Science and Olympic Sports

The 1st conference of the Israeli Olympic Sports Research Center will take place at  Technion on May 15 with the participation of senior researchers from Israel and around the world

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The Israeli Olympic Sports Research Center’s first scientific conference – a new collaboration between  Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and Israel’s Olympic Committee, will take place on Wednesday, May 15th. The Center, headed by Prof. Alon Wolf of Technion’s  Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and directed by Israel’s Olympic Committee and the Sports High Performance Unit, encourages applied research that will advance Olympic sport in Israel, across all its branches. The conference will take place at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Technion as part of the annual Belfer Symposium, and will be attended by senior coaches, scientists and researchers, members of the sports-tech industry and guest lecturers from the United States and England.

Key speakers at the conference:

• Dr. Alison Sheets, Senior Biomechanics Researcher at Nike. Her research focuses on the biomechanical mechanisms that limit the performance of athletes through experimental and computational approaches. Her lecture will address the contribution of equipment innovation in improving the sports performance of athletes.
• Prof. Yannis Pitsiladis, Professor of Sports and Exercise Science at Brighton University, England. A world expert on the genetic and environmental effects of athletic performance, he will talk about the enormous challenge of breaking the two-hour barrier in a marathon run.
• Dr. Maya Benzoor- Cale, Director of the Department of Physical Therapy at Wingate Institute for Sport Medicine and Research, will talk about movement in rehabilitation and sports: How science fits into the clinical treatment of Olympic athletes.
• Prof. Anath Fischer, of Technion’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, will talk about the bionic hand (a 3D printed hand) simulation using artificial intelligence.
• Olympic athlete  Rogel Nahum,  Gur Steinberg, coach of Israel’s windsurfing team,; professional cyclist Niv Libner,  and Claudia Laciga, coach of the Israeli women’s beach volleyball team, will challenge the scientists and pose professional questions seeking scientific solutions.

For the full conference itinerary click here.

Following the conference, there will be a visit to the research laboratories of the Israeli Center for Olympic Sports Research.

Journalists and photographers are welcome to attend and must register in advance

1st conference of the Israeli Olympic Sports Research Center