Advancing Sports in Israel
Windsurfers Tom Reuveny and Sharon Kantor achieved a historic milestone by winning gold (Reuveny) and silver (Kantor) medals at the Paris Olympics – two of the seven medals won by Israel in the Olympic Games. The two compete on the iQFOiL model - a windsurf board which made its Olympic debut this year.
In recent years, Reuveny and Kantor have received professional support from Dr. Arielle Fischer, a faculty member in the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion, as part of the collaboration between the Technion and the Olympic Committee of Israel.
Dr. Arielle Fischer
Dr. Arielle Fischer, head of the Biomechanics and Wearable Technology Laboratory at the Technion, completed a bachelor’s degree at MIT and a PhD in mechanical engineering at the Technion. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University, she returned to the Technion as a faculty member in the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering.
As part of her work with the Reuveny and Kantor, her research group conducted a biomechanical analysis of the Olympic athletes’ movements during training and analyzed the relationship between typical movements in windsurfing (“pumping” and “turning”) and the athletes’ performance. According to Dr. Fischer, “We developed a tool that the coaches and the technical director use at the end of training, which helps them quantitatively and accurately understand the connection between the windsurfer’s performance and technique and the properties of the board itself (structure and elasticity). This tool allows athletes and coaches to examine their techniques and equipment, thus improving the surfers’ performance.” This approach, which supports the athletes with scientific and biomechanical understanding beyond intuition and feelings, is expected to help athletes in various other sports as well.
Congratulations to Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team on their wonderful achievements and silver medal!
We’re excited to share that at the Technion, in Dr. Arielle Fischer’s Bio-Motion and Wearable Devices Lab at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, a recent study delved into the biomechanics of rhythmic gymnasts.
Natalie Mendelson, a former Olympic gymnast and a Technion student, presented her research on the biomechanics of rhythmic gymnasts last month at the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports (ISBS) conference held in Austria. The study, led by Dr. Fischer and conducted in collaboration with Dr. Smadar Peleg’s lab at the Levinsky-Wingate Academic College. Dr. Fischer recognized the study’s uniqueness, combining insights from an Olympic gymnast and a talented BSc-MD student, and aimed to showcase it on an international stage, highlighting the advanced testing of Israel’s elite rhythmic gymnasts.
Natalie Mendelson
The research presented by Mendelson at the conference focused on the biomechanics of motion of rhythmic gymnasts using a Markerless Motion Analysis method. The study, involving elite gymnasts, specifically examined fouetté balance and turns, common movements in rhythmic gymnastics that can lead to significant strain and injuries.
According to Dr. Arielle Fischer, “This research aims to enhance our understanding of fundamental rhythmic gymnastics elements concerning overexertion on the lower extremity joints and feet. This is the first study on kinematics and kinetics in rhythmic gymnastics, including movement segmentation and the characterization of forces on the gymnasts’ joints. We believe the findings will contribute to injury prevention and tailored training.”
Natalie Mendelson, who competed with the Israeli rhythmic gymnastics team at the Rio 2016 Olympics is pursuing a demanding double degree in biomedical engineering and medicine (BSc and MD) at the Technion. She shared that she chose to study at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion because “Throughout my sports career, I faced many injuries and was always interested in what was happening in my body and how to treat or fix it. I felt helpless, in pain, and sometimes even desperate. This sparked a desire in me to help people rehabilitate, alleviate their suffering and pain, and find and develop solutions in this field. When I heard about the degree in biomedical engineering, which combines many things I love—mathematics, physics, physiology, and technology—I knew it was right for me.” Dr. Fischer’s lab is particularly focused on biomechanics, studying human movement in both elite athletes and clinical populations to describe motions, enhance performance, and aid in injury prevention and rehabilitation.