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

Since technology has been introduced to sports it has changed them in many different ways but this brings us to the question is it cheating or just an advantage?

In every football tournament the operator will use a piece of technology called VAR (Video Assistant Referee) for things that the human eye can't spot.These are things like penalties, red cards, fouls, goals and mistaken identity. This has improved football to be fairer for all players and fans to experience an equal game. The percentage has advanced from 82% to 96% accuracy in the last five years making football more accurate.

Another example is the F1 halo device used to protect drivers while driving at maximum speed and it can hold the weight of a London double decker bus! It was introduced in 2018 after the deaths of two F1 drivers Jules Bianchi and Henry Surtees. For the safety of all drivers it became mandatory for F1 drivers to have it in their vehicles and it has made the world's most dangerous sport much safer.

There have been examples where there has been cheating like the Norwegian skiing jumper incident where Marius Lindvik and Johann Andre Forfang weaved an extra thread to their jumper to make them faster, resulting in them winning the race.

My dad has been using a piece of tech called Garmin which is a watch for when he does running. It records all sorts of things like his heartbeat, where he ran, how many miles, his speed and his health at that time. All of that data gets uploaded to an app called Strava where he can look at it and see where he can improve next time. I feel like this is a good piece of tech that isn't specified as cheating since it tracks his health and can tell him to slow down or take a break. It can also tell him where he can improve next time and set himself a goal.

In my opinion I think that tech only widens the gap between competitors as some people or teams can’t afford it. So I think if they introduce tech to sports then they should make it accessible for everyone to have as it will make it more fair for all players.

So the real question isn't just about technology and how it has shaped sports, it’s about making it equal for everyone.