How AI is helping athletes stay in top shape at the Paris Olympics Village

They may be trained by the best humans in the business, but sports stars also have digital coaches to call on

The Technogym Checkup is an AI-powered assessment station that tailors training programmes to each user. Photo: Technogym

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While preparing for the Paris Olympics, Belgian runner John Heymans turned to artificial intelligence for help.

"I asked ChatGPT to create a training plan and it worked quite well. I'm impressed," Heymans, a long-distance runner, shared on Instagram along with a guide to creating the right prompts to harness the power of technology.

AI is all over the Paris Olympics, from monitoring systems designed to protect athletes from online abuse to broadcast services as well as behind-the-scenes applications such as ones that monitor energy consumption at venues.

"We will see some pioneering concepts at Paris 2024," Ilario Corna, the International Olympic Committee's chief technology officer, said before the Games began.

At the Olympic Village, athletes may be accompanied by the best coaches and experts in the business, but will now have additional help in the form AI.

Italian fitness company Technogym, which has been equipping the village with top gear for the past eight Games, has introduced a raft of AI-powered technologies to help boost training for Olympians as they aim for gold.

More than 1,200 pieces of equipment are spread across 29 training centres in the Village for athletes to train with. Of these, two AI-powered machines promise to take their preparations to the next level.

Technogym Checkup is an assessment station that will help athletes customise their training programme. Once logged into the system, the AI-powered machine analyses the user's strength and cardio performance as well as their balance, mobility and cognitive abilities. It then sets a targeted training programme, depending on the areas the user wants to focus on.

For example, if the athlete is a runner, the machine will suggest a training programme that will assist with improving speed.

Then there's Biostrength, a strength-training machine that assures better results in a shorter time. Through six workout modes, it uses AI to visually guide the users through the workout, making sure that they have the correct weights, range of motion, posture and speed. Depending on the results they want to achieve, it will also specify the optimal number of sets, repetitions and recovery time.

Biostrength will even recognise when fatigue sets in, and the "spotter" feature will automatically reduce the load to allow the user to complete a set.

"The effectiveness of strength training depends on many small, key elements," a Technogym representative tells The National. "Optimising every single detail and preventing the most common errors is fundamental to making your training effective and achieving better results in less time."

Both Technogym Checkup and Biostrength were designed "to achieve superior results faster", the representative adds, making them ideal for athletes seeking an extra boost to stay in top shape. According to Technogym, the AI-powered machines cater to everyone, not just athletes.

"AI tools have become crucial allies for today’s Olympic athletes, who can no longer avoid incorporating them into their training programmes," Technogym said.

While the Olympics is still taking "a measured approach" when it comes to the application of AI at its events, tests are being done to evaluate how it can be used to enhance the Games and make them future-ready, said the IOC's Corna.

The IOC also launched a first-of-its-kind Olympic AI Agenda in April, setting out a guide on AI application at future events.

"Unlike other sectors of society, we in sport are not confronted with the existential question of whether AI will replace human beings. In sport, the performances will always have to be delivered by the athletes," its president Thomas Bach said at the event.

"Therefore, we can concentrate on the potential of AI to support the athletes. We are determined to harness the vast potential of AI in a responsible way."