The difference between gold and silver at Olympic level

07 April 2008

Forty years after the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is bringing its European lecture road show into town and with it the man who optimised the aerodynamics of skeleton bobsled athlete Kristan Bromley.

Dr David James is a senior scientist in the world leading research centre based at Sheffield Hallam University. He will be explaining the secret of going faster, whether it is on a bicycle or a bobsled – the difference between gold and silver.

Dr James said, “At the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics the medals winners were separated on average by three tenths of a second after two runs. How do athletes find their extra speed? Not by accident! It’s all a question of science.”

The lecture will take place in Grenoble on Tuesday 8 April at Sun Microsystems GEC and will describe some of the sophisticated engineering techniques (originated in the affluent sports of Formula 1 Motor Racing, and America’s Cup sailing) that are now being used in skeleton and other winter sports to gain speed and shave time.

Individual sports have developed over the last thousands of years with only current manufacturing capabilities, the laws of physics and imagination as the limiting factors. The development of professional sport as a spectator sport has necessitated laws to be developed for each sport to ensure that everyone plays by the same rules.

The IET has put together a series of lectures with Sheffield Hallam University which show just what a difference technology can make to athletes.

The IET European Executive, said, “We feel we have created a unique series of lectures which will bring the science of engineering alive and reference it to everyday life. Understanding the link between scientific research and an Olympic gold medal is sometimes not that obvious. However, in our technological world, there are plenty of opportunities to use science and engineering to enhance performance either of athletes, products or, more commonly, the two together.”

Mary Donovan
Media & PR Officer
T: +44 1438 765587
E:   mdonovan@theiet.org