Are the Olympics becoming too technical? Depends on whether you believe Nike

Higher, faster, stronger — and costlier.

It's one thing for an empty suit bought and paid for by big money to enter a political race, but some purist impulses still linger in the sports. With advances in sports engineering, we might be at the point of wondering if Nike will soon patent a Pro TurboSpeed suit that can win the Olympic gold on its own without an athlete even wearing it. That's if you believe the hype.

The lead-up to London 2012, like with every Olympics, includes breathless reports about the latest technical innovation designed to give competitors an extra edge. It's only human nature to wonder how much is too much. The ideals the ancient Greeks held dear are manifestly obvious — who can run the fastest over a set distance, jump the farthest or highest, throw a heavy object the farthest and so on. In the modern conception, all the world comes together to do it. So how do you reconcile that with Nike's Nike's high-tech running suits? Or the reality that being an Olympic sailor is "akin to running a mini-corporation," since it will cost at least a half-million dollars just for one boat? (Canadian sailor Richard Clarke used a Formula One analogy to describe his event and I doubt anyone expects auto racing to be added to the Games.)

Technology is only technology to people who were born before an invention existed. Obviously, if people still went by tradition, real football would still be played in leather helmets. Still, given the disparities in resources between the nation's richest countries and everyone else — like the Egyptian synchronized swimmer who got knockoff Nike gear to wear during the Games — it kind of violates the spirit of the thing. It was only 40 years ago that Mark Spitz set seven world records without even wearing a swim cap and while sporting a mustache, as was the style at the time.

One has to wonder if there's a line where some of these advancements go from improving a sport to being a bastardization of pure athletics. Not everyone and every nation is going to be able to afford it, at this rate.

Obviously, because of what happened in the pool in Beijing four years ago, where basically every world record was shattered thanks to the use of since-banned bodysuits, there will be a lot of attention on whether running suits make any difference. By and large, the media has told us it will, but please keep in mind mainstream journalists often tend to conform to the 'good at English, bad at math and science' stereotype. There is reason to doubt those running suits will really turn a fourth-place finish into a bronze medal on the track in London.

From Dr. Ross Tucker:

It's a constant push-pull, as well it should be. Sprinting is just the latest discipline where sports engineers — and speaking as the brother of an engineer, be grateful for them, otherwise we'd all be living in mud huts with no wifi — may have overpushed the envelope. In the 1980s, new regulations for manufacturing javelins had to be passed after a new model was developed that allowed top throwers to heave it 340 feet — raising fears a spectator at the end of the stadium might get skewered, literally. At least there's no such risk with TurboSpeed suits.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.