London 2012: The science behind building an Olympian

The EIS’s lead physiologist for the Southern region, Sarah Hardman, describes this as the equivalent of a Formula 1 mechanic looking under the bonnet of the car and Sarah and her colleagues perform an array of tests to assess how an athlete’s ‘engine’ is running.

They test the blood’s lactate levels produced in training and check that sleep and recovery strategies are working effectively.

Physiologists also run sessions in the altitude chamber to assess how athletes respond to different environmental conditions.

Evidence that they can perform in a variety of different climatic conditions can significantly improve self-belief in those athletes due to compete at international events.

Mental preparation

Psychologists play a pivotal role in helping coaches to mentally prepare athletes through character assessments, pressure training and one-to-one work.

London 2012 has thrown up some unique issues for Team GB and these have been addressed by the First Games Home Games (FGHG) programme developed in collaboration with the British Olympic Association (BOA).

The programme includes a range of resources to help athletes manage the intense pressures of competing at home and, for over half of Team GB, their first Olympic Games.

One per cent gains

The FGHG programme is one example of the way sports scientists help athletes and coaches find those one per cent gains that can be the difference between gold and silver.

Our bio-mechanists use super slow motion cameras to help athletes identify the most efficient movements or identify faults that may have crept into their action. Likewise, our performance analysts have thousands of hours of film of their opponents to aid the development of strategies and gameplans.