When science takes heroes to new heights

How do great heroes strive for excellence? Documentary series Sports and science as support It takes us into the unknown world of high-level sports, with testimonials from athletes, but also from the doctors, scientists, physical trainers, coaches, mental trainers or equipment manufacturers that surround them.

If we knew there was nothing left to chance To shine in competitions, the general public can not imagine how good everything is, before finally reaching the podium. The series reveals the work of all those experts who, in the shadows, prove their minds to accompany their heroes to victory, with the help of science.

Because, as the documentary explains, today’s athletes have reached such a high level (99% of their physiological potential, according to some research) that it becomes difficult to determine whether they are running (with only a few thousand second difference between participants) sailing or swimming.

In this highly competitive context, Where athletes are under tremendous stress and generate disproportionate expectations, no grain of sand should come to stop the machine.

And the “machine” is the body first and foremost, To any one of the episodes Sports and science as support Dedicated. This is put to the test, pushed to its limits, as questionable athletes explain.

However, we must stick to it. For example, during the Vendée Globe’s long solitary sailing race, in which the skipper sleeps. But sleeping in such conditions can be learned …

body that must be constantly maintained, Without overdoing it, the training-centric episode also shows. This reveals amazing technological developments, based on artificial intelligence or virtual reality.

Today, for example, we are able, thanks to sensors, to model the movement of an athlete and determine what can be improved, in order to go towards the perfect gesture, which is not instinctive.

PhD student in Physics/Mechanics, Tom Maddalena, trains quintet player Brice Lubitt with a cam and accelerometer, in order to improve the rate of fire of his pistol, while maintaining the accuracy of the gesture.

the same for the mind, To which she dedicates an episode: Nothing is left to chance. Yesterday neglected psychological preparation, with the regulation of emotions, is now at the heart of training, both solo and in a team.

Finally, what would an athlete be without his equipment? A ring that measures the athlete’s best ally, whether it’s in a running shoe or an ever-increasing inline skate.

“If we continue to develop technologies, we will not stop improving ourselves”, World Cross Country Champion Eliud Kipchoge says.

A documentary series that shows that scientific developments do not seem close to reaching their limits.

Sports and science as support, Documentary series, to watch on PLANÈTE +, 4 x 52 minutes, on PLANÈTE + from 25 June.