Tag: Olympics

Usain Bolt? He’s not so fast

OK, admittedly the title of this column is a bit tongue in cheek. Compared to, well, any other human being on the planet, Usain Bolt is, of course, insanely fast. (I have not personally compared my speed in the 100-metre dash with his, of course, but since I’d have to stop halfway to be loaded …

Continue reading

Let’s go to the tape

While I was browsing for another Olympic-themed column idea (as promised last week) one story particularly caught my eye: a Reuters piece by Kate Kelland headlined (in the Regina LeaderPost, at least)  “Scientists skeptical as Olympic athletes get all taped up.” It caught my eye, not because it had a picture of female beach volleyball …

Continue reading

Olympic throwing sports

Just in time for the Olympics (and just in time for this science column), COSMOS Magazine has run an interesting online piece by Richard A. Lovett on the history and physics of the Olympic throwing sports. It is customary, in the column-writing biz, to be up-front about any direct personal connection you have to your …

Continue reading

Olympic technology 2000

“Faster, higher, stronger” are the oft-stated goals of Olympic athletes. Increasingly, science and technology are helping them to achieve those goals. This year, the technological focus is on swimming. Until recently, the goal of swimmers seemed to be to wear bathing suits that preserved the illusion of modesty with as little material as possible, the …

Continue reading

Olympic technology 1996

At a speed-skating meet in Norway in the 1960s, Canadian Paul Enoch smashed a world record by three seconds. He did it wearing a pair of his wife’s skintight nylon stockings–in an age when most skaters still wore flapping woolen garments. A year later, the first skin-tight nylon racing suit was released on the market. …

Continue reading

Easy AdSense Pro by Unreal