How performance analysis is changing sports:
In the general domain of skill expertise, objective feedback rarely follows action. Experimental physicists have to wait for years to obtain validation of their theories; doctors seldom get immediate confirmation that their diagnoses are accurate. Elite athletes, on the other hand, can get immediate and precise feedback for every movement that they make, right down to the tiniest manoeuvre.
Such methods are increasingly the key to winning:
We spent the 20th century learning the basic science of human physiology, training, and nutrition. … The challenges of the 21st century are very different. At this point, the easy improvements have all been made. Margins of victory are going to be smaller, and the tools that help athletes win will increasingly be found not in the weight room but in the lab. Many sports will begin to resemble auto racing, where wins are determined by a combination of driving skill and technology.
The Dish 