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

In the Winter Games technology has improved a lot over the years. Bobsleigh is one of the most well-known sports in the Winter Games. Before the 2014 Winter Olympics, the U.S. team used sleds that were built by BMW engineers. The custom sleds had better aerodynamics and were built with materials like carbon fiber and steel, and tested in wind-tunnels. The U.S. had a great advantage but other teams couldn’t get that chance. This incident raises the question if the technology nowadays still keeps sports equal.

One important reason is that in competitions there are teams that have more money than other teams. These richer teams are able to buy more expensive equipment with higher quality and they also have more chances to retry and improve if something fails or doesn’t work. Teams like the U.S. and China are wealthier because they get funded by the government and can get good paying sponsors. Smaller countries like Nepal and Mexico have less wealthy teams. They have less access to coaches and equipment but also fewer training facilities.

Another reason is that having better technology than other competitors can influence performance. When a team has better equipment it can perform better even if the athletes‘ skill is at the same level. For example in bobsleigh, teams with more aerodynamic sleighs have higher chances of winning than teams with normal sleighs.

A third reason is that if there is a competition without the permission of advanced personal technology, a competing team still could sneak in some advantageous technology e.g. into the suit. The athlete of this team would have a great advantage and if the jury notices the hidden tech the athlete could get disqualified. In 2014 and 2018 many athletes competing in ski jumping got disqualified because their suits were bigger and that influenced drag and produced lift.

Some people could argue that if an unskilled person would be able to get their hands on highly advanced sports equipment this person would still be pretty bad at the sport. In my opinion if the person knows how to use the sports equipment properly they could still have an advantage.

In summary the improved technology doesn’t keep the sport equal because wealthier teams can buy better equipment, giving them more advantages and higher chances of winning whereas teams with less money can’t. Therefore technology doesn’t keep sports equal.