Going for Gold in BEIJING 2022

In Olympic battles, every hundredth of a second can mean the difference between a gold medal or zero. 

As official supplier for the Belgian ice skating federation, Sam Ratajczak from BIORACER will develop skating suits to maximize the chances of the Belgian ice skaters at the winter Olympics in BEIJING next year. With their background in cycling clothing and expertise in wind tunnel testing of customised time trial suits, the need for a  specific test mannequin was clear.

A Wind Tunnel test mannequin in skating position, was needed in order to test different fabrics and combinations.  The 3D body scan of a professional ice skater was made and prepared. This involved simplifying details of head and hands, removing feet, and dividing in different parts to allow easy and fast dressing and undressing.

Most important specifications for the mannequin were the following :

-Easy to dress and undress : smooth finish, easy removal of head, body, arms and legs

-Play free interfaces and easy to disassemble/reassemble the complete mannequin, without tools

-Resistant to air-speeds of up to +70km/h

-Robust and impact resistant

The final design is a combination of 3D printed, sanded and painted body parts, metal CNC machined inserts, laser cut interface plates, and magnets. 

All available fabrics  will be tested at different locations of the body, enabling to define the fastest combination.