An Australian researcher says the extreme precision and reaction speed of Olympic divers and gymnasts can be attributed to unique visual training and skills which allow them to see and process information at blinding speeds.
When University of Melbourne senior lecturer Christine Nearchou watches elite athletes perform, much of her attention is focused on their eyes.
"I'm watching just how well they're using their visual system to then drive what they physically can do. In particular with gymnastics, just watching their visual system, how focused they are, you can see it in their face, you can see that their vision is laser sharp and they've already planned out what they're going to do," she said.
Nearchou, who works in optometry and vision sciences, says the visual skills found in Olympic divers and gymnasts are very different from what most of us possess.
"Studies show that they are able to manipulate their visual system and their natural reflexes so that they can bring their eyes and their eye movements to where they need to be. For example, we have a reflex or a primitive reflex that we're born with called the vestibular ocular reflex or gaze stabilization," Nearchou said.
For elite divers and gymnasts, this stabilization can get in the way, and part of their training involves learning how to shut it off. Another critical skill athletes rely on is visualization -- seeing exactly what they are about to do in incredible detail.
"So, they're gaining more information, they're analyzing, interpreting, learning from what they've seen and being able to compartmentalize that and then instruct the motor skills what to do. And they're doing that with not only perfect accuracy, but with perfect timing. And that's where mortals like us are in awe – when I say that they can seamlessly integrate those two systems," Nearchou said.
Nearchou said possessing highly tuned visual processing skills is critical to avoiding mistakes and serious injuries. She said these athletes are relying on those skills as they fly and twist through the air.
"So, that makes it even more unbelievable and incredible and puts us in awe. Even as a vision scientist, I'm still in awe of what they can achieve, having superiorly developed that visual cognition side of their brain," she said.
Australian researcher attributes elite athletes' high reaction speed to visual training
