As a Chinese quartet stormed to a thrilling victory in the 2,000m mixed team relay at the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 5, clinching China's first-ever gold in the relevant category, the feat can be partly attributed to aviation technologies.

A crossover research team led by Ke Peng, associate professor at Beijing-based Beihang University, who once studied air vehicles, has lent their hands in the training process.

Ke is also the science director of China's national speed skating team, and in 2019, his research team attempted to apply their expertise on aircraft engineering into winter sports training.

The endeavor can be traced back to a chilly morning when Ke went to a skating rink in suburban Beijing as part of his routine trip over the past year. There, Ke's team collected data via multiple sensors based on the athletes' movements, muscle strength and details involving the skate blades.

Later it occurred to Ke that the route planning algorithm of the aircraft could also be used to help design optimal glide routes for skaters.

The team of researchers worked to build digital models for skaters, which are supported by a slew of parameters like gliding routes, thrust power, balance and swerve control.

Ke pondered over some critical questions such as "When skaters are going to swerve, should they slow down in advance or not? Should they turn a big or small curve?" concluding that the model can offer the answers.

The model is tailored for individual skaters. Inputting their heights, gliding postures, muscle energy consumption, angles of arm swings and leg kicks into the model, can produce the optimal plan for energy distribution.

"Thanks to the scientific training approach, a 10-percent increase in speed was achieved during a typical speed skating race," Ke said.

Ke also brought to the skating rink his "secret weapon," a mini turbofan engine, a type of air-breathing jet engine widely used in aircraft propulsion.

The turbofan engine provides thrust to the skater who backpacks it.

During training, skaters tend to slow down involuntarily when gliding at a high speed, which prevents them from grasping the skills at hypervelocity.

During an 80-meter race, the fanjet can increase the gliding speed from 8 meters per second to 13 meters per second, Ke said, adding that the external boost allows skaters to grasp how to control their body at top speed.

Ke's inventions have already been used in alpine skiing, halfpipe and freestyle skiing.

"I'm proud that I can play a part in the training of our country's athletes for the Beijing Winter Olympics, especially when I am inspired by aviation technology," Ke said.

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