# Transcript: Designing the Future of Human Performance **Date:** March 13, 2026 · 10:30 PM **Session:** [Designing the Future of Human Performance](/sessions/2026-03-13/pp1149270-designing-the-future-of-human-performance) ## Summary This session explores Olympic athlete Hunter Woodhall's ambitious goal to break the 400-meter world record as a double amputee, aiming for a 42-second run. With the strategic partnership of Deloitte, the project leverages advanced technology like digital twins and data analytics to optimize human performance and challenge perceptions of disability. The core message emphasizes that meticulous preparation, innovative technology, and a supportive team are crucial for achieving extraordinary feats and redefining human potential. ## Topics `human performance` · `sports technology` · `para-athletics` · `data analytics` · `disability perception` · `elite training` · `olympic sports` · `digital twin` · `innovation` · `teamwork` ## Key Takeaways 1. Meticulous Preparation Fuels Confidence: True confidence in high-stakes situations stems from thorough and consistent preparation, rather than relying solely on mindset during the event. 2. Redefine Perceived Limitations: What some view as a disadvantage, like a disability, can be reframed as a unique opportunity to innovate and push boundaries, inspiring a shift in societal perception. 3. Leverage Advanced Technology for Optimization: Employing cutting-edge tools such as digital twins and detailed data analytics can provide unprecedented insights to optimize performance and achieve seemingly impossible goals. 4. Build a Diverse and Supportive Team: Even in individual pursuits, assembling a multidisciplinary team—from coaches and doctors to data scientists and corporate partners—is essential for comprehensive support and success. 5. Embrace the Journey and Learn from Every Outcome: The pursuit of an ambitious goal, regardless of the final result, yields invaluable data, knowledge, and personal growth, making the process itself a success. ## Full Transcript I would argue that we're currently on the journey. One of my life goals, especially in the latter parts of my career, has been to address the common perception that as a double amputee, I have an advantage. This always made me think: if there's an advantage, how can I find it, identify it, and prove it? If I do have an advantage, I should be the fastest human in the world. I remember watching Wayde van Niekerk break the able-bodied 400-meter world record in 2016, running 43.03 seconds. That number, 42, seemed impossible, something I thought I'd never see in my lifetime. Watching that race, my first thought was, 'It's possible someone will run 42 in my lifetime,' and my next question was, 'Why can't it be me?' My goal became to use technology, information, and training to make that possible and become the first human to run 42 seconds. My current personal record is around 45.7 seconds, which was a world record for Paris. To reach 42 seconds, we're talking about shaving off two and a half seconds, which is a massive amount of time. In terms of distance, two and a half seconds probably covers almost 30 meters, like a 40-yard dash that needs to be closed. While elite sprinters chase hundredths of seconds, this challenge shows we have many levers to pull to get closer to this number. The number 42 is absurd to even think about how fast it is, but I truly believe it's possible. Every ounce of our being and everything we're doing this year is focused on just this one thing. When Hunter talked about this goal, I was like, 'Absolutely, let's do it.' Once Deloitte got involved, it transformed from a dream into a reality for him. Seeing someone take a chance on Hunter is the most inspiring thing ever; I can't put into words how thankful I am for Deloitte and the team to even try to achieve this crazy feat. If there's one person who's going to do it, it's Hunter, for sure. For me, it was when I met Hunter for the first time and he said, 'I'm the only guy in the world that can do this,' with that level of confidence. That's the sort of person you want to go on this journey with. It was personally easy to get on board because Hunter and Tara are fantastic, amazing, and inspiring individuals. The challenge was translating this historic and ambitious declaration into something real and tangible for Deloitte's brand and enterprise. We looked into the depths of who we are as a firm, and a lot of what we talk about behind the scenes is advancing human potential. We do this every day with leaders and project teams, but people don't always see it. This project with Hunter clicked because it allows us to use his journey as a personification of advancing human potential. It takes the ambition of an individual and manifests it in an incredibly inspiring and risky way, dedicating an entire training year to this goal. We get to be a character in his story, pulling together technology, teaming, human performance insights, and data. This brings an unusual cast of partners and collaborators into a sport that is largely solo, creating an outcome we all contribute to. I feel like I'm conducting the pieces of the puzzle on our side, while Hunter and Tara are finding pieces on the training side, from recovery techniques to modern monitoring. There's a significant knock-on effect from this collaboration. We've been shooting a rough cut of a film over the last six months, showing where we are in the process, which is exciting. After the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, neither of us had performed the way we wanted to, leaving us disappointed and questioning our place in the sport. Tara and I sat down and leveled with each other, vowing never to put ourselves in that situation again. We started identifying what we could do to ensure we wouldn't walk out unhappy with the result. This began with small things like proper hydration, nutrition, recovery, and building a strong team, including our doctor and a nutritionist. What we learned through this process is that confidence on the day when it counts comes from preparation, not from mindset or anything done on the day itself. It didn't happen overnight, but we got better in 2022 and even better in 2023. Going into the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, our mindset was, 'I might not win, but I'm going to be really hard to beat.' I couldn't control others, but I knew everything I had done leading up to that point. I remember getting to the Olympic Games, and Tara was competing with such poise and confidence despite my initial nervousness. At one point, while I was watching long jump, Tara walked over, and I was expecting a game plan, but she just playfully put a tiny cowboy hat on my head. This moment encapsulated the idea that when you do the right things, when you're dedicated and practice what you preach, you're prepared, and there's nothing to worry about. Seeing Tara dominate the whole competition, which she would confirm was her easiest, was a powerful validation of our efforts. That moment, when she finally won on the sixth jump and ran up to me, felt like every single thing we had done, not just in the last year but since we started the sport, had led to it. It was absolutely surreal. What many people don't know is that there was a 30-day gap between her win and mine, and the pressure on me was immense. However, watching Tara compete built my confidence, knowing I had done exactly the same preparation as her. When it was my time to compete, I felt nervous, but my coach simply said, 'Hunter, you don't have to be perfect, you just have to execute.' This allowed me to drop the expectation of perfection and just do what I had been trained to do. Winning felt incredibly good, a weight off my shoulders, but even better were the moments celebrating with the larger team. It's tough to find people willing to bet on you, and it's truly rewarding to give them a return on their investment. The Olympic experience was so much fun, especially compared to my first Olympics in Tokyo during COVID, where I had no one by my side. Paris was a real Olympic experience, and we went in with the brightest smiles, determined no one could take it away from us. Every day was an adventure, and we even made light of the nerves. The night before, Hunter compared me to the 'Karate Kid,' which is my favorite movie, and we watched it together, bringing a sense of clarity and peace. Hunter was there by my side, ensuring everything was good, getting me breakfast and coffee; it was the best experience ever. I definitely could not have done the Olympics or stayed in the sport without him. Even though track is an individual sport, you have to build your team, those people around you who lift you up when nerves are high. The experience of seeing Hunter in the stands and knowing exactly where he was after every jump was invaluable. In some context, I had broken my heel just before the Olympics and hadn't jumped for six weeks. Hunter encouraged me, saying, 'You only need one leg,' referencing the Karate Kid. This goes to the general idea that even when you feel disadvantaged or your back is against the wall, there's still possibility; anything can happen. It's awesome to see that resilience. Meeting Deloitte's engineers, Shruti and Laura, was truly surreal. I initially worried this project might be a gimmicky media thing, but their actual technology and plans were profound. They talked about building an exact digital twin of me, analyzing blade composites, carbon fiber, fatigue, race strategies, weather, and different lanes. It was clear then that we were really doing this, and this technology could benefit so many others beyond me. In the trailer, you can see the screen with lines, which was the simulation. The first thing they showed me, once they built the v1, was a race simulation with the correct blade alignment, weather, and lane, which ran at 42.93 seconds. In that moment, I realized, 'There's a chance.' It was surreal because this thing I believed in my heart was possible, someone else was confirming it scientifically. Throughout our careers, it's been hard to get people to care about what we're doing or bet on us, especially as disabled athletes or female long jumpers. We were often told our sport wasn't 'sexy,' and we grew up thinking no one would invest in it. My first track spikes were running shoes with roofing nails my dad put in, because there wasn't access for disabled athletes. Seeing the innovation and investment now, especially from Deloitte, is incredibly inspiring, as it helps us leave the sport better than we found it. Deloitte isn't just saying they support people with disabilities; they're putting their money and their smartest minds into it. You see people's true intentions based on their actions, and I've never felt so supported or had all the tools to make something like this happen. They are some of the smartest people I've ever met, and they continue to humble me. It truly feels like it's possible, there's a chance, and we can really do this. When I first saw the simulation, I could not believe what I was looking at, and it makes me emotional knowing someone is taking a chance on Hunter and believing in him as much as I do. Seeing that 42.9-second result left us dumbfounded, because it's hard to visualize such a fast time realistically. It confirmed that our dream isn't too big, proving that dreams are never too ambitious. This has definitely changed the dynamic in our household regarding what we believe is possible. It's so vital that track and field embraces this kind of data, as it's the base of every other performance sport. The simulation is crazy; it doesn't just spit out a number but maps every single step by strike frequency, ground contact time, and stride length. We've created a digital twin that maps every step of the race, and Deloitte helped us invest in technology to measure this data through laser gates. This allows us to compare simulation data with real-life measurements, confirming the data's accuracy and showing how we can move humanity forward. The business case for Deloitte goes hand in hand with our mission of solving problems that have never been solved before. We apply insights from working with McLaren's F1 team and other digital scenarios to the human body, starting with data insights to understand what we know and what we need to learn. We excel at bringing diverse people together, convening prosthetics brands, higher education institutions, and innovation companies. This collaborative approach provides expertise and perspectives to support Hunter's goal, beyond just applying a logo. The business case is both objective and subjective, focusing on what we materially do with our capabilities and how it feels to be part of something so inspiring. We aim to prove the science of human potential while connecting with the human spirit. This project allows us to show the world our unique contributions and to check our egos, becoming part of someone else's journey that none of us could achieve alone. It's about the millions of parameters that go into shaving off seconds on the track, and the profound value of that pursuit. This story is worth telling, which is why we are making a film series and developing a digital twin model that applies specificity and granularity to the human body and human-plus-machine interaction. We also envision public events where Hunter will perform, inspiring kids from similar backgrounds to see what's possible. Our ambition is to unlock this technology for all para-athletes, and eventually all athletes, democratizing access to data and tools. When we scale this and allow others to benefit, not just from inspiration but from material experience, that's where it gets really interesting. --- *Source: stt · Language: en · Model: google-vertex/gemini-2.5-flash* [← Back to session](/sessions/2026-03-13/pp1149270-designing-the-future-of-human-performance)