Can technology make sports more equal, or does it only widen the gap between competitors?

Technology in sport delivers fairness, but too often it delivers the opposite, and here's why.

On the surface, it sounds perfect for the athletes. Better training methods and equipment, more advanced nutrition tracking, help prevent injury for the specific athlete. All of this sounds fair, and it makes sports more scientific and therefore fair, but fair for whom?

The reality is that the teams, athletes, and countries that benefit most from technology are the countries that can afford it. An advanced tracking system telling them how much work they did, a biomechanical lab that tells them what to eat and what not to eat, and personalized training programs for the athletes. These things cost money, a lot of money, which means that the difference between a well-funded athlete and an underfunded athlete doesn't go away with technology; it grows.

Look at the Olympics. Rich countries dominate not because they produce better athletes, but because they produce better-funded athletes. A country from a rich country trains in a facility with cutting-edge technology, and is analyzed by a group of scientists. A swimmer from a poor country has to guess if he worked hard enough or if he had eaten the right amount of food for the day.

And then there's the equipment. In cycling, in swimming, even in Formula One, the technology built into the kit already decides the result of the race. When the swimsuit or the bicycle frame can shave off seconds from their time, it stops just being about the athlete.

Technology can level the playing field, but now, it is mostly rewarding those who are already at the top.

Until access is equal, technology doesn't make sports fair; it makes inequality faster.