Six聽athletes on the USA Track and Field team will compete at聽the Paralympics this September聽in custom carbon-fiber wheelchairs dreamed up by . The team has worked with Olympians before; they built sensors for long jumpers to check their form and delivered the lightning-fast two-man bobsleds that enabled the United States to break a six-decade medal drought in Sochi. But this is their first time tackling a wheeled rig. To do so, they rethought it from front to back. 鈥淭he ideal is that the wheelchair disappears,鈥 says asso颅ciate 颅director Brad Cracchiola, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 just the athlete.鈥澛
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BMW decided to upgrade the chassis from aluminum to聽carbon fiber聽for the same聽reason pro cyclists pre颅fer it: with the improved strength-to-weight ratio, you can cut flab without sacrificing durability.聽
Cheat the Wind聽
Since carbon molds into virtually any shape, engineers spent months testing prototypes in a computer-颅simulated wind tunnel to arrive at the perfect, sleekly aerodynamic design.聽
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The steering and聽braking systems aren鈥檛 just tuned for 颅precision 颅handling. They鈥檙e聽also constructed of lightweight carbon and 3-D-printed parts, fabricated in aerodynamic shapes to help reduce drag.
Bespoke Fit
Racers need to keep their bodies firmly anchored, so that no effort is wasted shifting weight or cor颅recting angles. The team at Designworks颅聽made a 3-D scan of each of the athletes, then built custom seats for them.
Stiffen Up聽
Wheelchair 颅racers don鈥檛 so much grab and turn the wheels as punch them. With that much force applied, any flex translates into wasted energy, so BMW maximized the frame鈥檚 rigidity to handle the 颅additional load.