SOCCERROO FOX Posted 5 September 2007 Posted 5 September 2007 Jon Geddes September 05, 2007 12:00am THERE was Ben Lexcen's winged keel at the 1983 America's Cup, Thorpedo's one-piece swimwear and Cathy Freeman's hooded outfit at the 2000 Olympics. Now the Wallabies are in the eye of the storm with a technological breakthrough that could give Stirling Mortlock's team a winning edge at the rugby World Cup. Revolutionary bionic Australian jumpers have had England crying foul before a ball has been kicked in France. So fearful were English officials about the state-of-the-art ion-charged Australian jerseys that the IRB has had them drug tested by the World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA has approved the Aussies' use of the jerseys against Japan in their World Cup opener on Saturday night. The material in the jerseys, made by New Zealand-based sportswear company Canterbury, reacts with sweat to create a negative ion charge that stimulates blood flow, bringing more energy to the muscles and speeding up the removal of lactic acid. The jumpers take the Wallabies to the cutting edge of sport, although South Africa, Scotland, Ireland and Japan will also wear them. "Nothing is induced or taken into the body," said Richard Bryant from Canterbury. "Ionisation occurs naturally during electrical storms or near waterfalls." Tests at Loughborough, Britain's top sports science university, showed the fabric can give athletes a boost of 2.7 per cent, a significant amount at the elite level. "The garments can make a valuable contribution to the performance of athletes during training and competition," director of the Sports Technology Institute at the university Professor Mike Caine, said. "Athletes demonstrate an improved level of power output during repeated, short duration maximal efforts." The ARU was approached about using the material in their jumpers earlier this year. "We had to get them to sign confidentially agreements. Obviously we didn't want this out until the rugby World Cup," Bryant said. The ARU did its own testing on the jerseys and was impressed with the results. The development of the jersey has a colourful history that dates back to World War II bomber crews. German scientists found by putting their pilots into a decompression chamber and bombarding them with negative ions they could fly longer missions, had better circulation and were more alert. With the ionised material cleared by WADA, the English are now playing catch-up and wanting to get involved. Three of England's forwards -- Phil Vickery, Andy Sheridan and Matt Stevens -- have said they will wear ionised garments under their Nike jerseys at the World Cup.
Lillehamring Posted 5 September 2007 Posted 5 September 2007 ha, we're so shit at everything! seriously we could be wearing superman leotard and cape, and we'd still suck
Nick Posted 5 September 2007 Posted 5 September 2007 ha, we're so shit at everything!seriously we could be wearing superman leotard and cape, and we'd still suck Off to Paris next week......No idea what to expect performance wise. Looking forward to it.
Geo V Posted 5 September 2007 Posted 5 September 2007 . Please show us a photo of the mystical magical jumper for us all to behold!
SOCCERROO FOX Posted 5 September 2007 Author Posted 5 September 2007 . Please show us a photo of the mystical magical jumper for us all to behold! I don't how to up load but it has grip on the shoulders and chest for ball control and helps with aerobic perfmance.
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