05 August 2024
With the Paris Olympics in full swing and the Australian team making us proud, we can’t help but celebrate the amazing work that has gone into preparing our Aussie athletes for podium success.
![Jess Fox competes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games](https://www.sportaus.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/1157019/GettyImages-2164263843.jpg)
From custom-built technology to performance support and training camps, the AIS has played an important role in helping athletes maintain a competitive edge during their events.
This includes the incredible Jess Fox whose gold medal performances in both the K1 and C1 events make her the first Australian athlete in Olympics history to win six medals in individual events.
In the lead-up to Paris, the AIS Engineering team worked with Paddle Australia to develop custom pieces for Fox’s boats, including a 3D-printed knee cup for her canoe with a novel installation system and lightweight aluminium alloy footpegs for her kayak.
During training, they also used custom electronic glasses that limit vision to train the brain to remember recent optics.
“To be able to reach this level, it’s not just me. It’s the family behind me, it’s the support behind me, the investment of the Australian sport system as well,” said Fox after her second gold medal win.
The Aussie dolphins have also been ones to watch, with 10 medals between them thus far. Their secret weapon is Sparta-2, a swimming analysis system that uses a cutting-edge 4K camera and custom software to provide real-time data and track strokes in the pool. Built in partnership with Swimming Australia, it’s the envy of the swimming world.
For our cyclists, AIS Engineering developed customised 3D-printed aluminium stem adapters to achieve optimised handlebar extension geometry for aerodynamic drag reduction for the track endurance team.
Australia’s Rowsellas received support to enhance the team's equipment, while Australia’s sailing coaches worked with the AIS to develop analytics platforms to gain performance feedback ahead of the games.
Athletics athletes have also been using technology to improve performance, particularly javelin throwers and coaches who utilise the AIS-developed app ThrowCoach, which captures the javelin throw in slow motion with reference markers, including the angle of trajectory, for performance analysis.
And the support doesn’t stop there. While the Games are on, performance analysts from across the nation are working around the clock at the AIS, collecting video and analysing footage to provide critical insights to our teams in Paris.
Find out more about the work of AIS Engineering or the AIS Paris Performance Analysis Hub.