AIS tech helping Wunsch chase the extra one per cent

With national swim trials fast approaching, Olympic gold medallist and World Champion Olivia Wunsch has been at the Australian Institute of Sport chasing marginal gains that could shape her Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs campaigns.

As one of 16 swimmers taking part in the New South Wales Institute of Sport camp, Wunsch was in Canberra for wet plate testing, a biomechanical analysis system designed to optimise starts, turns and relay turnovers.

“We have six weeks till our trials in Sydney so it’s nice to just get a gauge of where we’re at and how things are tracking and progressing and then we can sort of have that last little push into trials,” Wunsch said.

“We’re focusing on wet plate testing so we’re measuring how our dives and turns are tracking and seeing how little drills and changes we’ve made in training are helping us improve.”

The testing uses force plates built into the pool environment to measure the power and efficiency generated through starts and turns, providing athletes and coaches with detailed biomechanical feedback on some of the most decisive moments in a race.

The work forms part of the Swimming Australia Technology Hub at the AIS, which brings together Swimming Australia, New South Wales Institute of Sport and Swimming NSW to integrate performance science, technology and coaching into daily training environments.

“Swimming is a very skill specific sport and you need to be getting your turns and your dives right,” Wunsch said.

“Any sort of minor improvements you can make will make a huge difference to your races.”

Australian Institute of Sport