Video 1: On Sports Technology

The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius." Faster, Higher, Stronger.

And athletes have fulfilled that motto rapidly.

The winner of the 2012 Olympic marathon ran two hours and eight minutes.

Had he been racing against the winner of the 1904 Olympic marathon, he would have won by nearly an hour and a half.

Now we all have this feeling that we're somehow just getting better as a human race, inexorably progressing,

but it's not like we've evolved into a new species in a century.

So what's going on here?

I want to take a look at what's really behind this march of athletic progress.

In 1936, Jesse Owens held the world record in the 100 meters.

Had Jesse Owens been racing last year in the world championships of the 100 meters,

when Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt finished, Owens would have still had 14 feet to go.

That's a lot in sprinter land.

To give you a sense of how much it is, I want to share with you a demonstration conceived by sports scientist Ross Tucker.

Now picture the stadium last year at the world championships of the 100 meters:

thousands of fans waiting with baited breath to see Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history;

flashbulbs popping as the nine fastest men in the world coil themselves into their blocks.

And I want you to pretend that Jesse Owens is in that race.

Now close your eyes for a second and picture the race.

Bang! The gun goes off.

An American sprinter jumps out to the front.

Usain Bolt starts to catch him. Usain Bolt passes him, and as the runners come to the finish, you'll hear a beep as each man crosses the line.

That's the entire finish of the race.

You can open your eyes now.

That first beep was Usain Bolt. That last beep was Jesse Owens. Listen to it again.

When you think of it like that, it's not that big a difference, is it?

And then consider that Usain Bolt started by propelling himself out of blocks down a specially fabricated carpet designed to allow him to travel as fast as humanly possible.

Jesse Owens, on the other hand, ran on cinders, the ash from burnt wood, and that soft surface stole far more energy from his legs as he ran.

Rather than blocks, Jesse Owens had a gardening trowel that he had to use to dig holes in the cinders to start from.

Biomechanical analysis of the speed of Owens' joints shows that had he been running on the same surface as Bolt,

he wouldn't have been 14 feet behind, he would have been within one stride.

Rather than the last beep, Owens would have been the second beep. Listen to it again.

That's the difference track surface technology has made, and it's done it throughout the running world.

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How does the cinders affect a wind speed? They stole energy from his legs which resulted in a slower time.

What advantage did Usain Bolt have over Jesse Owens? He had access to better technology.

Why does Epstein use the sound recording? to show how technology can improve an athlete's performance.

Why does Epstein ask the audience to close their eyes? To engage the audience and help them visualize the race.

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If a process is inexorable, it cannot be stopped.

To “take a stride” means…to take a long step while walking or running.

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1) Now we all have this feeling that we're somehow just getting better as a human race, inexorably progressing,

2) but it's not like we've evolved into a new species in a century.

3) So what's going on here?

4) I want to take a look at what's really behind this march of athletic progress.

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Athletes have accomplished greater feats over the last century.

I want to take a look at what's really behind this march of athletic progress.

That's the difference track surface technology has made, and it's done it throughout the running world.

The cinders slowed Owens down which resulted in a slower time.

The sound recording helps show the difference technology can make in a race.

When you think of it like that, it's not that big a difference, is it?

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Had he been racing against the winner of the 1904 Olympic marathon, he would have won by nearly an hour and a half.