天美传媒

With the Olympics just a few days鈥� away and the Paralympics beginning in September, all eyes will be on the outstanding sporting achievements of some of the world鈥檚 top athletes.

From supporting athletes and teams to shaping the selection of Britain's Olympic teams, a number of BU staff members and graduates will be involved in the flagship athletic spectacle.

天美传媒 research has helped inform sporting decisions in the run up to the Olympics and Paralympics, while some staff and alumni will be in Rio in August and September to work alongside Britain鈥檚 athletes.

Using research to improve sporting performance

Research from Professor Tim Rees, carried out on behalf of UK Sport, explores how elite athletes develop and what factors lead to their success.聽 Although his research began in 2010, its results have only recently been made public, giving UK Sport the chance to implement its findings before other countries鈥� sporting bodies made use of them.

Professor Rees said, 鈥淥ur research turned some conventional coaching practices on their heads.聽 For example, we found that practicing your chosen sport doesn鈥檛 necessarily correlate with an improvement in performance.聽 It鈥檚 important for athletes to vary their training and for juniors not to specialise too early.聽 鈥楶lay鈥� and incidental learning can be just as important in an athletes鈥� development and can help to avoid burnout and over-use injuries.

鈥淭he findings of our review have very practical implications for our next generation of elite athletes.聽 It鈥檚 already being used by UK Sport and has influenced coaching and selection practices of the athletes representing us in Rio.鈥�

BU research has also been making a difference to athletes on an individual level.聽 Dr Bryce Dyer, Head of BU鈥檚 Design & Engineering Research Centre, is an expert in the design and analysis of elite sporting equipment.聽 His research into prosthesis has led him to design prosthetic limbs for Irish Paralympic cyclist, Colin Lynch.

Dr Bryce Dyer said, 鈥淭he research project stemmed from my curiosity about how important a prosthetic limb might or might not be when cycling competitively, I really enjoy doing research that has tangible real world applications 鈥� particularly in elite sport, which is a major passion of mine both inside and outside of the university.

鈥淚 worked with Pace Rehabilitation to really see if we could optimise the aerodynamics, weight, construction and general biomechanics of the Colin鈥檚 prosthesis.聽 This led to a prosthetic leg being designed specifically for him that met his needs and was tailored to the kind of events he participates in.鈥�

In addition to his practice-based research, Dr Dyer has also explored the controversies surrounding the use of technology in sport and whether these bring athletes an unfair advantage.聽 Whether it is the use of聽prosthetic limbs, a highly developed bicycle or the latest in cutting edge materials,聽he has shown that聽any聽debate can produce聽solutions聽that聽can be positive, damaging or incredibly exciting to competitive聽sport聽as we push the boundaries of human performance.

Changing perceptions of disability through media coverage of the Paralympics

Not only has BU research influenced athletes competing in the Olympics and Paralympics, it has also changed news coverage of the Paralympics.聽 Dr Carrie Hodges and her team influenced Channel 4鈥檚 鈥楳eet the Superhumans鈥� campaign and its coverage of the 2012 and now 2016 Paralympics.聽 The award-winning campaign helped to re-shape people鈥檚 perceptions of disability.

Dr Hodges said, 鈥淲e spent 18 months researching attitudes towards disabled people.聽 We looked at people鈥檚 everyday experiences in the context of the 2012 Paralympics.聽 We found that one of the greatest causes of stigma surrounding disability is fear.聽 That fear tends to stem from a lack of experience of disability and a lack of authentic stories about disabled people.

鈥淭he Paralympics are a great opportunity to change perceptions of disability and we鈥檙e delighted that our research helped to make a difference.鈥�

Working at the Olympics and Paralympics

Dr Osman Ahmed, a Lecturer in Physiotherapy, will be travelling to Rio in September to support Great Britain鈥檚 Cerebral Palsy Football Team.

鈥淚鈥檝e been working as a physiotherapist for the Football Association for over ten years.聽 I鈥檝e worked with a number of teams, including the England Amputee Football team, the England聽Blind Football Team, and now GB鈥檚 Cerebral Palsy Football Team,鈥� says Dr Ahmed.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be a part of such an important sporting event and to get to work alongside some of the country鈥檚 top athletes.聽 I work with the team to help prevent injuries and provide rehabilitation and support when they do occur in training or on the pitch.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e got a tough draw this year 鈥� our first match is against the hosts Brazil and our second is against Ukraine, who have one of the best teams in the world, but I think we鈥檝e got a really good chance of doing well and maybe even finishing on the podium.鈥�

BU鈥檚 alumni are also making a contribution to the Olympics and Paralympics.聽 Multimedia Journalism graduate, Liz Birchall is Head of Communications at UK Athletics, giving her a key role in sharing the success stories of Team GB鈥檚 athletes.聽

鈥淚 oversee all parts of communication of UK Athletics 鈥� the governing body of the sport in the UK.聽 This includes events such as Olympic trials, the Anniversary Games at the Olympic Park in London and, of course, European Championships and the Olympics itself,鈥� explains Liz.

鈥淚鈥檒l be travelling to Rio this summer with Team GB.聽 It鈥檒l be my third Olympics after London and Beijing and I鈥檒l be working closely with our athletes to highlight their achievements throughout the Games.聽 It鈥檚 fantastic to be so involved with such an important sporting event.鈥�

For more information about BU鈥檚 research, visit BU's research blog: