Kingston University turns up heat on British olympiansJune 13, 2003World-class athletes will be coming to Kingston University to prepare for the heat and humidity of next year's Olympic Games in Athens after the British Olympic Association chosen the University as a centre for acclimatisation training. The decision means some of the country's top medal hopefuls will train in the University's environment chamber, one of only 12 in the United Kingdom, in the build-up to the 2004 Games. The environment chamber is based in a laboratory in the new £9.8 million Eadweard Muybridge Building at the University's Penrhyn Road campus and has been accredited by the British Association of Sports and Exercise Sciences. Kingston Senior Lecturer in Sports Science Dr Ken van Someren, who has forged links between the University and the British Olympic Medical Centre, said training in the chamber would help athletes cope with the high temperatures expected during the Games. "The chamber is used to test and condition athletes at a range of humidities. We will supervise the athletes, monitor how their bodies are responding to changes in conditions and advise them about combating the risks of dehydration and fatigue," Dr Van Someren said. Athletes such as long-distance runners and cyclists will train in temperatures of around 30 degrees centigrade and 70 per cent humidity, reflecting the conditions they are likely to encounter in Athens. Kingston is the only University selected as a centre for acclimatisation training within the M25 and some familiar faces from the British Olympic team are expected to take advantage of the facilities. "We're looking forward to welcoming some big names here," Dr Van Someren said. "Should an athlete we've been working with come away with a medal, our Sports Science experts will be able to take some of the credit for the success." The equipment has previously been used to prepare other world-class athletes for major sporting events. In 1996, Britain's hockey players trained at the University in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. Kingston University |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Science Research Departments
Earth Science Alternative Energy | Anthropology and Archaeology | Earthquakes and Volcanoes | Environment and Nature News | Global Warming | High-Energy and Particle Physics | Ozone Hole | Scientists Slow Light | Tsunami Space Science Astronomy and Space News | Black Holes | Chandra X-Ray Observatory | Extrasolar Planets | Hubble Telescope | International Space Station | Jupiter Galileo Mission | Jupiter Cassini Mission Flyby | Mars Exploration | Mars Odyssey 2001 | Mars Global Surveyor | Mars Polar Lander | Mars Climate Orbiter | Mars Pathfinder | Meteors and Asteroids | Mir Space Station | NEAR Asteroid Probe Mission | Pluto Planet Debate | Search for Extraterrestrial Life | Space Shuttle Program | Space Shuttle Mission: STS-102 | Space Weather Life Science Animal News | Biotechnology and Genetics | Brain Research | Human Cloning | Dinosaur and Fossil Discoveries | Endangered Species | Gene Therapy | Genetically Modified Food | Stem Cell Research | Whales and Whaling |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||