If you caught any of last weekend’s World Track Championships, you have noticed American decathlete Ashton Eaton donning headgear that looked more appropriate for a fencing match.
But the hat was actually a “cooling hood prototype” designed by Nike that Eaton used to speed up recovery between each event during the decathlon competition on Saturday in Beijing.
Nike, which sponsors Eaton, details the science and technology behind the headgear here, noting how Eaton initially wondered why pouring cold water on his head after strenuous activity felt good. He knew that Nike designed a “PreCool Vest” more than a decade ago to cool core temperature and wondered if it could be used on his head.
“The insight Ashton gave us was that overheating was a challenge, especially during the high jump and pole vault when there was so much time spent on the field, and he asked how we could speed up his recovery between his short, explosive action,” Sandy Bodecker, VP of Special Projects at Nike Innovation, said in a press release.
Nike’s Apparel Innovation Team got to work, finding research that showed how the face is two to five times more sensitive than other body surface areas. They worked up a prototype that “allows a gradual and effective cooling of the head,” noted Bodecker.
“Simply put, the hood concentrates a cold mass out of an icebox, covering the face, head and neck, and allows a gradual and effective cooling of the head,” added Bodecker.
Judging by Eaton’s performance — a first place decathlon finish and a new world record — it seems using the cooling hood may have helped.
