Supporting a uK SucceSS Story: The impacT of - Research Councils ...

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Technology: Engineering success Today athletes employ numerous technologies to help them train and achieve the best results. As the quest to go faster, further and longer continues researchers are developing new and more complex technologies as well as applying traditional engineering techniques to sport. Some use of technologies can be controversial, but more often than not they are helping athletes break new records of physical endurance, skill and speed. For example, advances in prosthetic technology have caused some controversy with questions being asked about whether or not it can give an unfair advantage. Researchers at Bournemouth University are investigating the use and perceptions of prosthetics used in competitive sprinting at events such as the Paralympics. The project aims to develop a better understanding of how this type of technology performs and how its impact can be measured. If achieved successfully, this research could help develop a better idea of what is a ‘fair’ use of prosthetic technology within disability sprinting. Engineering equipment The University of Southampton’s Performance Sports Engineering Laboratory (PSEL) is a team of academics and research engineers engaged in developing sports equipment and technology and helping top sportsmen and women achieve sporting excellence. PSEL engineers have had a close working relationship with UK Sport since early 2005 and collectively worked to support the performance of the athletes who won 16 of the 20 gold medals won by Great Britain in the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics. The partnership with UK Sport has focused on sports involving high speed where there are potential gains in the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic characteristics of the athletes and their equipment. Initially, much of this work concentrated on cycling, where results have been dramatic. From coming third in the medals table at the Athens Olympic cycling events in 2004, Great Britain progressed over the next five years to come top of the medals tally for three out of six Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Track Cycling World Championships, and in 2008 to lead the Beijing Olympic cycling medals table by an impressive margin, notably with Sir Chris Hoy’s three gold medals. Other Olympic sports to have benefited from PSEL expertise include kayaking, rowing and sailing. Winter sports have also been successfully supported by the PSEL, in particular snowboarding and skeleton bob. The development of the skeleton bob used so successfully by Amy Williams to win gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, is an example of a project run principally by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded Doctoral students at the University. 8 SECTION ONE : TECHNOLOGY
Electronic POWERbreathe® K-Series Mechanical POWERbreathe Engineering new products to aid training is something that has occupied Professor Alison McConnell at Brunel University for nearly 20 years. In 1994 she launched the first breathing training product for sports people. The POWERbreathe® is a simple mechanical device that can be likened to a “dumbbell for your diaphragm”. As little as 10 years ago, breathing training was not considered to be an essential part of athlete preparation. However, recent advances in our understanding of respiratory limitation to exercise performance have completely changed this view. The research conducted by Professor McConnell and her team at Brunel began by describing the physiological and performance effects of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) to athletes and patients. The team then went on to understand the underlying mechanisms for these effects and then using these insights the team developed new training products and protocols. POWERbreathe® has become an important part of the preparation of elite competitors and has been used by Olympic and World Champions, including England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winners (as well as their Australian rivals in the final). Outside of sport POWERbreathe® is also becoming more widely known and used within the NHS and overseas health providers to treat patients with breathlessness. Underpinned by Professor McConnell’s research, POWERbreathe® has created a new market in the sports sector for breathing training. Bryce Dyer Senior Lecturer in Product Design at Bournemouth University has helped create the prosthetic limb Irish Paralympic Cyclist Colin Lynch will use at the London 2012 Games. The device aims to give Lynch a competitive edge, but like any sport, there are rules and regulations that the design has to adhere to so was created with those in mind. Lynch won gold when he trialled the bespoke prosthetic leg at the 2012 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Los Angeles in February, the first competitive test for the para-cyclist this year. Bryce said: “The limb is shaped differently. It uses a different method of manufacture, and it’s very, very aerodynamic compared to conventional prosthesis. It’s designed to give him maximum speed and power transfer and is intended to give him something that would ultimately help and not hinder him in races.” “POWERbreathe® has become an important part of the preparation of elite competitors and has been used by Olympic and World Champions, including England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winners.” SECTION ONE : TECHNOLOGY 9
Page 1 and 2: Supporting a UK success story: The
Page 3 and 4: British Universities & Colleges Spo
Page 5 and 6: Research is increasingly being used
Page 7: CONTENTS Section 1 technology Secti
Page 11 and 12: Strengthening foundations through 3
Page 13 and 14: Since then, the Imperial team have
Page 15 and 16: Men’s 4x100 m relay team review t
Page 17 and 18: Technology: FOOTBALL FOCUSED Footba
Page 19 and 20: “This interactive approach will a
Page 21 and 22: SECTION ONE : TECHNOLOGY 21
Page 23 and 24: A number of new technologies will b
Page 25 and 26: the concentration of lactate in the
Page 27 and 28: Dr James Betts sampling blood for a
Page 29 and 30: A healthy legacy Recognising the im
Page 31 and 32: mind anticipates the end of a bout
Page 33 and 34: Health and Wellbeing Monitoring air
Page 35 and 36: Sharon Gayter SECTION two : Health
Page 37 and 38: difference. It is the same disabili
Page 39 and 40: Tom Waller, a former Engineering an
Page 41 and 42: Role of drawing in the Olympic Game
Page 43 and 44: Design for disabled athletes Studen
Page 45 and 46: SECTION THREE : DESIGN 45
Page 47 and 48: The first project, ‘Sport for Lif
Page 49 and 50: of the game away from the more expe
Page 51 and 52: Tennis Tennis is another sport whic
Page 53 and 54: London 1948 established Olympism’
Page 55 and 56: Modern Pentathlon celebrates its ce
Page 57 and 58: etween the two countries in the run
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PhD student Helen Hoyle Trial plot
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World Student Games in Sheffield SE
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Lifelong health Physical inactivity
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