With the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games beginning next month, Samsung has revealed it has given two Dutch short track speedskaters access to the Samsung SmartSuit to try to help them win Olympic gold. A competitive form of speed-skating, short track speed competitions take place on an oval ice track of a circumference of just 364 feet.
The suit, thanks to five sensors embedded in it, is able to measure body posture and calculates how far a skater’s hips are from the ice. The reason why this analysis is so crucial is because this distance, if maximized, allows skaters to increase their speed, especially as the current men’s and women’s world records are 39.9 and 42.3 seconds, respectively.
All this data is captured by an accompanying app, which can be analyzed in real-time by a coach. If a skater isn’t crouched at the optimal level a reminder can be sent the coach, using the app, which will send a vibration that the athlete feels on their wrist advising them to correct their posture.
The two athletes who have been given access to the Samsung SmartSuits are Dutch skaters Sjinkie Knegt and Suzanne Schulting.
In a video to accompany this reveal, Knegt said: “Olympic sports is about details, about milliseconds, and especially about short track, it’s about millimeters. Because the deeper you crouch, the more power you can deliver and the faster you go.”
Meanwhile national coach Jeroen Otter said in a statement: “By quantifying the posture we can train even more effectively. I have noticed that Sjinkie and Suzanne already benefit from this unique innovation.”