Meet Salford's Olympic stars
Wednesday 3 August 2016
A UNIVERSITY of Salford quartet are on their marks for Rio as a summer of Olympic and Paralympic competition gets underway in Brazil.
Experts in sport, health and business flew out to Rio this week as the University makes its own mark on the greatest show on earth – impacting issues from ethics and doping to sponsorship and prosthetics.
Later in August, the delegates will be joined by the University’s medal-hope athlete, student Hannah Russell, who competes in the swimming at the Paralympics.
Who are Salford’s Olympic stars?
Hannah Russell is a 19-year-old partially-sighted Sport Science student who has twice broken the world record in her class for the 100m backstroke.
From Kent, Hannah trains at the High Performance Centre in Stockport and juggles her studies and training with aplomb, passing her first-year exams while becoming National Champion with a Paralympics qualifying time in April.
At London 2012, aged just 16, she won a silver and two bronzes making her a realistic prospect for a Rio ‘Gold’.
“Going to Rio is a dream,” she says. “I'd love to win gold, to come away as a Paralympic champion. I've become a World and European champion. It would be the cream on the top.” To read more about Hannah's extraordinary life, read her blog:
Andy Miah is a bioethicist and Professor of Science Communication and Future Media. Professor Miah is at the heart of global thinking about the limits of sport performance and the ethics of technological enhancements, including issues ranging from doping and diet to prosthetics and wearable technology.
Attending his eighth Olympic Games, Andy works with the International Olympic Committee on future media issues, giving advice to athletes on social media usage. His book new book Sport 2.0, out later this year with MIT Press, focuses on everything digital in sport from social media to virtual reality.
“London 2012 was the first social media Olympics and this is changing how people discover the Olympics and what sense is made of it. One of the big questions at this Games is which will be the big social media platform. Will it be Snapchat? Listen again to Prof Miah in conversation on the BBC World Service’s A Flickering Flame: is the Olympic Ideal dead?
Lee Herrington has been selected to work at the Olympics as one of the official GB physios.
A senior lecturer in Sports Rehabilitation, Lee will be responsible for the health and wellbeing of Britain’s athletes in Rio, arriving at the Olympic Village well in advance of the competitors to help prepare Team GB’s health set-up.
Dr Herrington had a similar role with Team GB at the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games and at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. See an interview with Lee as he prepares for Rio.
Lee said: “It is a great privilege and honour to be able to play my part in the success of Team GB in Rio, and when I get to see our athletes on the podium collecting their medals, I will be immensely proud.”
Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business is a guest of the British Council in Rio and will also speak at COPPEAD Business School. An expert in the marketing of sport and the finances behind sports events, Professor Chadwick was recently outspoken about how sponsors were ambushed by unofficial brands at Euro 2016.
Simon said: "I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to attend the Olympic Games in Rio. This is an especially significant Games because it comes at a time when sport is facing numerous problems, most notable drugs scandals. But Brazil faces challenges too, including the Zika virus, security threats, economic problems, and political turmoil. I am particularly keen to explore and understand how these issues will affect the business and management of the Olympic Games."
Good luck
Vice-Chancellor Professor Helen Marshall said: “The University of Salford is a leading centre for sport, health and business and the participation of Andy, Lee and Simon at the Olympics underlines our place as a global player in these fields.
“Good luck to all of them in their endeavours in Rio and my best wishes to Hannah in her quest for a Gold medal in the pool. “
The Olympics Games runs from 5 – 21 August and the Paralympic Games takes place from 7 – 18 September.
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