Earlier this month we covered the $1.55 million seed funding that Athletigen Technologies Inc. received to continue to build its sports-based DNA testing and analysis program. Athletigen has now officially partnered with Altis to help provide genetic information and feedback for the Olympic level Track & Field training center in Phoenix, Arizona.
The future of sports training and recovery in the minds of Athletigen is directly linked to the ever-evolving science of genetics. “Athletigen analyzes DNA extracted from saliva, and provides the foundation for precision performance. We use an online, interactive platform to fully report on genetic traits relating to athleticism, nutrition, and psychological predisposition.” They found their niche by providing data and analysis that promotes extremely nuanced training, nutrition, mental health, and recovery programs. By analyzing genetic traits, Athletigen is able to work with an athlete to carve out a regiment that works best for them based on unchangeable genetics.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
Altis works with elite athletes and coaches in the hopes to dominate Track & Field while also bringing the sport back to global prominence. They work with over 100 athletes from 30 different countries, many of whom will likely be competing in the upcoming 2016 Olympics & Paralympics in Rio De Janeiro. They “create – for the first time – a professional environment and approach to Track and Field…to help to shape the careers of the best athletes in the world, building championship performers.” At Altis’ training facilities in Phoenix they are fostering an environment that challenges athletes to perform to their peak, while providing them the opportunities for structured workouts and recovery.
The joint venture between Athletigen and Altis seems to be a perfect symbiotic relationship. Athletigen is able to analyze and provide feedback of genetic make up and predispositions for some of the top athletes in the world, allowing them to further understand the complexities of the human body and how it can be pushed to the limits. While on the other hand, Altis is able to enhance what they do best, especially for their athletes headed to Rio, as they can tailor all aspects of training; workouts, nutrition, recovery, and mental health for each individual.
Although becoming a part of Altis means you are an elite level Track & Field athlete or coach, everyone can use Athletigen’s DNA testing; their website offers testing and analysis to anyone who is willing to pay the $199.00 cost. This genetic analysis will most likely not become a mainstay in youth sports locker rooms, but there seems to be no reason why this wouldn’t be something more professional athletes around the globe put to good use.
If Athletigen’s partnership with Altis brings about real results in Rio, genetic analysis in sports could be here to stay. In major professional sports around the world where so much is on the line, any edge created by fine-tuned regiments individualized for athletes based on their own genetic make up could prove to be the tipping point in contests often decided by inches or seconds.