The ski championships are tough. According to US ski team high-performance director Troy Taylor, sometimes a few tenths of a second can make a huge difference between first and 10th place. Therefore, the US ski team participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics have trained through VR techniques.
BBC reports that the US team has the likes of Olympic champions Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin competing. The participants have been trained over the past year by taking the help of virtual reality. They have not seen the actual course in Pyeongchang but have acquainted themselves with it using VR, and memorized the twists and turns and gate positions.
They want to bring home the gold.
Advantages of Virtual Reality
The US skiers who will compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics have never been to PyeongChang or seen the course where the events will be held. By the time the athletes reach South Korea and check out the venues in the Taebaek Mountains, they would have very little time to get familiar with the landscape. The same goes for the Jeongseon Alpine Centre which is the second venue assigned to host the downhill and Super G events.
In order to overcome these difficulties, the US team has gone in for VR with the complete course captured on video. It is a great help to the athletes because they can take advantage of getting a feel of the slopes and surroundings without being there.
They can watch as they relax in their hotel rooms and can even check out the ground conditions by altering variables like the weather and light. These will boost their confidence levels and help them to perform better.
USA Today adds that Erin Hamlin, a four-time Olympian luger, will serve as Team USA’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
She is a two-time world champion, a bronze medalist at the 2014 Sochi games, and the fourth U.S. luger to be tapped with the honor. Her 2014 medal showing had broken a 34-year stranglehold of the podium that had been held by German and Austrian women.
Will the Olympics bring peace?
The whole world is watching the developments in the Korean peninsula with hopes of peace returning to the region.
CNN reports that Kim Jong Un’s sister will be attending the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. This has been confirmed by South Korea's Unification Ministry. Seoul has welcomed the move because it is an indication that Pyongyang is willing to ease tensions in the peninsula. Incidentally, Kim’s sister is one of the blacklisted officials of North Korea and a target of US sanctions.
The United States, on its part, has sent Vice President Mike Pence to the Games. Ivanka Trump, the President's daughter, is expected to arrive to attend the closing ceremony on February 25, as revealed by the White House.
