Shooting competition uniforms and shoes developed by a BIFT team debuted at the 2024 Paris Olympics and helped the national shooting team win gold.
On August 1, Liu Yukun, an athlete of the Chinese national shooting team, won the gold medal in the men's 50-meter rifle three-position shooting event at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a score of 463.6 points.
Liu Yukun won the gold medal wearing the competition uniform and shoes developed by BIFT.
Competition uniforms and shoes are tested prior to the competition.
In the competition, Liu wore a uniform and shoes independently developed by the BIFT scientific research team. This is the first time that domestic shooting competition uniforms and shoes have appeared in the Olympics.
The competition uniforms and shoes of the rifle shooting athletes are made of special canvas and cowhide and other materials. They need to meet the hardness, thickness and other standards set by the International Shooting Sport Federation before they can be worn in the competition.
Previously, the national shooting team had been using foreign competition uniforms and shoes. Entrusted by the Science and Education Department of the General Administration of Sport of China and the Shooting and Archery Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, BIFT has established an interdisciplinary R&D team headed by Professor Wang Yongjin.
Since 2022, the BIFT team has started in-depth research and development of competition equipment including shooting competition uniforms, functional underwear, shooting shoes, etc.
Over a period of two years, the team has carried out research on key technologies of shooting competition uniforms through field research and basic scientific research such as anthropometry, posture analysis, material development, version comparison, and mechanical relationships.
The material research and development team with Wang Yueping, Guan Xiaoyu, Wang Xiaochun, Zhang Liping, and Li Qiuyu as the core has independently developed the main materials of clothing, nonslip and wear-resistant rubber sheets, specially selected leather materials and various auxiliary materials that meet international competition standards, achieving key technological breakthroughs in shooting clothing materials.
The clothing R&D team, with Zhao Yuxiao, Zhu Xiaoxiao, Zhang Jianhua, and Liu Zhen as the core, produces four-dimensional dynamic versions that meet the stability and comfort needs of athletes. Relying on the manufacturing strength of the Golden Monkey Group that innovatively constructs and applies three-dimensional special sewing processes.
The design team with Song Yanjie, Wang Yanjun and Yang Hui as the core combines the personal preferences of athletes and uses traditional Chinese elements to demonstrate national cultural confidence.
The defibrillation index of the competition shoes developed by the shoe R&D team,, with Wang Yaohua, Su Yi and Yang Zihan, as the core is much higher than that of foreign brands, and the design greatly improves the center of gravity stability and comfort of athletes. After multiple versions of testing, evaluation and improvement, the team achieved a technological breakthrough in domestic shooting shoes.
Finally, the BIFT R&D team successfully completed the design and development of competition uniforms and equipment with China's own intellectual property rights. The designed and developed equipment has helped the Chinese National Shooting Team win the gold medal in the men's 50-meter air rifle three-position team competition at the 31st FISU Summer World University Games.
Looking forward to the next Olympic Games, BIFT will take the lead and form a professional team with the Institute of Sports Science of the GASC and Donghua University to continue to carry out scientific research and innovation to create a Chinese brand of shooting competition uniforms and shoes.
BIFT has previously served major international sporting events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, leveraging its advantages in design, technology, organization, and communication to carry out scientific and technological innovation and promote the application of research results.