Downhill skiing.
Athletes travelling at speeds of up to
120 kilometres per hour must negotiate a series of twists
and turns to arrive at the bottom
in the fastest possible time.
But in a sport where hundredths of a second
can make all the difference between hero
and zero, how do these athletes make sure they are leaving
no margin left ungained?
In their pursuit of the perfect descent,
just how much comfort are they willing to sacrifice?
And more importantly, how do they go to the toilet?
Well, as it turns out, it's all a matter of...
..timing. See what I did?
You try and do better, man.
(BURNING QUESTIONS)
(HOW DO YOU PEE IN A SKI SUIT?)
(WINTER GAMES EDITION)
Like everything else these elite athletes do,
their race-day regime is scripted down to the last
second, and that includes comfort breaks.
It can be a delicate balancing act
to ensure that you stay hydrated without having to rush
to use the facilities all the time.
Skiers will drink half to three quarters of a litre of water
two hours before their first run, with further sips
throughout the day.
Dehydration can make you feel fatigued,
especially at altitude,
so getting this right is paramount.
The good news is that on race days,
there is plenty of spare time.
Sure, there are course inspections, warm-ups,
stretches, et cetera,
But mostly, you're spending a lot of time
on the mountain waiting to do your two runs.
And that's where timing comes in.
If you time it right, answering the call of nature
shouldn't be a problem.
And if you don't, well, all the more reason to find the fastest
way down to the bottom.
But even if everything is working like clockwork,
getting in and out of your ski suit is no mean feat.
So what do we know about these ski suits?
Well, for one thing, we know that only Olympic athletes
can pull this look off.
I'm looking at you,
casual skier who thinks he's Bode Miller.
Leave it to us pros.
This suit is so tight.
Ski suits need to keep athletes warm,
but without slowing them down.
That's particularly important in a sport
where every split second counts.
Just ask Urs Kaelin, who was beaten by just two hundredths
of a second by his rival Markus Wasmeier in Lillehammer
in 1994.
Historically, the Europeans have had the fastest suits.
But lately, the US has been catching up.
Researchers in its high-performance laboratory
analysed various fabrics with an electron microscope,
selecting one that's textured like shark skin
to best manipulate airflow and minimise drag.
Now, if you're like me, you're picturing the entire
US Ski Team in sharkskin suits.
You see, just like in other Winter Olympic sports,
drag is the enemy of skiers.
Minimising it is an important consideration
in the physics of skiing.
Drag, or air resistance, works in the opposite direction
to a skier's velocity, slowing him down.
One way of reducing drag is by reducing his projected
frontal area by tucking himself into a tiny ball, like this.
The other way a skier can reduce drag
is by making sure his ski suit is as closely
fitted as possible, with no additional material
to flap around and slow him down.
The suits the professionals wear are
custom tailored, mapped to the contours of each athlete's
body, and put through extensive wind-tunnel testing
to make sure they can withstand speeds of up to 120 kilometres
per hour without flapping.
Ski suits have to follow rules, just
like any other piece of equipment.
Number one, the suit must be made of a textile material.
No plastics or treatments allowed.
Number two - no pun intended - air permeability
must be a minimum of 30 litres per square metre per second.
That's basically a fancy way of saying air tightness.
This rule means that suits have to be able to breathe,
keeping the athlete more comfortable
and reducing the risk of overheating and dehydration.
It's tested on a special machine, which is basically
like a really expensive vacuum cleaner.
This measures the flow of air through the unstretched fabric.
This is called plumbing.
I mean, what a word.
Plumbing!
And three, no darts or tucks allowed.
Seams are for the sole purpose of holding
their suits together.
This rule was put into place to outlaw the major advancement
in suit aerodynamics called speed wire, pioneered
by former skier Dave Jacobs.
With the help of a couple of rocket scientists -
yes, actual rocket scientists - he developed a technology
that reduced the aerodynamic drag of the skier
by more than 40%.
Skiing's governing body banned it in 1997,
claiming it gave skiers an unfair advantage.
Of course he did.
He had rocket scientists working on it.
So, your suit has to be within these very strict guidelines.
The good news is that you can have almost anything
you want as the pattern. Check out these babies.
(CAPTAIN MARVEL, 2017)
(MARIACHI-THEMED SUIT, SOCHI 2014)
(POLKA DOTS, SOCHI 2014) (ZEBRA PRINT, TURIN 2006)
(SPIDERWEB, SALT LAKE 2002) (FLAMES, LILLEHAMMER 1994)
So back to the burning question.
How do they actually pee?
The short answer is, not easily.
Most athletes are wearing several layers of compression
under their suits, a type of long underwear
that facilitates muscle recovery,
circulation and warmth.
Think Spanx, but for athletes.
Some athletes are even turning to hi-tech undergarments that
reduce wind resistance in order to reap
every aerodynamic advantage.
All the more reason to get your timing...
..spot on.
I'm not even wearing a watch.
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