Millions of people worldwide use smart rings and fitness trackers to monitor their health, but at the World Cup, this technology is being utilized to fine-tune recovery, manage fatigue, and unlock performance gains. Professional athletes are looking for every percentage point of data that might give them a competitive advantage on a world stage.
Wearable Devices Used by World Cup Athletes
Players have been spotted training and competing with commercial devices such as sweat patches, WHOOPs, Oura Rings, and performance vests. These devices track biometric data, including sleep, workouts, heart rate, and body temperature, to help athletes understand their health and optimize their performance.
Dr. Justin Mullner, a sports medicine physician, stated that the data points from these devices can be used to identify trends and help athletes intervene and change behaviors to improve their recovery and performance. However, Mullner noted that commercial wearables are often used in tandem with other monitoring systems, such as clinical examinations and blood and urine tests, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of an athlete’s health.
Examples of Wearable Devices Used by World Cup Teams
The Brazilian national team used a high-tech “sticker” that measures sweat to generate personalized hydration insights. The Gx Sweat Patch sticks to the body and measures sweat rate, fluid loss, sodium concentration, and sodium loss. This data can be used to personalize hydration strategies for both elite athletes and everyday athletes.
The WHOOP fitness band is another wearable device used by some players during World Cup matches. It monitors health metrics, including sleep, strain, stress, and heart rate. The England team, in particular, has been using WHOOP to help maximize their performance during the tournament.
The Oura Ring is also being used by some players, including those on the US Men’s team, to track sleep patterns, skin temperature, blood oxygen, recovery, and readiness score. This data can help inform when players may benefit from more recovery before or after training and when their bodies may be primed for more intense workouts.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
