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Olympic Coaches' Secret Weapon: Wi-Fi

Soon after leading Japan to a bronze medal in the women's volleyball competition on Saturday, coach Masayoshi Manabe called the London Games "the toughest environment I've had to coach in."

Updated on: Aug 13, 2012, 14:47:35 IST
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Soon after leading Japan to a bronze medal in the women's volleyball competition on Saturday, coach Masayoshi Manabe called the London Games "the toughest environment I've had to coach in."

HT Image
HT Image

Not because of opponents South Korea but because the Earls Court venue didn't provide the data-crunching coach with the WiFi network he needed to analyze real time data of his opponents.

Manabe called the omission of an internet connection on court a "huge surprise" that the competing teams had asked organizers to rectify early in the competition, to no avail.

Bob Clarke, the volleyball manager for London organizers, says "we went to the IOC, all the way to the top, with the request but we were denied. We don't know why."

Teams improvised instead, with both Japan and the United States relaying data to their coaches through walkie-talkies and earpieces.

"We got the information we needed, with a delay," Manabe said.