MILWAUKEE (AP) 鈥� All it took was the mere mention of the words 鈥淪lippery Fish鈥� for U.S. Speedskating national team coach to purse his lips and shake his head.
There wasn’t even a full question asked about the secret project using computer technology aimed at shaving fractions of a second off speedskating times to help the Americans bring home gold medals from . Just those four syllables were enough to catch Shimabukuro off-guard a little more than a month ahead of the Feb. 6-22 Winter Games.
鈥淣o comment. I don鈥檛 know how you even know about that,鈥� said the genial Shimabukuro, who otherwise was forthcoming about all manner of topics during an interview with The Associated Press about while sitting in the stands at Milwaukee鈥檚 Pettit National Ice Center, site of the in January.
鈥淣o comment. Nope. Nope,” Shimabukuro said. “Respectfully, no comment.鈥�
So what, exactly, is Slippery Fish? And why would Shimabukuro 鈥� and some other folks connected to the American team 鈥� be so tight-lipped about it?
Using an app to make U.S. speedskaters faster
According to Shane Domer, U.S. Speedskating’s chief of sport performance, the idea behind the program was to increase athletes’ aerodynamic efficiency by reducing the amount of drag they create pushing against the air during a race.
For years, speedskaters, like cyclists, trained in wind tunnels to study that phenomenon.
Now, Domer explained, it happens virtually: An app lets skaters scan their bodies, creating a 鈥渄igital twin.鈥� The software simulates wind passing over the avatar, computational fluid dynamics calculate how much resistance there is 鈥� and how tweaking a skater’s form alters that.
鈥淲e can basically say, 鈥楬ow much faster will the avatar be in this position vs. that position at a certain speed?鈥� You鈥檙e trying to make someone a little bit slippery through the air,鈥� Domer said about the work that began in 2023 at a cost approaching $100,000.
鈥淪ignificant performance benefits from small changes: changing the head position slightly, changing the way your shoulders are positioned, elbow positions,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking about tenths of a second per lap in a sport where we look at hundredths or thousandths.鈥�
U.S. long distance coach Gabe Girard said they’ve seen improvements from raising both arms in corners instead of only in straightaways.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always hoping to bring something a bit out of left field to catch people off-guard,鈥� Girard said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 also 鈥榤ental warfare鈥� about it and makes people guess if they should (do) it.鈥�
Speedskating secrets at the Olympics
As with other sports, successful speedskating innovations get copied.
At Beijing in 2022, the U.S. men won their first Olympic speedskating medal since 2010, a bronze in team pursuit. That was thanks to a revolutionary change developed by the not-so-creatively-named Project Push: The team’s three racers remained in the same order and pushed the leader of the trio, instead of rotating who led.
But the Americans debuted that two years earlier, and other countries soon adopted the same strategy. 鈥淲e unveiled it too early,鈥� Domer lamented.
Nearly everyone now pushes in team pursuit, but Domer said not everyone is doing it well.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they understand the mechanics and the math behind it,鈥� he said. “We have made small changes to the way we鈥檙e executing it, based on what we have learned from Slippery Fish.鈥�
Indeed, the U.S. holds the world record and Casey Dawson, Ethan Cepuran and Emery Lehman are favored for gold on Feb. 17.
Lehman said the 3-D modeling fostered better understanding of the ideal spacing between the three racers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking about things analytically,” Lehman said. 鈥淲e definitely have some niche things that we do that we try not to share with other people.鈥�
Does Jordan Stolz use Slippery Fish?
Slippery Fish mostly is being used for team pursuit and long-distance events like the 5,000 or 10,000 meters.
鈥淲e were going to work on a program for more of the sprint side, but I had a little too much on my plate to kind of spearhead that project,鈥� said Erin Jackson, who defends her Olympic 500 gold Feb. 15. 鈥淗opefully that鈥檚 something we can get more into” before the 2030 Games.
Domer said 鈥渁 lot鈥� of U.S. skaters and coaches have been shown what Slippery Fish can do. 鈥淪ome have made changes,” he said. “Some have not.鈥�
The world’s best speedskater at the moment, , who excels at shorter distances, hasn’t taken advantage.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not something that I really got into 鈥� changing your technique to be more 鈥榓ero,’鈥� Stolz said. 鈥淓verybody skates so differently. If somebody is more 鈥榓ero鈥� … I don鈥檛 know if I would be changing my technique to try and match them.鈥�
Tech will fuel future speedskating changes
U.S. Speedskating has redesigned helmets 鈥� including one revealed at the 2022 Games 鈥� and employs technology to improve performance in other ways.
Cutting Edge is for skate blades. Iron Fist focuses on weighted gloves. New uniforms will arrive, eventually.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to change someone who has been training a certain way their entire life, and then you ask them to do something that makes skating feel different. That鈥檚 a tough sell,” Domer said. “But I do think we鈥檒l see crazy new things at the next Olympic Games.鈥�
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