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This case study demonstrates how research at the University of Bath on athlete technique and performance in sprinting and hurdling events has been translated back to the end users in order to improve their performance. The primary pathway to impact is via Dr Salo's involvement in applied work with virtually all top British sprinters and hurdlers and their coaches over the last 5 years (including all those who have represented Britain in major Championships). As a consequence of his research since 1998, Dr Salo has helped specific athletes to win medals, brought new insights to coach education and practice, instigated changes to routine practices within UK Athletics and also translated his expertise to other Olympic sports.
This well established research conducted by members of Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport (Loughborough University) is seen as an integral part of the support provided for Paralympic wheelchair athletes and has impact in 3 key areas:
The impact of this research has been to improve the performance of elite athletes and safeguard the well-being of Paralympians. It has affected the management of athletes' dynamic physiological responses and advanced the regulatory frameworks of sporting bodies. This has changed the strategies of the USA Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the British Paralympic Association. The indirect impact of this primary research has been to change the routine training practices of recreational athletes and influence the advice on exercise given to military personnel and people with disabilities.
As a consequence of research carried out at the University of Stirling, as set out in this case study, the following developments to athlete career transition support have been achieved
The applied research generated has targeted practitioners and athletes at all levels, and by combining expertise and knowledge from different areas (primarily Biomechanics and Physiology), aimed to directly influence the way in which muscle function is assessed in competitive sports. The studies in the area of muscle conditioning and function has generated a body of work that has the potential to be useful to coaches both in competition as well as in training, but to date has not been fully realised. By examining how the muscle responds to certain stimuli, training suggestions have been provided that can acutely increase the performance of an athlete, for example conditioning stimuli prior to athletics performance (reference 4 in section 3). These suggestions can assist both in improving the competitive performance as well as in improving the quality of the content and experience of training sessions.
Further, evaluating a range of tests and assessment tools, such as by examining their validity and reliability, monitoring and assessment becomes much more accurate and sport-specific, enabling high-quality training (such as in reference 2, section 3). In addition, as these assessments allow testing to take place within the training and performance environment the performer is accustomed to (such as in reference 6, section 3), they also result in minimal disruption of the training programme, which cannot be achieved using traditional assessment techniques which require a visit to a laboratory for the assessment to take place.
The range of applicability of the research to support uptake of the recommendations and resultant training and performance benefits has been maximised by ensuring the suggestions and equipment used are low cost and easily accessible, enabling coaches and athletes from a wide range of performance levels to utilise them, such as functional tests (such as in reference 5, section 3). The work has highlighted that coaches and athletes need to reassess their approaches to measuring performance and specific measurement techniques used, and that doing so can improve training techniques and athletic performance.
The research outlined below concerning medico-physiological issues in distance runners has directly informed medical policy, investigations and therapy strategies applied to elite distance runners, and raised the profile of issues relating to the Female Athlete Triad for coaches such as those within British Athletics and England Athletics.
The research findings have been disseminated via several avenues, such as the education of Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) doctors (through content for lectures delivered on SEM programmes at bachelors and masters level), and via CPD workshops for coaches and SEM practitioners, thus with the capacity to directly affect medical practice.
John Gerrard's cinema scale simulation Exercise (Djibouti) 2012 emerged from research he carried out as the Legacy Fellow at the Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art. The output of the research has created impact by engaging new audiences with contemporary art and increasing its appreciation and understanding among the general public. Further, the project has stimulated debate about the relationships between politics, competitive sport and military warfare and helped to change existing perceptions of the role and function of contemporary art in society and culture. Exercise (Djibouti) 2012 has inspired a creative legacy for future generations, contributing to the success of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival, and it has delivered creative synergies and developed new working practices through innovative collaborative partnerships with non-academic organisations.
The research is this Unit has been conducted through the Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement Research Group (SHAPE). Dr Sunderland's unique research in this Unit has challenged and changed both academic thinking and real-world practices relating to heat acclimation and performing in hot environments.
This research has made, and is making, a significant impact across the world improving both physical and cognitive performance across a range of sports from elite to recreational level. Examples include: providing a fitness training manual now being used by all international hockey umpires; acclimation and cooling strategies for international hockey players; acclimation for international athletes, international netball players and recreational and charity runners.
Reach and Significance
The beneficiaries of this work include international bodies and their players (e.g., GB Hockey, England Hockey, Wales Hockey, Scottish Institute of Sport, The International Hockey Federation [FIH], International Netball Players and the Australian Cricket Team); as well as national and recreational athletes (Marathon des Sables athletes, Loughborough Students Hockey Club, recreational and sporting clubs, players and athletes).
There are twelve young (<35 years) sudden cardiac deaths each week in the UK. These deaths in the young, fit and otherwise healthy are devastating, result in significant life-years lost and can lead to substantial media attention. The focus of this case study is based on the fact that the majority of these deaths may be preventable as it is possible to detect young athletes at risk of sudden cardiac death through pre-participation cardiovascular screening (PPS). The Cardiovascular Health Sciences Group (CHS) within the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences (RISES) has a long history of novel empirical research in this field that has had significant and far-reaching impact by; a) determining UK-based pathology data in cases of sudden cardiac death that led to the establishment of a National Register for these cases, b) contributing to international consensus statements (e.g. European Society of Cardiology) related to PPS that have been adopted by major sporting teams and organisations (e.g. Liverpool FC), c) the production of evidence-based screening policy guidelines for PPS (e.g. Cardiac Risk in the Young [CRY], British Society of Echocardiography), and d) the establishment of PPS screening activity in Liverpool (e.g. CRY clinic; elite athletes) and internationally (e.g. ASPETAR, Qatar). Our work has made a significant contribution to improving the cardiovascular care of athletes in the UK and globally.
The impact of the research by Professor Gleeson on immune responses to exercise and predictors of infection risk in athletes has altered practice of sport science support personnel, coaches and athletes in several areas including: immunoendocrine monitoring procedures, training prescription and the use of nutritional interventions to reduce exercise stress responses and minimize risk of infection. In this way, the research conducted during 2008-2013 at Loughborough University has impacted internationally upon the ways in which sports scientists operate, and athletes and games players are prepared for competition.