Protern is used by a majority of alpine ski teams preparing for the Olympic Games
A look at how GPS-based performance and video analysis has become standard across elite alpine ski programs
As the Olympic Games get underway, alpine ski teams from around the world are relying on GPS-based performance and video analysis as part of daily training and race analysis. This is not a one-off tool for special days. It is part of how coaches and athletes work through runs, identify where speed is gained or lost, and decide what to focus on next.
Protern's technology is used by national teams from the United States, Canada, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Norway, along with more than 15 additional countries. The named countries are a sample. The wider list includes teams across Europe, North America, and Asia.
What teams are using it for
Across alpine skiing, the goal is consistent. Coaches and athletes want to understand speed within a run, not just at the sector level, but between gates. They want to see where time was gained or lost and connect that to what happened on the course.
In practice, that usually means:
- Reviewing runs with speed and acceleration information overlaid on video
- Analyzing terrain transitions, rhythm changes and gate-to-gate sectors of the course, not just overall time
- Finding trends in the performance in order to focus training
For athletes, this makes objective feedback easier to follow because it shows the outcome of the actions they can see in the video.
Long-term use, not a short trial
Elite programs do not keep tools that do not hold up in daily training. Longevity matters because it shows that the system fits into real training days over many seasons.
- Switzerland: 6 seasons
- Canada and Norway: 5 seasons
- United States: 3 seasons
Protern is also used by more than 20 national ski teams worldwide. These programs have different coaching styles and different priorities, but they share the same need for clear run review.
Training and race analysis together
For elite teams, performance analysis does not stop when training ends. Collecting data during races is an important part of understanding how athletes perform under different conditions.
Comparing race runs to training runs helps coaches and athletes see whether speed, rhythm, and execution carry over when it matters most. It also helps identify gaps between the training environment and race-day reality.
In practice, teams use GPS-based performance and video analysis to:
- Compare training and race runs on similar course sets or terrain
- Understand how pressure, conditions, and course sets affect speed
- Adjust training focus based on what shows up in races, not just training
This connection between training and racing is a key reason why performance analysis has become part of daily work at the highest level of the sport.
Scale of daily use
This approach is now used at high volume across the sport. In 2025 alone, Protern technology was used to analyze more than 200,000 alpine ski runs.
Athletes who train using Protern’s tools have collectively won more than 250 World Cup medals during periods when Protern was part of their training environment. This is not presented as an outcome caused by technology. It is a signal of how widely this approach is used among elite athletes and teams.
A shared standard across the sport
GPS-based performance and video analysis has become a common way for coaches and athletes to talk about performance. It supports clearer explanations of where speed was gained or lost within a run and helps keep training discussions focused on specific parts of the course.
For teams competing at the Winter Olympic Games, this is now part of the expected toolkit for daily training and race analysis.
