Sports Science returns to BBC Olympic spotlight

23 January 2012

The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences featured in last night's BBC One North West Olympic Dreams programme.

Presenter Jacey Normand turned guinea pig to test the facilities at the Tom Reilly Building with LJMU's Dr John Dickinson, and Great Britain men's wheelchair basketball Champion Dan Highcock talked about his training with LJMU's Conditioning Coach Peter Angell.

The School has been working closely with the BBC on a variety of programmes bringing sports science to the public ahead of the Olympics. This has included putting BBC North West Tonight presenter Stuart Pollitt and BBC Radio Merseyside presenters through a series of exercises that demonstrated the link between the practices of elite athletes and the general public.

Lindsey Prosser, Producer BBC TV, commented:

"In the run up to the Olympics all of the athletes we’ve spoken to have stressed how important sports science is to their performance. So we wanted to look at how Sports Scientists support our elite athletes and what difference their work makes to an athlete’s performance. Filming at LJMU was fascinating and I know our viewers will be impressed by the work that goes on there."

The University's Research Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences (RISES) is sharing this knowledge with schools and museums across the North West following a People Award from the Wellcome Trust and a Royal Society Partnership Grant. The key aim, highlighted by Dr John Dickinson, who is leading this Face to Face with Sports Science project, is to encourage public interest in health, nutrition and exercise.

Watch the BBC coverage again at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01bczdm/North_West_Olympic_Dreams/ (approx 17 minutes in and available for seven days only)