How Chinese AI put a new spin on Winter Olympics action

As American figure skater Ilia Malinin launched into a quad – a jump with four airborne revolutions – at this month’s Winter Olympics, millions of television viewers witnessed something brand new: a replay of the jump separated into frames that appeared to orbit the athlete.

Backed by Chinese AI firms eager to showcase their capabilities to a global audience, it also reflects a broader push for overseas expansion amid increasingly fierce competition in China.

The real-time 360-degree replay tools, combined with stroboscopic motion analysis, are supported by Chinese tech giant Alibaba’s cloud AI systems, which have featured at multiple recent Games.

Alibaba, a worldwide Olympic partner, is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

Besides helping viewers gain a better understanding of an athlete’s performance, AI-enabled camera technology has also allowed broadcasters to focus on specific competitors, delivering tailored live coverage alongside split-screen views and up-to-the-second data in sports like biathlon – which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting – according to the International Olympic Committee.

“For us, it’s not sufficient to produce very high-quality coverage just for dedicated sports fans,” said Olympic Broadcasting Services CEO Yiannis Exarchos at a news conference on February 11. “We have a very short period of time to make the sports understandable and attractive. We need to get people engaged.”