The momentum behind the use of data and AI across an expanded spectrum of industries and events continues to build, with a focus on the sports and wellness sectors in the coming months. You don’t have to look far to find an example of technology enabling a performance boost for athletes and participants – or an increase in audience understanding for advertisers and organisers – whether you’re talking about the Winter Olympics or individual wellness apps. Best of all, this kind of forward-thinking approach to AI and data to achieve more effective results is easily translatable into most organisational contexts. So, if you want to draw on the inspiration and expertise of these big events for your own purposes it’s not that hard to do.

From London 2012 – the first ever Big Data Olympics – to Tokyo 2021, which saw analytics become an intrinsic part of training and preparation, data is driving progress in the field of professional sports. Plus, it is providing the context for some of the most visible events on the world stage and helping to improve organisation, on-the-day experience and funding and sponsorship opportunities too. This has also trickled down into the world of individual wellness where the same tech also has huge benefits for individual consumers.

How is AI and data making a difference to wellness and professional sport?

Big data use for preparing athletes

E.g. the analysis of data by coaches, whether that is data that relates to competitors or historical performance statistics. These analytics could draw on all the possible data sources available to find opportunities to refine an athlete’s approach via insights extracted from data that shows what has happened previously, and what athletes are capable of.

Measuring the size of video audiences for sporting events

Advertising is a big part of the funding and coverage of high profile sporting events and data is key to the transformation that marketing is going through. For example, a new collaboration by mass media corporation NBCU is focused on the upcoming Winter Olympics – it will integrate data from iSpot.TV, a measurement and data company, to help advertisers correlate exposures of their video ads to actions taken by consumers, such as visits to websites or stores, and match that to ad money spent.

Understanding competitors

Data can be used to create personalised rankings that provide real time insight into what athletes face where the competition is concerned. A prime example of this was the All-Japan Judo team that compiled their own rankings for Tokyo 2021 – in addition to the world rankings – based on previous competitor performance. Analysis provided a deeper insight into what their athletes needed to do to perform at a specific level based on predictions about what their competitors would do.

Wearable technology used during the event

Wearable tech can be used to generate data to help analyse how athletes are performing in real time, whether they need more rest, more training and where improvements can be made. 3D modeling provides a visual guide to how, and where, improvements might be necessary after a race or a match.

More accurate match handling

Artificial intelligence and data analysis have been put to work at the highest levels of sporting competitions to ensure just and fair outcomes when it comes to those who are refereeing, or handling, a match. For example, AI was used to measure the volume of sand displaced by a volleyball player leaping for a winning ball in Beijing and computer vision tracked the movements of players, and the ball, so that the Omega sports timing team could see who won in real time via a court-side tablet or screen.

Of course, the evolution of AI and data science in this world also needs to come with some degree of caution. One red flag raised recently originates from the news that athletes at China’s Winter Olympics will have to use a mandatory health app which, a new report revealed, contains security flaws and a list of “politically sensitive” words that have been marked for censorship.

The trend towards investing in tech-driven wellness off the world stage

It’s not just professional athletes who can benefit from AI, data and analytics when it comes to making improvements to experience and performance. Thanks to the renewed focus on wellness post-pandemic, as well as the fact that we have all become more physical (and mental) health-conscious over the past 10 years, wellness tech is booming. In fact, a wealth of capital is being deployed to the $1.5 trillion wellness industry, especially those businesses focused on improving the lives of consumers. Data, analytics and AI play a role in many of these mission-driven enterprises, whether that relates to providing a personalised experience or optimising the efforts that consumers can make when it comes to setting goals. Two prime examples are:

• Strava. Although this started out as a running app, Strava is now more a general app for athletes. The focus here is on community, sharing and using analytics to allow individuals to track progress over time. Data and analytics are delivering accountability, encouragement and the potential for individuals to make more insightful decisions based on hard numbers.
• Noom. This app offers weight loss plans that have been individually targeted to help consumers succeed in a personalised way. It is science-based and uses psychology and human behaviour as a way to improve decision-making. Here, behavioural data-driven decisions are combined with an empathetic approach to empower consumers towards a traditionally challenging goal such as weight loss.

As we approach the start of the Winter Olympics on Friday data science is in the headlines, whether that relates to the controversial app or the advantages insights offer to advertisers and athletes alike. If you would like to venture into this competitive territory and unlock the power of data for your business our team is waiting to help.