Amy Van Dyken is a six-time Olympic swimming gold medalist, CrossFitter, and activist for the disabled community, having suffered a spinal cord injury 14 years after ending competitive swimming. On Monday, she shared some thought on how the Apple Watch has facilitated her competitive nature, and highlighted the accessible workout features.
Apple Watch Accessibility Features Support Olympian’s Competitive Nature
Ms. Dyken (pictured wearing the new International Sports Loop Apple Watch Band,) commented
I share activity with my sister and my niece. I love how it helps me stay connected to my family — we enjoy encouraging one another. I always thought I was an active individual. But being paralyzed, I don’t realize how much I’m not in my chair and moving around. So I stay active with the Wheelchair Walk Pace and Wheelchair Run Pace workouts, which are just so unique for people in my community.
She added:
It’s nice to see how far I push and how many pushes I do in a day. Nondisabled people get to know how many steps they take, so it’s nice for us to know that as well.
More on The Way
Further accessibility features are set to be added in watchOS 8. They include AssistiveTouch, which uses an Apple Watch’s motion sensors and on-device machine learning to detect subtle differences in muscle movement and tendon activity. The will allowi users with limb difference to navigate a cursor on the display through gestures such as pinch or a clench.