Faster Higher Smarter: Bright Ideas That Transformed Sports
FASTER HIGHER SMARTER BRIGHT IDEAS THAT TRANSFORMED SPORTS SIMON SHAPIRO ART BY THEO KRYNAUW AND WARWICK GOLDSWAIN annick press toronto berkeley vancouver
INTRODUCTION Faster Higher Stronger That’s the motto of the Olympic Games and it’s a great one It captures the idea that humans can and should push themselves to new heights and be the best they can possibly be But is it possible that the motto is missing something important a word that can help us not only reach those heights but soar beyond them Since we can’t just change the Olympic motto with the snap of a finger we gave this book the title of Faster Higher Smarter When it comes to athletic achievement smart is often overlooked It shouldn’t be Sure there are athletes who have a ton of natural talent and athletes who train harder than the rest And they’re amazing In fact they often break records but usually by just a fraction This book is about people who are even more amazing the innovators whose ideas changed sports by a lot Some were great athletes Others were just average And one was awful but he sure loved and changed two different sports Some weren’t athletes at all They were scientists and farmers teachers and security guards and bright kids who just experimented and discovered things But that’s only half the story If you think that sports are fun and science is dull you have another think coming Whether the innovators knew it or not science is the secret behind most of their work And once you understand the science behind what’s going on you’ll look at sports differently 4
You’ll see the connections between slap shots and pole vaulting or swimming and ski jumping You’ll know that how you sit on a bike is more important than how hard you pedal You’ll see how statistics and analysis can be used to build a winning baseball team You’ll understand how to go over a high jump bar by going under it kind of You’ll appreciate that not all innovations are positive and that some aren’t actually innovations at all When someone comes up with a great new idea everyone rushes to copy it Right Not really Athletes can be quick or slow to jump on board depending on how hard it is to change their old habits And the officials who make up the rules They’re a pretty indecisive bunch Sometimes they accept the new idea sometimes they ban it immediately and sometimes they wait a few years before making up their minds But none of that seems to matter Athletes will always push themselves to be better whether they are competing in the Olympics or in a local skateboarding contest Think about how you feel when you’re about to play a friendly game of soccer with your friends or swim a few laps in the neighborhood pool You want to have fun for sure but you also want to be the best that you can be You want to score or save one more goal than you did the last time or shave a few seconds off your time That desire to improve to be faster higher stronger is why innovation is here to stay 5
