Athletes and coaches are increasingly incorporating technology into training. CGTN's Guan Yang files this story from a high-tech laboratory in Changchun, Jilin Province.

In snowboarding, the more athletes know how to improve the range of motion and balance, the better they can perform during the games.

Here in this lab, with 16 motion cameras set up around the player, every single movement is captured and recorded, and the computer simultaneously reviews performances for the coaches – all done off the mountain.

GUAN YANG Changchun, Jilin Province "Technology has had a huge impact on sports worldwide and winter sports are no exception. Nations have invested heavily in advanced technologies to give their athletes and coaches a big boost in training and preparations ahead of the games."

LI GUANGQI Endurance Coach National Team of Parallel Giant Slalom "It is crucial for the athletes to keep their snowboarding muscles in shape all year round. The laboratory gives us the chance to improve the player's flexibility and endurance off the mountain, whereas in the past snowboarders could only choose skateboarding or surfing as ways to train during off season."

Technology and sports like skiing and snowboarding haven't always gone together. Many athletes practice and compete to get closer to nature. But experts predict the COVID-19 pandemic will affect three key areas of technology – training, preparation and recovery decisions. They also say sports and technology will develop hand in hand.

JIANG QI Research Coach National Team of Freestyle Ski Jumping "Some of the competitions like freestyle ski jumping have only been included into the Winter Olympic Sports List, these games require the athletes to have sufficient skills and knowledge for different terrains. The visual analysis provided by this lab help coaches to immediately identify the weaker links for every aspect of a trick."

With 500 sets of experimental equipment, the winter sports lab at Northeast Normal University in Changchun has provided physical assessment, skill assessment and technical analysis for more than 1,000 athletes ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. And the head of the laboratory has an even bigger vision.

PROF. LIU JUNYI Northeast Normal University "We hope that after serving the Beijing Winter Games, some of the technologies here can be widely applied to the masses for improving their health and physical ability. For instance, the fitness assessments are a great tool for people who want to have a tailored fitness guide before training."

GUAN YANG, CGTN, Changchun.