Text / Wu Xiaochuan
Edit / North Force
Now that the Beijing Winter Olympics schedule has passed the halfway mark, up to now, the Chinese delegation has achieved the best record in the history of the Winter Olympics of 7 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze, which has completely ignited the people's enthusiasm for ice and snow sports.
At this world-renowned top sports event, we saw athletes from all over the world trying to interpret the charm of ice and snow sports, and also witnessed a competition of top sports equipment technology.
Compared with the "light loading" of most sports in the Summer Olympic Games, the clothing and equipment of winter sports are undoubtedly more eye-catching. If the main focus of the winter clothing awards at the opening ceremony is the appearance value, then how these costumes use scientific and technological hard power to enhance the sports performance of athletes from all over the world in line with the clothing standards of international individual associations has undoubtedly attracted wide attention.
So, behind the athletes competing for gold and silver, in these fast and passionate, highly ornamental ice and snow projects, what are the highlights of sports equipment technology in various countries? What are the highlights of the scientific and technological innovation of mainland independent brands?
01
Short Track Speed Skating Suit:
A all-round competition between thinness and toughness
When it comes to the Winter Olympics, the most talked about by the Chinese people is undoubtedly short track speed skating. The short track speed skating race is extremely fast and the situation is changing rapidly. Protecting athletes is particularly critical in intense collisions, which requires short-track speed skating suits that are lightweight and protected.
As a key gold medal, the Chinese short track speed skating team has always had outstanding performances, and Italy, the Netherlands and other countries have strong competitiveness in the project, and also performed well in this Winter Olympic Games. Behind the outstanding performance on the field, what kind of scientific and technological performance has the sports equipment come up with?
· Italy – Kappa
At this Winter Olympics, Italy's Fontana won the women's 500m final in short track speed skating, and she won her tenth Winter Olympic medal five times, showing her persistence and love for short track speed skating.
At the same time, the century-old Italian sports brand Kappa strives to improve the scientific and technological content of the equipment, so that the athletes' clothing gliding to obtain better stretchability, and through the moisture management of the material, so that the athletes remain dry and comfortable.
One of the highlights of short track speed skating apparel technology is whether the air can be removed from the legs and arms as soon as possible. The highly elastic fabric of Kappa garments provides slight muscle compression and does not move on the body even in competition situations.
· Netherlands – FILA
The Netherlands continued its strong performance in sports such as speed skating at the Winter Olympics, with Suzanne Schultin demonstrating strong competitiveness in a number of events, proving the Netherlands' strength in short track speed skating.
In order to reduce the wind resistance during high-speed sliding, short-track speed skating clothing especially needs to be tight at the hip, knee and ankle joints, so that the joint part can be firmly tied, and the human muscle lines can be fitted to the maximum extent to adapt to the explosive action. In order to achieve this effect, the FILA worn by the Dutch team specially uses a lightweight, high-strength, high-elastic material, while maximizing breathability and sweating. On this basis, the material also specially uses anti-cutting technology, which provides 360-degree comprehensive protection for the players.
· China - ANTA
So far, of the gold medals won by the Chinese delegation since participating in the Winter Olympics, short track speed skating has contributed 12. As a traditional advantage of China, the Chinese short track speed skating team won the gold medal in the short track speed skating mixed team relay, and then Ren Ziwei and Li Wenlong won the gold and silver medal in the men's 1000 meters.
A shot in the arena that was repeatedly replayed reflected the scientific and technological content of the Anta short track speed skating suit worn by the Chinese team: in the dashing stage of the short track speed skating men's 1000 meters final, when Ren Ziwei wanted to surpass his opponent, Liu Shaolin subconsciously cut the ice knife cross- - we who have seen countless blood-stained short track speed skating tracks suddenly feel heartbroken.
Fortunately, Ren Ziwei had the protection of short track speed skating suits, and finally won the championship after a safe finish.
Originally, in order to cope with potential dangers and ensure the safety of athletes, ANTA short-track speed skating suit broke through the traditional local protection, especially adopted Dyneema anti-cutting technology, and improved the original double-layer structure to a single-layer full-body anti-cutting, and its anti-cutting strength can reach 15 times that of steel wire. High elastic anti-cutting fabric, high elastic yarn twisting, greatly improve the safety performance and sports performance of clothing.
At the same time, after the use of air turbulence control drag reduction and boundary slip drag reduction technology, compared with ordinary skating suits to reduce drag increased by 5%-10%, the air is quickly diverted, and finally through the wind tunnel test, tailor-made for each athlete, adjust the layout and the best position of the human body dividing line - it can be said that behind the athletes' safe completion and efforts to improve their performance, it is a comprehensive embodiment of the strength of sports technology.
02
Ski clothing:
Under the cool appearance, black technology escorts
After talking about ice sports, let's look at snow sports. Due to the complex weather conditions outdoors, the clothing and equipment on the snow field are undoubtedly more in need of top sports technology. With the wonderful performance of Gu Ailing and Su Yiming, it is driving the Chinese people to have a strong interest in skiing, which has set off a wave of rush to buy ski clothes.
In terms of technology, what ski suits can stand out from many brands?
· Finland – Halti
The Nordic countries have performed well in the snow sports at the Winter Olympics, and Finland is also one of the best. In the men's 15 km of cross-country skiing, Finnish athlete Ivo Niskanen led the way and won the championship. Behind this, it is inseparable from the leading technology in its own sports equipment.
Halti, the world's top skiwear brand from Finland, innovatively bonded GORE-TEX film with many traditional textile fabrics to produce a unique GORE-TEX fabric with waterproof, windproof and breathable functions. The novel DrymaxX waterproof and breathable fabric technology, Mirotherm thermal layer filling material technology and anti-wear and anti-pull fabric technology are also integrated in its equipment.
· Australia – Karbon
In the Women's Snow Skills Event of Freestyle Skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics, Jakala Anthony from Australia finally won the gold medal, which is also Australia's second Winter Olympic gold medal in 12 years. Anthony has a good performance in terms of speed and skill in the race, and her wearing a Canadian KARBON brand ski suit has also attracted the attention of netizens.
Karbon features the Prostretch range of premium stretch fabrics that offer superior stretch performance, comfort and freedom of movement, with excellent waterproof and breathable properties. At the same time, K-Wick series moisture transfer fabrics are carefully designed to suck moisture away from the skin and accelerate evaporation, keeping the athlete's body comfortable and dry.
The hybrid technology finally combines the comfort of Karbon down with modern hard shells for optimal performance. The combined action of these elements, combined with the technical advantages of the waterproof enclosure and the warmth of the goose down insulation, creates the conditions for athletes to improve their athletic performance.
On the ski track, Gu Ailing is undoubtedly one of the brightest stars. She competed in a total of three events, won the first gold medal in the Chinese women's snow sports Winter Olympics in the freestyle ski women's big jump final, and won the silver medal in the women's slope obstacle course final, constantly narrowing the distance between China and the ice and snow power.