Noah Lyles’ promise to be the fastest man alive at this year’s Paris Games was accompanied by anticipation and expectation. While Lyles won the bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games, he had set his sights on the gold medal, training and pushing himself to become the world’s best runner in the 100-meter dash. On August 4, 2024, spectators from around the world watched to see if Lyles could rightfully claim the title of fastest man. In less than 10 seconds, the race was over, with both Lyles and Kishane Thompson crossing the finish line at the same time. To determine the winner, Olympic officials used multiple sensors and new cameras developed by Omega that capture 40,000 frames per second. These cameras were aimed at the course from different angles, allowing officials to get multiple views of the finish line, allowing a complete recreation of whose body mass crossed the finish line first. However, because the race was so close, many of us armchair spectators took to social media to discuss who had won the race. Nevertheless, officials were able to use those cameras to determine that Lyles won by a margin of five thousandths of a second. Ironically, the device that determined the race’s winner garnered as much attention as the race itself.

Since 1896, countries from around the world have sent representatives to compete in various events. This encourages competition and captures the world’s imagination of what people can achieve. This competition drives athletes to do their best in the hope of winning a medal for their country. While viewers tune in to the Olympics to watch Simone Biles, LeBron James and Noah Lyles perform at their best in their respective disciplines, the innovative technology used at the Games is also extraordinary and exciting.

While the focus should and will always be on the athlete, sport is heavily supported by technology. Companies are constantly pushing themselves to develop physical and digital aids for athletes, with advanced sports equipment, training devices, health monitors, advanced cameras, running shoes, and more. At the Olympics, technology comes into play by assisting with aspects such as monitoring and assessing athletes. For example, the 2024 Olympics used software to determine races where it was “too close to predict a winner” and to document detailed plays to ensure no rules were broken. While monitoring tools are nothing new, one of the biggest developments for these Olympics was the integration of artificial intelligence (AI).

For this year’s Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has unveiled an Olympic AI Agenda. Thomas Bach, IOC President, stressed the importance of harnessing the rapid development of technology, particularly artificial intelligence. Bach noted: “Our continued success depends on how we harness the ever-accelerating development of digital technology, particularly artificial intelligence. This makes our Olympic Agenda 2020, which is ‘change or be changed’, even more urgent.” For this reason, the IOC has used AI in various aspects of this year’s Olympic Games to provide a better experience for spectators and participants alike. Everything from an improved spectator experience to athlete performance to ensuring fair play has been influenced by AI.

The IOC has recognized how AI can support the Olympic and Paralympic Games, increase audience engagement worldwide and ultimately improve the work of the IOC. The IOC’s broad adoption of AI in various facets of the Olympic Games shows how rapidly advancing technology can be used to drive positive change in global sport. As AI continues to develop, its impact on the Olympic Games and its interplay with sport will become even more evident.

AI wasn’t the only technology that took center stage at this year’s Olympics. It also influenced many unexpected aspects of the Olympics, such as phones and cooling technology. To help athletes stay connected, Samsung created nearly 17,000 Galaxy Z Flip 6 Olympic Edition phones that were given away to athletes and the “Olympic Family.” The phones come with 100GB of 5G data, as well as pre-installed apps to help athletes navigate during the Olympic and Paralympic Games and a metro card with unlimited use. Samsung also created themed hangouts around the Olympic Village and even opened a special pop-up experience in the heart of Paris so spectators and fans could join in on the fun! And to beat the heat, athletes brought CoolMitt to Paris, which helps regulate heat and body temperature to maintain peak performance. There was even technology that purified the air in the Olympic Village.

All this technology also means that there is intellectual property involved in every game, every athlete and every ceremony. Inventions like 8K live streaming and sophisticated scoring systems, for example, are all protected by intellectual property law. Even the Olympic rings themselves, one of the most recognizable symbols worldwide, are trademarked and their unauthorized use is vigorously defended.

Competition brings with it the hope of being the best. As athletes push themselves every day, technology companies also push themselves to support them in any way they can. The athletes competing today have improved tremendously from those who launched the Games in 1896, and future athletes will achieve feats beyond those we saw in Paris. This year’s Olympics have shown us just how much technology and sport have pushed each other to new heights, and we can’t wait to see what the Olympics of the future have in store for us.