Formula 1 pilot Charles Leclerc has appeared in an investigation that suggests that China could possibly have tackled brain wave data from top athletes.
According to a report by “Hunterbrook Media” and journalist Pablo Torre, this is about a training headset called Focuscalm, which is widespread in the sports world.
The investigation claims that an employee of the Chinese government has received access to software data from these devices. This also includes neural information of prominent athletes, including Leclerc.
“This headset called Focuscalm is not a random product,” said Torre in his podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out”. “It is very popular in sports because athletes enable their brain waves to better control their performance. You can see when you are calm, when you are stressed and when you get into the so-called flow state.”
Also allegedly affected tennis stars and Olympic champion
In addition to Leclerc, other sports greats are mentioned, including Italy’s tennis player Jannik Sinner, the former world ranking Iga Swiatek, ski Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin and several football professionals from the English Premier League.
According to the report, the parent company of Focuscalm, the company Brainco, has been supported by organizations for over a decade that have had connections to the China Communist Party. In the meantime, Brainco has largely withdrawn from the United States and is focusing on China. There the company is now facing an assessment of around $ 1.3 billion.
According to the investigation, the data collected could be used in military research programs, possibly even as part of projects for developing so -called super soldiers.
Sports doctors rely on the brain wave analysis
Sports doctor Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli, founder of Formula Medicine and for many years in the area of top athletes such as Leclerc, confirmed in the conversation that the technology would also be used in other areas. “Yes, absolutely. We are still in contact because you have also developed a portable device that we can use for various experiments in aviation and military areas. Brainco has supported us strongly in this project for many years.”
Nita Farahany, an expert in legal ethics and future technologies at Duke University, also sees military interests as a likely motive. “China invests massively in interfaces between the brain and the computer. It is obvious that this research serves not only sporty but also military purposes.”
Other athletes mentioned in the reports include the touring car pilot Nestor Girolami, NFL player Logan Ryan, as well as not named footballers of Manchester City, members of the Italian Olympic teams and athletes from the US Olympic teams in weightlifting and bobsleigh.