Balancing Data and Technique in Swimming

Kate Douglass is a world-class swimmer and data scientist who’s used mathematical modeling to help make her stroke more efficient. She and Steve talk about why the Olympics were underwhelming, how she won gold, and why she won’t be upset to say goodbye to the pool.

• SOURCE:
  • Kate Douglass, Olympic swimmer and graduate student.
  • RESOURCES:
  • "Kate Douglass HOLDS OFF Tatjana Smith to win 200m breaststroke | Paris Olympics" (NBC Sports, 2024).
  • “The Plane Partition Function Abides by Benford’s Law,” by Katherine Douglass and Ken Ono (UPB Scientific Bulletin, Series A, 2024).
  • “Swimming in Data,” by Katherine Douglass, Augustus Lamb, Jerry Lu, Ken Ono, and William Tenpas (The Mathematical Intelligencer, 2024).
  • "Why Some Olympic Swimmers Think About Math in the Pool," by Jenny Vrentas (The New York Times, 2024).

• EXTRAS:
  • "The Language of the Universe," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).