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

Technology has been used in many useful ways. But has technology in sports made it fairer or given some athletes more advantages?

In football, a new technique (VAR) was introduced in the Premier League which helped the referee in many useful ways, for example checking if an incident deserved a red or yellow card. The VAR is like a camera that rewinds back in time.

Football players were happy with this new technology as both footballers and fans thought it made the game fairer.

In F1, a new technology called the Halo (that is as strong as a London double decker bus) has saved many lives and there have been less accidents since it was introduced. In 2025 a piece of debris skimmed the halo and went on top of Lewis Hamilton’s head which potentially saved his life. Before the Halo existed, many deaths happened, for example Bimchi died after suffering severe head injuries after a tragic accident that led to the launch of the halo in 2016.

In skiing, there was a competition in the Olympics and two Norwegian skiers (Marius Lindvix and Johann Andre Forfang) cheated by using extra thread in their suit which helped them go faster. The Norwegian coach was involved and helped them win the competition. They were found out and got suspended. They were made to confess and the coach said, ‘’I promise I won't do it again.’’

A piece of tech equipment I use when I swim is a sports watch. It checks my heart rate, speed and distance. I mostly like it when I do racing since I want to track my progress when I do my swimming lessons. But do I have more advantages than others since others may not have a watch? Or is this fair?

Overall, technology is a great addition to sport if it is used in the right way but if some competitors do not have access to this technology, it could widen the gap within certain sports.