Dear friends,
When I watch Olympic events, I dream a little. Could I have been a contender for Olympic gold in my favorite sport—swimming? I was great on my eighth grade YMCA team! Do you dream too?
Good news: Math may help some of us reach that goal! A recent Quanta article suggests that Olympic success isn’t just about hours of training, it is about math too. Ken Ono, a number theorist turned swim analyst, has revolutionized competitive swimming by applying mathematical principles to athlete performance. By using accelerometers and force sensors, Ono and his team at the University of Virginia collect data on swimmers' movements with remarkable precision - 512 force vectors per second, compared to the mere 24 frames per second captured by high-definition video. This level of detail allows them to identify inefficiencies invisible to the naked eye, such as subtle changes in kick execution that can cost precious time.
The results speak for themselves. Under Ono's guidance, Kate Douglass, an American on the 2024 US Olympic team, improved her 200-meter breaststroke time from 2 minutes and 30 seconds to an American record of 2 minutes and 19.30 seconds - a staggering 11-second improvement. This kind of progress at the elite level is almost unheard of, and it's all thanks to the application of mathematical principles like linear algebra and data smoothing techniques. I’m sure she is also spending some time in the water!!!
Ono's approach to swimming analytics confirms our belief at the foundation: mathematics is profoundly relevant in our everyday lives. As educators, we need ways of making it relevant and meaningful for more students. Because outside of the classroom, whether it's optimizing a workout routine, managing personal finances, or solving complex problems at work, students’ ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data is invaluable. Embracing mathematical thinking can help us all perform at our best, no matter what our personal "pool" might be.
Despite swimming dreams, and a burgeoning interest in math, I better stick to my day job! Enjoy the Olympics. And Go Kate!
Bob Hughes
Director, K-12 Education
P.S. – want more about swimming and math? Check this out in the New York Times.
Quick takes
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What we're reading
The Collaborative for Student Success on 8th grade Algebra