Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Are today’s athletes truly superhuman, or do they just have better gear? In this episode of Spark, we strip away the high-tech advantages of the 21st century. Watch as Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse ditches synthetic tracks for Jesse Owens' 1936 dirt paths and leather shoes, and swimmer Paul Biedermann swaps his banned "super-suit" for Mark Spitz’s classic briefs. From the physics of carbon fiber kayaks to the aerodynamic drag of vintage bicycles, we use sports engineering to settle the ultimate debate: Who is the greatest of all time when the playing field is truly level?
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You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
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Any queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com
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Are today’s athletes truly superhuman, or do they just have better gear? In this episode of Spark, we strip away the high-tech advantages of the 21st century. Watch as Olympic sprinter Andre De Grasse ditches synthetic tracks for Jesse Owens' 1936 dirt paths and leather shoes, and swimmer Paul Biedermann swaps his banned "super-suit" for Mark Spitz’s classic briefs. From the physics of carbon fiber kayaks to the aerodynamic drag of vintage bicycles, we use sports engineering to settle the ultimate debate: Who is the greatest of all time when the playing field is truly level?
Subscribe to Spark for more amazing science, tech & engineering videos: goo.gl/LIrlur 🚀
Join the Spark Channel Membership to get access to perks:
youtube.com/channel/UCMV3aTOwUtG5vwfH9_rzb2w/join
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: bit.ly/4pyExyn
Any queries, please contact us at: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com
#Spark
