In yesterday's Men's Steel Frame Snowmobile Race at the Beijing Winter Olympics, China's Yan Wengang won the bronze medal with a total time of 4:01.77, achieving a medal breakthrough for the Chinese delegation in the steel frame snowmobile event.
For most viewers, the steel frame snowmobile is a very "novel" and good-looking project. The top speed of 130 kilometers per hour, the head is almost close to the inside, coupled with the typical "meat-wrapped iron", how to see is a "desperate" project, the Internet is also easy to search for news such as "the most dangerous sport in the Olympic Games" and "quit the Olympic Games twice because of danger".
But after winning the medal yesterday, Yan Wengang said something that surprised people in an interview: "Everyone thinks that the steel frame snowmobile may be quite dangerous, but in fact, through many trainings, this project will not be dangerous, and we all enjoy the track very much." ”
It sounds incredible, but maybe it's not really "Versailles", but there is some scientific basis.
At present, the number of scientific research results on steel frame snowmobiles in the world is almost incomparable with other projects, and it is mainly concentrated in the starting stage. The primary reason for this is the small number of samples available for study. Mechanical engineer Timothy M. Of Northwestern University Dr. Wei once said in an interview with the media that steel frame snowmobilers have to bear the pressure of 4 to 5 G every time they make a corner, train at most two to three times a day, and accumulate training time on the track every year for only a few hours. Therefore, the operating logic of a steel frame snowmobile is very difficult to study, but for a racing event, the study of aerodynamics is extremely important, so today's athletes are basically "crossing the river by feeling the stones" to improve their performance by experience, because "when your face is facing the ice, it may be difficult to know whether adjusting the position of your feet or sliding up and down on the snowmobile really saves valuable time".
The characteristics of the steel frame snowmobile allow athletes to give up complete control of their own destiny on the ice. "Even though it looks crazy, in many ways it's the safest in gliding, which is a bit paradoxical because you barely have steering control." Dr. Wei said. "In these extreme sports, overdrive often leads to crashes." For example, at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Georgian bobsleigh player Nokumari Tashvili had a vicious collision during training, and the rescue was ineffective, and the luge was a sport that looked far safer than the steel frame snowmobile, but could not guarantee the safety of athletes.
Author: Guo Chaohao
Editor: Guo Chaohao