Technogym's next-level gym equipment helped power athletes to gold at Tokyo 2020

As multiple medal winners will testify, Technogym's SKILL range lives up to its name

Technogym x Tokyo 2020 Olympics
(Image credit: Technogym)
Duncan Bell
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The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is coming to a close, and it's been a greater success than most people could have anticipated. Despite the lack of crowds and a pervading feeling of unreality, numerous world records have tumbled and there have been some amazing individual and team performances. One thing that may have helped is that athletes have been kept in peak performance by Technogym's 'SKILL' range of workout machines.

Yes, the gym at the Olympic Village itself was absolutely stuffed to the gills with Technogym of Italy's products and services. SKILL LINE – which Technogym insists on shouting at you in all caps – is specifically designed for athletic preparation but it can also help you get fit and stay fit. 

Technogym x Tokyo 2020 Olympics

(Image credit: Technogym)

As well as the main gym, Technogym also kitted out a further 15 training centres with a total of 1,500 pieces of equipment for specific disciplines, helping athletes to train before and during the Olympic Games. Apparently there are, in total, 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from over 200 different countries competing this year, so that's one piece of high-end gym equipment each. Although you just know they were all queuing for the treadmills and strength-training equipment, and not using the rowing machines, if Olympians are anything like the users of my gym. 

Technogym also turned out an 'Olympic team' of its own, with a plethora of experts on hand to assist athletes, 'on other related services – gym layout, installation and technicalities.'

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Technogym x Tokyo 2020 Olympics
(Image credit: Technogym)

Technogym's Olympian SKILL range

The SKILL line includes some of the best treadmills, exercise bikes and more, and was represented in Tokyo by – brace yourself for more all-caps shouting here SKILLRUN (treadmill), SKILLBIKE (bike, obvs) and SKILLROW (rowing machine), as well as the innovative SKILLMILL, which is a hybrid machine that can be used for speed, power, stamina and agility training. 

Then there's SKILLTOOLS, which is essentially a rack of medicine balls, balance equipment, foam rollers and the like which Technogym describes as being 'designed to the smallest detail to empower your performance and enhance neuromuscular control.' 

Okay so Technogym likes its hyperbole but the Skill – sorry, SKILL! – range really is among the best gym equipment I've tried. You can buy it for your home, but you will need not just thousands of pounds or dollars, but tens of thousands if you want the full range. The good news is, the machines aren't only found where Olympians train; Technogym Skill machines are also in plenty of upscale gyms that are open to mere mortals.

Technogym x Tokyo 2020 Olympics

(Image credit: Technogym)

Back in Tokyo, further key machines came from Technogym's Kinesis strength-training line; Pure 'for training with high loads in complete safety'; and Excite cardio machines, with the Technogym Live app offering on-demand content.

As well as Olympians, Technogym’s partners include legends such as Rafael Nadal, massive football clubs such as Juventus, Milan and Inter, as well as the Ferrari and McLaren Formula 1 teams. It also provides equipment to the PGA Golf Tour. 

Nerio Alessandri, Technogym’s Founder and CEO, declares “We are very proud of having been selected for the 8th time as the Official Supplier of the Olympic Games thanks to the level of quality, innovation and safety of our products. At Technogym, we work every day to create the most innovative products to support the athletes in reaching their goals. The Olympics represents for us a great opportunity both in terms of innovation, thanks to the feedback of the best athletes in the world that will train on our products, and in terms of marketing and communication, thanks to the global visibility of the event”

Duncan Bell
Duncan Bell

Duncan is the former lifestyle editor of T3 and has been writing about tech for almost 15 years. He has covered everything from smartphones to headphones, TV to AC and air fryers to the movies of James Bond and obscure anime. His current brief is everything to do with the home and kitchen, which is good because he is an excellent cook, if he says so himself. He also covers cycling and ebikes – like over-using italics, this is another passion of his. In his long and varied lifestyle-tech career he is one of the few people to have been a fitness editor despite being unfit and a cars editor for not one but two websites, despite being unable to drive. He also has about 400 vacuum cleaners, and is possibly the UK's leading expert on cordless vacuum cleaners, despite being decidedly messy. A cricket fan for over 30 years, he also recently become T3's cricket editor, writing about how to stream obscure T20 tournaments, and turning out some typically no-nonsense opinions on the world's top teams and players.

Before T3, Duncan was a music and film reviewer, worked for a magazine about gambling that employed a surprisingly large number of convicted criminals, and then a magazine called Bizarre that was essentially like a cross between Reddit and DeviantArt, before the invention of the internet. There was also a lengthy period where he essentially wrote all of T3 magazine every month for about 3 years. 

A broadcaster, raconteur and public speaker, Duncan used to be on telly loads, but an unfortunate incident put a stop to that, so he now largely contents himself with telling people, "I used to be on the TV, you know."

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