colorado springs Sun
Saturday, My N, 1911
Boston's Fred Lynn, after the Re Thursday night by the Texas Rangers -' out every once in awhile. You just have tt that often."
Ariel: No miracles, no brag, just
By C.W. Nevins
Sun Staff Writer
Now get this straight.
Dr. Gideon Ariel is not a miracle worker and that is that. Ask him yourself. He's here for the "learn by doing" coaching clinic at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, and is a very friendly fellow. Go ahead, ask him.
"There are no miracles," he'll tell you right to your face. "It is very simple. Newton used to do this in the 18th century. Engineers use these principals all the time. The only difference is that I am applying them to ,the human body. It's nothing new."
Have you got that?
Because it seems people keep forgetting,
despite Dr. Arlel's protests, when they hear about people like Terry Albritton and Mac Wilkins. Both went through what is called computerized biomechanical analysis with Dr. Ariel and his team, which means that a computer system, designed by Ariel, took a look at their athletic form and said something in computer, like "keep your head down."
Dr. Arlel, who speaks computer, turned around to Mac and Terry and told them what the computer had said, and they gave it a try.
A week later Albritton broke his own world record in the shot put. Wilkins broke a world record too, in the discus, but he went
one step farther, improving his best throw 15 feet And, although Albritton and Wilkins are the two everyone mentions first, Dr. Ariel says there are thousands of people who have bettered their performance. In fact, he has never had an athlete who did not improve.
So what do you say to that, Doctor?
"It could be coincidence," he says with a shrug. "I could just be lucky. Or, it might be psychological."
Or maybe Dr. Ariel, like many who can let their accomplishments speak for themselves, is just modest.
Certainly, the man he calls his boss, Dr. Irwin Dardik, Chairman of the Sports Medi
cine Committee, is not so reticent.
"This man," said Dr. Dardik, pointing to Dr. Ariel, "is responsible for the greatest advances in the history of sports science. And, it's something that has immediate application - you don't find that very often. We're talking about the 1980 Olympic Games."
And, as it turns out, we're also talking about a futuristic sports medicine laboratory at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Right now Dr. Ariel's lab is hanging fire while Congress debates the Olympic funding bill, but it should be something to see when it is finished. Some labs have already been completed, but the biomechanics facility should
be the showpiece.
"It's going to be the most biomechanics lab in the world," Dardik, "and it's going to be right
For those not able to picture ference between today's lab and one, Dr. Ariel offered an analogy.
"It will be the difference betv Verns and Star Wars," he said, pr fantasy is never far from the mint who push the boundries of reality
For that is what many consid been Dr. Ariel's contribution. invention of inflatable shoes for players to his increasingly soi computer analysis, Dr. Ariel is
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Saturday, duly 1/, 1178
Boston's Fred Lynn, after the Red S a l were routed, 12-7, Thursday night by the Texas Rangers - "You're going to get blown out every once in awhile. You just have to hope It doesn't happen all that often."
Vo miracles, no brag, just facts
despite Dr. Ariel's protests, when they bear about people like Terry Albritton and Mac Wilkins. Both went through what Is called computerized biomechanical analysis with Dr. Ariel and his team, which means that a computer system, designed by Ariel, took a look at their athletic form and said something in computer, like "keep your head down."
Dr. Ariel, who speaks computer, turned around to Mac and Terry and told them what the computer had said, and they gave it a try.
A week later Albritton broke his own world record in the shot put. Wilkins broke a world record too, in the discus, but he went
one step farther, improving his best throw 15 feet. And, although Albritton and Wilkins are the two everyone mentions first, Dr. Ariel says there are thousands of people who have bettered their performance. In fact, he has never had an athlete who did not improve.
So what do you say to that, Doctor?
"It could be coincidence," he says with a shrug. "I could just be lucky. Or, it might be psychological."
Or maybe Dr. Ariel, like many who can let their accomplishments speak for themselves, is just modest.
Certainly, the man he calls his boss, Dr. Irwin Dardik, Chairman of the Sports Medi
cine Committee, is not so reticent.
"This man," said Dr. Dardik, pointing to Dr. Ariel, "is responsible for the greatest advances in the history of sports science. And, it's something that has immediate application - you don't find that very often. We're talking about the 1980 Olympic Games."
And, as it turns out, we're also talking about a futuristic sports medicine laboratory at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Right now Dr. Ariel's lab is hanging fire while Congress debates the Olympic funding bill, but it should be something to see when it is finished. Some labs have already been completed, but the biomechanics facility should
be the showpiece.
"It's going to be the most modern biomechanics lab in the world," says Dr. Dardik, "and It's going to be right here."
For those not able to picture the difference between today's lab and the new, one, Dr. Ariel offered an analogy.
"It will be the difference between Jules Verns and Star Wars," he said, proving that fantasy is never far from the minds of those who push the boundries of reality.
For that is what many consider to have been Dr. Ariel's contribution. From the invention of inflatable shoes for basketball players to his increasingly sophisticated computer analysis, Dr. Ariel is changing
American sports, and all the areas beyond. He has turned his computer loose cn
kayakers, violin players and gclfers, includ
ing the swing of former President Gerald Ford ("His swing is excellent, but his timing is wrong," was the assessment). He has invented a computerized weight trair.ing machine without weights or pulleys and says that the most efficent means of exercise for the whole body is trotting on all fours.
For such a man do you think that there is any question that the scientific East Germans are within reach in the near future of the Olympic Games?
See GIDEON, page 17
Gideon Ariel
Continued from page 15
"We are much ahead of them," Dr. Ariel said confidently, although the Soviet Union and European countries have dominated medal competition recently. "The only thing that they have is a system. They have a 1,000 engineers working, where we have computers.
"When they get computers
they get them from us. Their own computers are working on candles in comparison. '
"Until now we have been like a thousand engineers who want to go to the moon, so they build a thousand different rockets. When we get a system we will be making one rocket together to be sure that we hit the moon."
The sky, in other words, is the limit, as long as we have athletes like Wilkins.
"Mac Wilkins made Mac Wilkins," Dr. Ariel says firmly. "He had the engine - I just tuned it up. I didn't change his technique, I just corrected minute mistakes. There are no miracles."
