In the Winter Olympics, bobsled and skeleton is arguably the sport with the least margin for error.
Americans Elana Meyers Taylor and Lauren Gibbs won the silver medal on Wednesday in the two-woman bobsled, just seven hundredths of a second behind the gold medal German team.
In the 2018 Men’s Skeleton, less than one second separated gold medalist Yung Sung-bin’s track record 50.02, and the best heat of the leading American, Matthew Antoine who topped out at 50.91. Coming off a bronze medal in Sochi, Antoine finished in 11th place.
In a sport with so little separating spots on the podium, every inch of the course matters. So USA Bobsled and Skelton turned to Apple to help the team gain an edge.
“iPads and Apple watches have helped prepare our team for success at the Winter Olympics in a number of ways,” Mike Kohn, a coach for USA Bobsled, wrote in an email interview. “The most important role they play is in providing visual feedback to our athletes. We use an app called Hudl Technique and this app provides us the ability to save multiple video clips of runs and view them in slow motion, compare our sleds to other sleds and help organize the video for future reference.”
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In addition to the applications above, the team used 3D CAD models of the track to plan the optimal course in Pyeongchang. To do this on the iPad they use eDrawings, an app that allows them to manipulate the view to best analyze a turn or straightaway.
“Having the touch screen on hand to analyze the video immediately after a run is priceless for the coaches and athletes,” Kohn continued. “We also use our iPads to store information such as race protocol, the race draw, and any other documents that a coach or athlete might need to refer to at the track.”
For Kohn, it all comes down to convenience.
“Before we used iPads it was extremely difficult to give feedback to an athlete strictly through verbal communication,” he wrote. “We also didn’t have the convenience and capability of carrying a small flat iPad. We had video cameras and would have to wait until we got back to our hotel or the Olympic training center to plug into a monitor or a laptop computer to view training film. Fortunately, iPad and Apple Watch is assisting us with this we can do it right there on the spot at the track.”