Buying Time Is Expensive

At The Sharp End Of Any Professional Field, The Equipment Being Used Has To Be The Best – Made Of The Highest Quality Material To Be The Fastest, The Lightest, And The Most Aerodynamic. When Physiology Is Equal, Which It Usually Is At The Top, It Is Equipment That Can Give An Athlete That Edge Over Their Competitors. It’S Often In These Areas Where The Marginal Gains – 3 Grams Here, 1 Degree Cooler There, 2 More Watts Here – That Modern Sports Science Creates Add Up To A Few Extra Seconds On The Finish Line.

- Steve Attwell

Advances in technology and equipment can also be credited for the ability of elite athletes, who are at the peak of their physical prowess through hard training, to keep delivering faster and faster times each year. Examples of these in multi-sports include improved wetsuits that create better buoyancy to improve body position in the water, with materials that improve hydrodynamics to reduce drag, thereby making swimmers more efficient and, subsequently, faster in the water. Time trial bikes also maximise the impact that advanced aerodynamics can have on bike speed and rider efficiency. Factors such as rider position and the weight of the bike, along with aerodynamic wheels and tyres that offer less rolling resistance, all enable riders to cut through the air more effectively. In terms of shoes, composite materials mean runners now have lightweight racing shoes that don't compromise on cushioning, to offer greater rebound and reduce impact forces to make athletes more efficient.