Supporting Champions

Sustaining high performance: Steve Ingham is joined once again by Jamie Pringle from the Performance Science Distillery and Rosie Mayes from the EB Centre. So sustaining performance – this is an interesting one. The discussion this week covers a series of tensions we come across in order to sustain performance, both as athletes and as support staff. Yes, we all want to achieve something and do wel...

Steve discusses the essential concept of stress - adaptation with Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes. We explore what a stimulus is and does and the factors that determine the effectiveness of a stimulus. We discuss the experiences and environments that mitigate any adaptive responses, exploring the concepts of individualisation and group responses from a physical and cognitive performance perspective and...

This week’s interview is with Tess Morris-Paterson. Tess was a sports scientist with Lucozade Sport, then at the Glaxo Smith Kline Human performance laboratory. Then about 18 months ago, she began to think about a new goal, one of becoming an astronaut.  In the interview Tess talks about the deep reflection and questions about self and identity that led to the decision to understand more about wha...

Harvey Galvin epitomises all that Supporting Champions represents, but he has no gold medal to show for his efforts, no affiliation with a top performer, in fact his story is one about not making it in his chosen field of sport. He tried and he tried again, he grafted, he applied entrepreneurial spirit, he made opportunities but it didn’t work out. During that time Harvey explored his purpose, wha...

Steve discusses lessons from the frontline of working with elite performers with Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes. We discuss the essentials of that initial engagement with elite athletes, what to do and what not to do. Getting clarity around your role and what you're working to so that you can prioritise. What clues you might be drawing from the environment, the culture that can help you connect with o...

Chrissie Wellington OBE four time World Ironman Triathlon Champion and holder of the three world ironman records shares her experiences of performing at the top end of world triathlon. In this interview Chrissie shares her journey into becoming professional, what it was like on the start line, during the races and crossing the finish line. Importantly Chrissie talks about what becoming World Champ...

In 2016 Tom Boother ran (yes ran) from Land's End to John O'Groats (for the non-Brits, that's bottom left to top right of Great Britain). What is remarkable about Tom is that he classes himself as a non-athlete, and in fairness to his running speeds he isn't going to threaten Mo Farah anytime soon. BUT for me that is the remarkable thing about Tom, that he has found a way, through his own tenacity...

Dr Barry Fudge is Head of Endurance at British athletics and lead scientist for many outstanding endurance athletes like Sir Mo Farah. Barry has a PhD in exercise physiology which uniquely he undertook the majority of which in East Africa working with the richly talented Kenyan and Ethiopian teams, which at the time included Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele. Barry was actually my postdoctora...

Adam Conlon was a captain in the British Army, undertaking his officer training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He the entered the Royal Artillery, and is a veteran of two tours of Afghanistan. Adam talks about the development path from basic training to the heat of battle, where his job was in leading teams, calling the shots and co-ordinating the use of weapons on the battlefield. Ad...

In this special podcast episode I talk to Kelly Sotherton just after receiving a retrospectively awarded Olympic medal for the 4x400m, ten years after the Beijing games.   Show notes Introduction to Kelly Sotherton and the award of 4x400m medal from the Beijing Olympics alongside Marilyn Okoro, Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders Background of how we developed 400m running performance from hepta...

Lucy Balfour is a leading dancer at the world renowned contemporary dance company Ballet Rambert. Lucy trained at the International Ballet Academy in Christchurch, then spent ten years with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, before joining Rambert. In this episode, Lucy talks about the competitiveness of becoming a ballerina, the singular focus on realising her dream, with no back up plan. She talks ab...

In this episode I interview Professor Liz Stokoe, while we were both speaking at Cheltenham Science Festival. Liz is a Professor of Social Interaction at Loughborough University, specialising in conversational analysis. Liz shares her insights into the dynamics of conversation, some of the aggressive moves people make and how to manage these situations and what we can learn from delicate exchanges...

In this episode I talk to Jo Meek, aka the "Running Squirrel". Jo is one of the world's leading ultra-endurance runners. In 2013 Jo was 2nd woman across the line in the Marathon de Sables. In 2014 Jo was first in the Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica (a 225km run which she completed in 29h 17mins, 19s; 5th in Comrades marathon; 4th in the World 100km Champs. Jo has a 10km time of 34:36; a marathon t...

In this episode I talk to long standing colleague, coach and friend Toni Minichiello, coach to one of the World's greatest athletes Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill. I've worked with Toni since 2001 and while we've talked about everything and anything over the years, it was fascinating to capture his thoughts about the key area of communication, his thoughts, ideas, techniques and how they have evolved ove...

009 Yann Le Meur This week's episode features an interview with Dr Yann Le Meur, physiologist and creator of the infographic phenomenon. Yann Le Meur - training strategies - tennis/triathlon, improving fitness, sport science & Rodger Federer Studying Sport Science, PE teacher, exercise physiology/ Heat altitude training, recovery nutrition provided a breadth and grounding in sport. Synchronised sw...

Episode 008 In this episode I am joined once again by Rosie Mayes, and Jamie Pringle to talk culture in high performance sport and in the wider world of business and education. Show notes Why are we talking about culture? Could you put culture on a dashboard of metrics? How quickly can you pick up on a culture? Whose responsibility is culture? Process review Culture as a determinant of performance...

Jenny Rogers: Coaching Episode 007 Show notes   Where it all started? Jenny’s teaching career and her ‘development itch!' Where did it all start? The BBC & finding Delia Smith! Where did the development of others start? Becoming commissioning editor for The Open College, Jenny’s introduction to consulting and organisational behaviour The beginnings of one to one work and executive coaching 20:00 B...

Supporting Champions Podcast 006 David Fletcher In this episode I talk to David Fletcher about his career as a swimmer, researcher and expert in the area of adversity. Show notes; Early aspirations as a swimmer, but experiencing near misses as an athlete and academically Transfer of desire from swim background to early success in studies Father as a science role-model, searching and sharing academ...

005: Emilie Thienot on mindfulness Go out there, meet people, do something! Overtime if I want something I don’t give up because I know it will happen. If I work hard and smartly I will see results. Back to the UK, the UK system and the British Sailing team. The psychology of sailing, how do you support them? Freeing the mind to make good decisions. Unlocking potential - removing psychological bar...

004 Vern Gambetta on a career in coaching   Guru or legend?! How Vern got into sport Role models Be a generalist not a specialist It’s still the human body, what are the differences and similarities between the different sports? Maintaining an open-mindedness. Don’t make assumptions! Generations of young people with negligible physical literacy Training sessions - how do we get more out of what we...

Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes, discuss the rise of UK High Performance System that has gone from 36th on the medal table in 1996 Olympics to 2nd at the Rio Olympics in 2016, becoming a global sporting superpower. This episode discusses what are the common trends in successful high performing systems and looks forward as to how performance can be sustained. What are the determining facto...

Episode #2 Panel Discussion (Part 2 of 3)   Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes, discuss the rise of Uk High Performance System that has gone from 36th on the medal table in 1996 Olympics to 2nd at the Rio Olympics in 2016, becoming a global sporting superpower.   This episode charts the necessary focus that came with the award of the home games, what challenges it brought and how the roles c...

Episode 001 Panel Discussion (Part 1 of 3) Steve Ingham, Jamie Pringle, Rosie Mayes, discuss the rise of Uk High Performance System that has gone from 36th on the medal table in 1996 Olympics to 2nd at the Rio Olympics in 2016, becoming a global sporting superpower. This episode charts the early origins of the UK beginning to find pockets of excellence, how the system emerged from losing and grew...