Kenyan-based telecom company Safaricom has announced that it will add IoT services to Vodafone and SUB2’s project to help marathoners break records, particularly the elusive goal of finishing in under two hours.
“At Safaricom, we continue to seek and explore new innovations around the latest technologies, with the goal of creating new opportunities for Kenyans. This application of IoT in athlete training in Iten and Eldoret will not only help Kenyan athletes improve their performance, it will also further refine and fine tune our IoT solution in readiness for nationwide deployment,” said Thibaud Rerolle, Director – Technology, Safaricom, according to a report from KBC News Channel1, Kenya’s state broadcasting corporation.
Here’s what you need to know:
-Telecom giant Vodafone announced its initial partnership with SUB2 last year via a location-based smart phone app. Ethiopian marathon runner Kennenisa Bekele used the app during the Berlin Marathon later that year.
–SUB2 is a collection of scientists and academics led by Yannis Pitsiladis, a professor at the University of Brighton and member of the IOC’s Medical and Scientific Commission. Its stated goal is to help an athlete achieve the sub two-hour marathon by applying a dedicated scientific approach involving genetics, bioenergetics, biomechanics, nutrition, sports engineering and coaching and performance science.
-According to the KBC News report, the new app, supplemented with Safaricom’s IoT technology, is intended to help coaches understand and observe the causes of injuries and decreased performance via live, real-time data feeds from body sensors on the runners. The sensors track multiple variables, including motion and skin and land surface temperatures.
-Safaricom’s technology is currently deployed at the Iten and Eldoret training grounds in Kenya.
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SportTechie Takeaway:
Kenyan Dennis Kimetto holds the World Record for the fastest marathon — 2:02:57. That’s nearly three minutes over the magical two-hour mark. As part of its own effort to help a marathoner break the two-hour mark, Nike equipped a group of marathon runners with its specially-designed Zoom series shoes and filmed their attempts to break the barrier. One of the athletes, Eliud Kipchoge, ran the race in 2:00:25. Though not an official record, it was technically the fastest marathon ever recorded.