We need to embrace sports tech for success

In the ever-evolving realm of sports, technology is slowly but surely taking the forefront, assisting sports scientists in managing training workloads and aiding pit wall teams in Formula 1 with data-driven decision-making.

Technology, just as in other fields, is propelling athletes to achieve feats once perceived to be unattainable to man.

In athletics, runners now opt for super shoes like the Vaporfly and Adizero Adios Pro 1s, known for their lightweight and comfortable design,  as compared to traditional footwear.

Racing shoes like Vaporfly, used by Kipchoge when he ran sub-two hours in Berlin, and Adizero Adios Pro 1s worn by Tigist Assefa, when she broke Brigid Kosgei’s record by running two minutes quicker, have gained popularity in long-distance races as both runners’ victories were mostly attributed to the shoes rather than the athlete’s endurance and high levels of training.

In 2023 alone, 14 world records have been shattered by athletes donning the super shoes, prompting the question, among sports pundits, “What is the limit of using technology in performance enhancement?”

Beyond footwear technologies, Kipchoge was made to run in formation with pacesetters who doubled up as windbreakers. Laser beams were also employed to ensure he was up to pace among other uncontrolled variables. Kipchoge’s natural athleticism associated with the people from the Rift Valley region, coupled with these technological interventions, allowed him to comfortably achieve the sub-two-hour feat in Berlin.

For contact sports like football, and rugby, GPS wearables have become commonplace. From over 2000 data points produced by the wearables, coaches and analysts are able to analyze and arrive at decisions that are from a data standpoint.

It’s not peculiar to see coaches in elite leagues gather around a screen in order to access real-time data that is often synchronized with videos of patterns before making alterations in their systems in order to unlock the opposition or even before subbing off certain players.

Just like F1, football is increasingly becoming a game of patterns and strategy, as teams using various sports technologies often get the upper hand. This is exemplified by teams like Simba SC and Yanga SC of Tanzania.

The two teams have a functioning sports science and analysis department that heavily utilizes data in both their training and games. Their success in African football is not by fluke but rather by calculation. Consequently, back at home, rather than engaging in bus comparisons of which club owns the best bus, let’s take note of our neighbours’ advancements in sports analytics.

Teams using GPS wearables often experience minimal injury rates due to effective workload management during training. Players, like Kevin De Bruyne, leverage their performance data during contract negotiations, as demonstrated–a few years ago–through his use of data collected by Analytics FC.

Kenya is a hotbed of untapped talents, yet it has the potential to excel in sports if we decide to tap into, and properly utilize, sports analytics. With the various sports analytical tools, our athletes can become exceptional as we possess the natural physicality needed in most sports.

The natural physicality of Kenyan athletes, combined with effective talent development through analytics, could position the country as a powerhouse in the sporting world.

—The writer is a football content creator, data and video analyst

—@ GitsJunior