future of sports

Despite its name, the dolphin kick—the motion that propels the swimmer forward underwater after he dives in and at the turns—isn’t just about the legs. It requires a swimmer’s entire body to crack like a whip, creating a fluid wave that starts at the chest and increases in amplitude as it travels all the way through the toes. In the best swimmers, this wave moves at about nine feet every second, about half the speed an actual dolphin performs the same motion. To move this quickly, whole-body flexibility is key.

This is not a story about steroids. But it is about improving your abilities on the playing field. Using technology as sophisticated as any developed in traditional fields of science, athletics companies have designed this equipment to make you better, stronger, faster and healthier. It’s funded by absurd amounts of money and validated by the best athletes in the world. And if you’re lucky, it will be sitting in your gym bag soon.

The pole vault is all about energy conversion. The kinetic energy built up during the vaulter’s run turns into potential energy stored in the pole as the vaulter bends it nearly 90 degrees. When the pole recoils, it unleashes that energy to help propel the vaulter up and over the bar. Of these stages, Peter McGinnis, a professor of kinesiology at the State University of New York at Cortland, has found that the most important is the speed of the vaulter just before he plants his pole. The energy built up during the run accounts for almost 60 percent of the vault’s height.

The slingshot move of a pro pitcher’s shoulder is the fastest recorded action in sports. A pitch’s power, however, is generated by his entire body. For a right-handed pitcher, the chain of kinetic energy starts as soon as he lifts his left leg and faces third base. The energy of that foot landing transfers into the rotation of the trunk and then finally unleashes in the arm whipping around at the elbow.