Salford academic heads to Kenya to become British Athletics’ camp physiotherapist
Salford academic heads to Kenya to become British Athletics’ camp physiotherapist
Tuesday 20 January 2015
A University of Salford academic is heading to Kenya to work as the camp physiotherapist to the British Athletics team.
Later this week, Duncan Mason will swap lecturing at Salford’s School of Health Sciences for treating some of the UK’s top athletes at their training camp in Kenya.
He will be on hand as they prepare for the European Indoor Athletics Championships, World Cross Country Championships and London Marathon.
This will be the fourth time that Duncan has travelled to Kenya with the British Athletics team. He will be tasked with helping some of Britain’s elite athletes avoid injury and working with them to ensure they are at peak fitness.
In previous years Duncan has worked with world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe and current Olympic, World and European champion, Mo Farah.
Duncan has worked at the University of Salford for 12 years and is currently studying for a PhD in Running Biomechanics. As well as his work at the University he is the head coach of the Salford Harriers junior section, a local athletics club.
Speaking ahead of the trip Duncan said: “It is a great honour to be asked again to join the British Athletics squad in Kenya as they prepare for the oncoming season.
“The work I do here at the University helps me to constantly update and improve as a physiotherapist. Being able to work with cutting edge technology, such as the Running Performance Clinic that we have here at Salford, helps give me the skills I need to have to be at the top of my game when I travel with the team.
“But it’s a two way process; I always try to make sure that the expertise I develop from working with Britain’s top athletes is brought back in to the work I do here in Salford. I want the students that I’m teaching here at the University to go on to work at the top of their profession, and I hope the knowledge and experience I can pass on allows them to do just that.
“Having a home Olympics and Commonwealth Games here in the UK has piqued the interest of the public in athletics in a way I’ve never seen before. The numbers of juniors that I coach at Salford Harriers has skyrocketed in recent years – and they’ve all asked me to get them a Mo Farah autograph if he’s at the camp.
“I’m looking forward to heading out but it’s great to know that while I’m out there my students and juniors will be cheering the team on from Salford later in the year.”
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