo brand can be found on products ranging from swimsuits and goggles to wristwatches. The Speedo brand was previously manufactured for and marketed in North America as Speedo USA by PVH, under an exclusive perpetual licence, which had acquired prior licensee Warnaco Group in 2013. As of January 2020, the Pentland Group purchased back the rights from PVH for $170 million in cash, subject to regulatory approval.
In competitive sports, doping is the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs by athletic competitors, as a way of cheating. The term doping is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical, and is prohibited by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. Furthermore, athletes taking explicit measures to evade detection exacerbate the ethical violation with overt deception and cheating.
British Cycling is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Britain at the world body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and selects national teams, including the Great Britain (GB) Cycling Team for races in Britain and abroad. As of 2020, it has a total membership of 165,000.
Competitive swimwear refers to the swimsuit, clothing, equipment, and accessories used in the aquatic sports of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, triathlon, and water polo.
High-technology swimwear, or tech suits, are scientifically advanced materials used for swimwear in competitive water sports such as swimming and triathlon. Materials of this type are normally spandex and nylon composite fabrics with features to reduce drag against the water. The fabrics include features that increase the swimmer's glide through water and reduce the absorption of water by the suit as opposed to regular swimsuits.
The swimming competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place from 9 to 17 August 2008 at the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. The newly introduced open water marathon events (10 km) were held on 20 and 21 August 2008 at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.
The LZR Racer is a line of competition swimsuits manufactured by Speedo using a high-technology swimwear fabric composed of woven elastane-nylon and polyurethane. The swimsuits are made in body-length; they compress the body and trap air for buoyancy. The LZR Pro and LZR Elite were launched on 13 February 2008; the higher-priced LZR Elite was replaced by the LZR Elite 2 in early 2014. The LZR X, the most recent addition to Speedo's competition suit lineup, was launched in early 2015. The technology is patented in Italy, and protected worldwide.
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with varied distance events in butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. In addition to these individual events, four swimmers can take part in either a freestyle or medley relay. A medley relay consists of four swimmers who will each swim a different stroke, ordered as backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.
Arena X-Glide is a swimsuit from the Arena brand, made of pure polyurethane that causes a swimmer to slide through water faster when swimming. One notable example of the efficacy of this suit design is that of Paul Biedermann of Germany who wore the suit in the 2009 World Championships, breaking two world records. The design of the suit covers basically the whole torso and the legs with the impermeable polyurethane, thereby exposing less skin to the water and improving the swimmer's buoyancy and streamlined shape. This significantly reduces the drag on the swimmer as they move through the water.
Para-cycling classification is the process of classifying participants in para-cycling covering four functional disability types. The classification system includes classes for handcycles for people who have lower limb mobility issues. The sport is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
The mechanics of the running blades used by South African former Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius depend on special carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer prosthetics. Pistorius has double below-the-knee amputations and competed in both non-disabled and T44 amputee athletics events. Pistorius's eligibility to run in international non-disabled events is sanctioned by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
The history of competitive swimwear has been dominated by concerns over public nudity in the first half of the 20th century and by efforts to reduce water drag in the second half. Those efforts initially led swimmers to reduce the early sagging one-piece swimsuits down to briefs only. With the development of new materials that tightly fit the body and offered lower resistance to water than human skin, this trend was reversed to a complete body coverage from heels to neck and wrists. FINA banned full-body suits from competition effective from 1 January 2010, stating that it "wishes to recall the main and core principle is that swimming is a sport essentially based on the physical performance of the athlete".
The participation of transgender people in competitive sports, a traditionally sex-segregated institution, is a controversial issue, particularly the inclusion of transgender women and girls in women's sports.
Sports engineering is a sub-discipline of engineering that applies math and science to develop technology, equipment, and other resources as they pertain to sport.
Femke Van den Driessche is a Belgian former cyclo-cross cyclist, mountainbiker and road racing cyclist. As a junior, she became national cyclo-cross champion in 2011 and mountain bike champion in 2013. In 2015, Van den Driessche won the European Cyclo-cross Championships in the women's under-23 category, and in 2016 she became Belgian champion in the same category, but she was later stripped of both titles.
Motor doping, or mechanical doping, in competitive cycling terminology, is a method of cheating by using a hidden motor to help propel a racing bicycle. The term is an analogy to chemical doping in sport, cheating by using performance-enhancing drugs. As a form of "technological fraud" it is banned by the Union Cycliste Internationale, the international governing body of cycling.
Authorised Neutral Athlete (ANA) is a capacity under which athletes can compete at international sporting competitions without representing their nations, as is standard convention under the Olympic Charter. As of August 2022, only Russian and Belarusian athletes of some sports have competed or are competing within the ANA capacity.
In 2017, Nike released the Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite shoe, which was advertised as "ultra-lightweight, soft and capable of providing up to 85-percent energy return." This shoe became the focus of claims that they were a form of technology doping and that they provided athletes an unfair advantage.
The International Testing Agency, often referred to by the acronym ITA, is an independent organisation constituted as a non-profit foundation which implements anti-doping programs for international sports federations, major event organizers or any other anti-doping organisation requiring support. The organisation was created in 2018 under the supervision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to promote independence, expertise and transparency in the global fight against doping. Its headquarters are located in the city of Lausanne in Switzerland.