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Alumnus Scott Williams ('90) designs gold medal wear



08/07/12

Alumnus Scott Williams ('90), Nike’s Creative Director of Sport Innovation and Olympics, designed the track outfit worn by Sanya Richards-Ross, who won the gold medal in the 400m, as she believed she would. Could it be the Nike Pro TurboSpeed kit that gave her the advantage this year?

The culmination of 12 years of research and more than 1,000 hours of wind tunnel testing, the new streamlined Olympic kit is what Nike calls a “zero distraction” garment. Scanning technology maps of athletes’ bodies to the nearest millimeter ensured that the uniforms fit like a second skin.“This is the most minimal way we’ve had to finish a garment,” explains Scott.

As their fastest uniform to date, it uses “Zoned Aerodynamics” to redirect air in targeted areas; dimpled swaths of the “AeroSwift” fabric “trip” air on the limbs, which can reach speeds of up to 47 MPH. According to Williams, “Nike studied hundreds of textures when fashioning the uniforms, the aesthetic and aerodynamic benefit derived from their results.” 

Williams worked with Otis fashion design students this year to design olympic apparel for beach volleyball, basketball and track and field.

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