Australia’s national swim team reportedly uses the Apple Watch and the iPad to help improve performance. The Apple Watch comes with a plethora of fitness-related features and is used by many people to keep track of their training regimens. The devices also offer many health and wellness features, including taking electrocardiogram (ECG) readings, which was first introduced with the Apple Watch Series 4 in 2018.
The Apple Watch also offers a fall-detection technology credited with saving the lives of many senior citizens. The watch also has many hardware sensors, including a blood oxygen monitor that was added with the Series 6 in 2020. However, it still doesn’t have body temperature measurements — something available in the Galaxy Watch 5 that was announced in Aug. 2022.
According to Apple, the Aussie swim team has been using Apple Watch, iPad, and a combination of apps en route to becoming one of the most successful swimming contingents in major competitions. The claim is pretty stunning, given that the Apple Watch is mainly known as a consumer-oriented device that offers a combination of health and fitness features for amateur fitness enthusiasts rather than a focused device meant for professional athletes. However, despite that, Apple claims that Australia’s swimming coaches have been using Apple Watch’s sensors and activity-tracking features to get an accurate picture of the athletes’ overall health and performance.
Australian Swim Team And The Apple Watch
The Australian swim team also uses custom apps that help the coaches and athletes with real-time data and analysis, while the iPad provides a portable visual feedback tool that allows the data to be shared between the coaches and the swimmers. One of the apps cited by Apple is the native Workout app that tracks both pool and open water swimming, enabling the athletes to view essential metrics during training sessions. In open water, Apple Watch uses the built-in GPS and accelerometer sensors to accurately determine the swimmer’s route and distance. In the pool, it uses the gyroscope and accelerometer “to count laps, track average lap pace and auto-detect stroke type to measure active kilojoule burn.”
Multiple top-flight Aussie swimmers also attested to the usefulness of the Apple Watch in helping them improve their performance. One of them is Olympic gold medalist Zac Stubblety-Cook, who says he relies on the Apple Watch for feedback about his training regimen. It also helps him better manage his training load and recovery to ensure peak performance at different events. Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist and open water swimmer Kareena Lee also uses the Apple Watch to measure her distance, route and splits when swimming in the ocean. According to her, the Apple Watch helped her get back to peak form following an injury by letting her better monitor her training load.
