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WITH THE INSANE amount of advanced technology and complex data analysis available these days it’s only natural that the world’s greatest athletes use them to optimise their performance.
US Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones is using a very complex system involving motion capture, high-speed cameras and 3-D rendering to be at her best during this year’s summer games.
On top of striving for a gold medal next month, Lolo desperately wants to avoid another terrible setback.
She was in the lead in the final of the 100-metre hurdles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 when she hit the ninth of 10 hurdles, lost her balance and finished a very disappointing seventh.
Lolo Jones has been working with one of her sponsors, Red Bull, and famous LSU track & field coach Dennis Shaver (right)
Lolo is outfitted with 39 special reflectors throughout her body to track movements from specific areas
Each reflector provides the precise location (down to a millimeter) of each body part 250 times per second
A long row of cameras takes multiple images as Lolo runs the course
The motion capture system uses 3-D imaging that churns out data for a computer to analyze
This is the video game-esque view of Lolo the data produce
Then there's a high speed camera following her along to track her speed
And finally, regular, run-of-the-mill "2-D" measurements are taken to see where Lolo is jumping from and where she's landing
All of this information is put together to turn this...
Into this 3D computer rendering
One of the cool insights gathered from the data is how long Lolo's foot is on the ground after landing
Knowing this information allows Lolo and her coaches to figure out how many warmups she needs to be at her peak right before a run
