Innovation and the Winter Olympic Games

by Mary Faller

The Olympic Winter Games will take place from February 7 through February 23, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. The Olympic Games have been around since the late 1800s in Athens, Greece. Each year the summer and winter Olympics showcase the talents of thousands of athletes from all over the world. It is a joining of cultures and athletic competition that never fails to excite viewers from all walks of life. The Olympics have come a long way since their introduction centuries ago. So how has innovation changed the way athletes perform and viewers watch the sports within these exciting games?

PASSING THE TORCH

The opening ceremony has been an iconic display of traditions with the most memorable being the carrying of the torch which began in 1936. In 1988, during the Calgary Winder Olympics, the National Research Council of Canada developed a special torch that would be lighter in weight and was powered by a special fuel to withhold any weather condition during the 88-day, 18,000-kilometer trip across Canada. This improved torch displayed the Olympic motto: "Faster, Higher, Stronger."

A BOBSLED FROM NASCAR TECHNOLOGY

Of course, many of the innovations of the Olympi c Games came with th [...]