RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The seeds for many of the 25, maybe 30, medals the U.S. track team hopes to win in Rio de Janeiro were planted at a training center in California with the help of technology originally designed for golf.
One of the many tools USA Track and Field makes available to its athletes is called "Track Man," a computerized tracking device that sports fans might recognize from watching golf on TV. In addition to golf balls, "Track Man" can trace the trajectory of shot puts and hammers to allow the athletes who throw them keep track of how high and far they go.