Stripping down science, the naked scientists.

The Naked Scientists. This week we'll see millions of visitors from around the world flock to the city of London in the UK

hoping to catch a glimpse of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Rather than the sights of Big Ben or Buckingham Palace,

their eyes will be firmly focused on the 10.5,000 athletes

competing in one of the 26 sports now part of the competition.

I'm Mira Senti Lingam and in this special edition of the Naked Scientists

we'll be exploring the role science and technology can play in these sports today. We'll be meeting the

trainers, scientists and athletes using the developments in this field to help them or

their team win gold. Or in some cases like British Olympic rowing champion Steve Redgrave five

consecutive golds. Rowing is an endurance by sport If you don't have the lung capacity, the V2

uptake of transferring that oxygen into energy that goes into red blood cells to

feed the muscles from that point of view, is you're not going to be very muscles from that point of view is you're not going to be very

efficient from that way. So the science behind it is becomes immense of training, preparation,

monitoring of trying to improve levels all the time.

When I started back in the 70s, there was none of this.

How important has scientific understanding,

or just the science and the science tests been in your development both as training you as

a rower but how important do you also think it is today in say the current team and

their training? I think it's hugely important within my background since I've retired it's moved on from

that point of view.

But sport, everyone seems to get faster all the time.

...