A first prototype of a high-tech air bag meant to improve safety in ski racing was presented on Thursday, two years before its planned introduction at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The so-called D-air system inflates air bags under the race suit in case of a crash in order to protect the skier’s back, chest, shoulders and collar bones. It was demonstrated by the International Ski Federation (FIS) and Italian manufacturer Dainese, which is developing the system.
“Crashes may always happen, but this could help racers walk away from it without serious injuries,” FIS race director Guenter Hujara said.
Photo: Reuters
A year ago, the ski federation teamed up with the Italian company, which has already developed a similar protection system for motor racing.
Several World Cup skiers, including former overall champion Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud and Italy’s Werner Heel have been taking part in the development of the system.
COMPUTER CHIP
They have been wearing a special back protector containing a computer chip that collects various data about speed and movement of the body during racing.
“It’s just a normal back protector,” Svindal said. “We have been using them every downhill this year, except in America. Now they have a lot of data they can start working with.”
Alessandro Bellati, the Dainese engineer who is coordinating the project, said the data is needed to determine the exact moment that the air bags should inflate in case of a crash.
“They will open within 40 milliseconds and reach maximum pressure within 100 milliseconds, but we still need a lot of data to tune the system. We are still in the first phase,” Bellati said.
Svindal wore the initial prototype of the air bag equipment during a practice session and said he was hardly affected by it.
“It’s comfortable to ski with,” the Norwegian said. “You don’t really feel it. Even the small gas tanks, they have hidden them well in the back protector. They might still have to work a bit on the shape so it will fit even better.”
The manufacturer plans to use this year for further collection of data, before fine tuning the system next year and introducing it the year after.
SAFETY MEASURES
FIS is aiming to integrate the system with other safety measures, as the air bags won’t protect legs or knees — the most harmed parts of a skier’s body following a crash.
“We are interested in how to get the most out of this system,” Hujara said.
“If you can define the exact moment that a racer loses control over himself or his material, you could use that also to find a system that immediately releases his skis before he lands in the safety nets,” he said.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was