With the Paris Olympics in mind, leading scientists have been reaching out to the French teams to improve their performance. Marianne reveals the secret behind these programs. In this episode, we explain how French boxers are reducing their risk of injury and improving their fighting tactics using virtual reality programs.
It's the scientific version of Wii Sports. Thanks to the REVEA project, scientists are using virtual reality to help French athletes improve their performance, with a view to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games launched by the University of Rennes-2 in 2021 and the National Research and Sport, REVEA brings together around the world. Ten researchers are working alongside the French Boxing, Athletics and Gymnastics Federations.
Concretely, boxers at these Parisian Olympics, such as Sofiane Oumiha, silver medalist in Rio 2016, or Estelle Mosley, gold medalist during the same Games, do not train against an opponent, but by wearing controllers instead of headbands and virtual reality headsets. They see an imaginary opponent hitting them. So far, 450,000 euros have been invested in the program.
