Technology and sport have been going hand in hand for a long time, pushing forward with discoveries and achievements. Sports medicine is fantastic, as players can now recover from terrible injuries in the shortest possible time and return to their former level.

Let us tell you which technological marvels have influenced the development of various sports disciplines the most. sports technology

Athletics

The first technological leap was unsurprisingly connected to sports betting.  At the end of the 19th century, the organizers first used the photo finish camera at a horse racing track.  The competitions are very close, so a pair of eyes wasn’t enough to decide the winner correctly. Even at that time, it was essential to choose the right bookmaker with care, but then it was impossible to find reviews like https://bookmaker-ratings.com/review/betboro-bookmaker-review-rules-support-sign-up-free-bets-site/ today.

As the interest in horse racing grew, so did the technology: instead of a horizontal shutter, which might not be the most accurate, a vertical one appeared in the 30s and 40s. The camera was aimed precisely at the finish line and filmed everyone who crossed it first.

With runners, it’s not uncommon for victory to be determined by fractions of a second. In the ’60s, renowned watchmaker Seiko introduced a mechanism for timing the finish line with pinpoint accuracy, enhanced in the ’80s with a chip on the wearer’s body. In the ’08, the photo finish system could capture up to 3,000 frames per second.

Not only is the result essential, but also the competitor’s well-being and comfort. That’s why equipment also changes. For example, during the last 70 years, shoes have changed dozens of times, become lighter, and their grip has improved. Clothing materials have become more and more modern: they can now wick away moisture and let air through. Some sensors are added to equipment or worn as a bracelet. They show an athlete’s speed, heartbeat, and breathing activity in real-time.

Football sports technology

At first glance, it’s still the same 11 vs. 11 game, but stay with the screen for more than five minutes, and you’ll see changes. A player commits a foul, and the referee draws a line with spray foam. A minute passes, and the foam disappears. The change is minor, but how much of a difference it makes to the picture on TV and saves players from unwanted injuries.

A footballer takes a free kick. The ball bounces off the crossbar and bounces out of the goal. The referee looks at his watch and says there was no goal. In the past, the touch judge was the only one who could help and state whether the ball had crossed the line or not. Now there is Goal-Line Technology (GLT), which uses magnetic sensors in the ball and metal parts of the goal and cameras embedded in them. If the entire line has been crossed, a sensor on the referee’s arm will alert him that there has been a goal.

The fans aren’t forgotten either. In the sport’s long history, watching matches outside the stadium has evolved a lot from going to the pub to buying a subscription to sitting comfortably on the sofa in front of a huge flat-screen TV at home. These are all bonuses of the technological present.

Tennis

The athlete’s two main tools in tennis are the racket and the ball. With the latter, everything is clear, and production technology has not changed much since its first appearance. Rackets were registered at the end of the XIX century and, according to sports rules, had to be made of wood. Serial production of this piece of equipment in other materials did not occur until the 1960s when Wilson introduced a metal model of “T2000”.  After 20 years, wooden racquets reclaimed their place as the only proper tennis racket.

Another critical technology invented at the beginning of the 21st century was Hawk-Eye. It still helps to eliminate refereeing errors, using a 3D model of the ball’s trajectory to determine whether or not it has been hit. It uses high-speed cameras placed around the court’s perimeter to build an accurate model. sports technology