9 US OLYMPIC WOMEN’S CYCLING TEAM How Big Data Analytics Is Used To Optimize Athletes’ Performance
Background
As we’ll see at various points in this book, sports and data analytics are becoming fast friends. In this chapter, we look at how the US women’s cycling team went from underdogs to silver medallists at the 2012 London Olympics – thanks, in part, to the power of data analytics.
The team were struggling when they turned to their friends, family and community for help. A diverse group of volunteers were formed, made up of individuals in the sports and digital health communities, led by Sky Christopherson. Christopherson was an Olympic cyclist and the world record holder for the 200m velodrome sprint in the 35+ age category. He had achieved this using a training regime he designed himself, based on data analytics and originally inspired by the work of cardiologist Dr Eric Topol.
What Problem Is Big Data Helping To Solve?
Christopherson formed his OAthlete project (as in, Optimized Athlete) after becoming disillusioned with doping in the sport. This was in the wake of the Lance Armstrong drug scandal, dubbed “the greatest fraud in American sports”. The idea behind OAthlete was to help athletes optimize their performance and health in a sustainable way, without the use of performance-enhancing drugs. As a result, the philosophy “data not drugs” was born.
How Is Big Data Used In Practice?
Working with the women’s cycling team, Christopherson put together a set of sophisticated ...
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