Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Here's how Olympic athletes harness the crazy power of physics to win the gold

Ali SundermierAug 16, 2016, 02:43 IST

We could do this every two years.Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images

When you think of Olympic athletes training to compete, you probably don't imagine them in front of a chalkboard trying to understand things like angular momentum (that's how objects - or people - spin).

But believe it or not, understanding some basic physics can provide a new level of appreciation for how exactly Olympic athletes are able to do what they do. Harnessing the power of physics has also helped Olympians (and their coaches) figure out how to maximize their strength, speed, and motion.

Check out the physics behind these 16 Olympic sports, including some of the ways athletes apply what we know about physics to help them on their quest for gold.