Carlos Yulo, historic golds and an IP story

As Carlos Yulo successfully gunned down two golds in men’s artistic gymnastics, the young man has flipped his way to immortality in Philippine sports history. Consistent practice, unwavering determination, impeccable precision and spirited resilience have undeniably made him the athlete that many young gymnasts of today and tomorrow look up to. But behind any athlete’s performance is the foundation of intellectual property (IP) and technological revolutions that both played a role in enabling dazzling performances and ensuring the safety of athletes.

Studies have shown that the advancements in gymnastics equipment have helped shape gymnastics skills, pushing mankind to soar higher and farther to new possibilities.

For one, a study by sports science experts Marco Antonio Coehlo Bartoleto and Ludwig Schweizer cited developments in vaults in the 1940s through the 1980s, particularly the Reuther Board developed by German engineer Richard Reuther. The Reuther board, now more commonly known as the springboard, debuted at the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia in 1956 and helped push gymnasts upward to greater heights. The innovation helped them realize their peak performance and made them believe the sky’s the limit.

In all, the development and integration of new materials and components in gymnastic innovations have helped mankind mark new milestones and set a higher bar for athletic vitality and excellence. More importantly, technological advancements have made the sport safer to protect athletes from career and life-threatening injuries.

The Vaulting Table, for example, officially used by the International Gymnastics Federation or the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) for the first time in 2001, was developed as an urgent response to improve the vaulting horse. The horse had been blamed for several serious accidents over the years.

Shortly before the 1988 US Olympic trials, American gymnast Julissa Gomez fell head first after an attempt to do a Yurchenko vault. The fall paralyzed her and caused complications that would lead to her death three years later. Meanwhile, during a warm-up session at the 1998 Goodwill Games, Chinese gymnast Sang Lan fell after performing a handspring from the vault and suffered a cervical spine injury that paralyzed her. The incident has left her wheelchair-bound since.

Through steady progress in the field of technology, patent registrations and FIG’s certification process, gymnastics has evolved to be a safer sport and a dynamic market of innovations eager to learn what more the human talent and spirit can achieve.

Such a dynamic market was made possible by patent protection. As developing and manufacturing sports apparatus required heavy investments, the patent protection of sports technologies in the 20th century had become a necessary step prior to technology diffusion, serving as a “springboard” for the evolution of the sport.

As the Olympics continue, they may very well inspire further leaps in innovation that would soon break records we have just celebrated today. Imagine augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) training systems that refine technique with unmatched precision, or motion capture tools that dissect every movement, providing deeper insights to improve technique and performance.

Yulo’s triumph reminds us that with a gold medal or two, there’s more to the show of physical prowess and flawless routines. There’s also the story of the quiet revolution of technology and intellectual property.

So as the Philippines aims for more gold at the Paris Olympics, remember that each victory is a testament to how far human talent can reach when paired with the marvels of modern technology and the protections that help it thrive.