Latest news from Loughborough University
| 7 July 2004 | PR 04/83 |
Loughborough University and adidas join forces to help Olympians beat the heat in Athens
Working with scientists from Loughborough University and world-class athletes, adidas has developed a range of sports clothing designed to keep an athlete’s body at the optimal body temperature at all times.
With the Athens Games expected to be among the hottest ever, the adidas Team GB Olympic kit, officially launched on July 7, will keep athletes cooler and drier, allowing them to reach their peak performance.
| To develop the new kit adidas worked with Loughborough University’s Dr George Havenith to study human thermal physiology, or how people react to heat stress. Body maps for men and women athletes were created by the University to precisely identify where the human body produces sweat. Information was also provided on how sweating is related to different exercise levels, different climatic conditions, as well as different athlete types, body types, genders and age. Dr Havenith, who is based in the University’s Department of Human Sciences explains: “For the development of Team GB’s ClimaCool® apparel we provided basic knowledge on human thermoregulation which adidas has used to optimise their clothing design. |
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“One of our first projects involved 3D mapping of body sweat distribution. By defining areas with low and high sweat production the adidas product design team was able to map different clothing materials and design features to specific body areas. Recently we also completed a study on body cooling in which we had active and passive athletes exposed to a windy environment. By visualising the cooling pattern of the athlete's skin we provided another tool for the adidas designers deciding on the distribution of insulation and ventilation in the clothing.”
 Runners are exposed to Athens heat in the University's laboratory wind tunnel |
James Lamont of the adidas Innovation Team added: “Body mapping is a tool which allows us to take adidas sports clothing for our elite athletes to the next level. It helps us to better understand the demands on sportspeople and sports clothing, allowing us to develop highly innovative products for our athletes in the Athens Olympics and beyond.” Based on the Loughborough research, adidas applied moisture-wicking fabrics, conductive fibers consisting of silver-coated yarns and three dimensionally structured fabrics, to key heat and sweat zones. The moisture-wicking fabrics keep the athlete cool and dry, transporting sweat away from the skin. The conductive fibers, called X-Static, are located down the back of the shirt in a chimney construction to conduct heat, and conductive tape is applied along the inside of the neck of the shirt. This draws heat away from critical heat zones. The 3-D fabrics, located in key places on the garment, consist of hundreds of small indents on the body-side of the fabric. These indents sit off of the body, stopping the garment from clinging to the body, and maximizing ventilation across the skin.
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World record holder and Olympic
gold medallist in the 5,000m and 10,000m, Haile Gebrselassie, is among
the many world-class athletes who have been involved in the ClimaCool®
development and testing process from the beginning. In Athens, Haile will
be competing in the ClimaCool® singlet and short, as well as the adiSTAR
Competition footwear with heat-reflecting film inserts to enhance the
open mesh and ventilation in the shoes.
– Ends –
For further information contact:
- Judy Smyth, Publicity Officer, T: 01509 228697, E: J.L.Smyth@lboro.ac.uk
Notes for editors:
- Various images of the work
Loughborough University has carried out with adidas are available upon
request.
- In addition to being the
official supplier for the Athens Olympic Committee (ATHOC) in 2004,
adidas will be outfitting 21 National Olympic Committees and more than
4,000 athletes from around the world. Some of adidas’ key National
Federations featuring ClimaCool® apparel and footwear on the track
and/or on the podium include the United States, Great Britain, France,
Germany, Cuba, Ethiopia, South Africa and the host country Greece.
- Loughborough University’s
Human Thermal Environments Laboratory is also involved in clothing related
research for the European Union and the Ministry of Defence.
- Loughborough has an established reputation for excellence in teaching and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement. Assessments of teaching quality by the Quality Assurance Agency place Loughborough in the top flight of UK universities, and industry highlights Loughborough in its top five for graduate recruitment. Around 45% of the University’s income is for research. The University has been awarded four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes: for its collaboration with aerospace and automotive companies such as BAE Systems, Ford and Rolls Royce; for its work in developing countries; for pioneering research in optical engineering; and for its world-leading role in sports research, education and development.