The Life Scientific - Vicky Tolfrey

Discovery

BBC

Science, Technology

4.3 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 November 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's summer - no really - and although the weather might have been mixed, the sporting line-up has been undeniably scorching - from the back-and-forth of Wimbledon, to the nail-biting Euros, to the current pageantry of the Summer Olympics.

Next month the 2024 Paralympic Games get underway in Paris, involving the world’s very best para athletes; and Professor Vicky Tolfrey is at the forefront of the science that makes their sporting dreams a reality.

Vicky is the Director of the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at Loughborough University, a hub for elite para-sport research. She’s worked with stars from the worlds of wheelchair athletics, basketball, rugby and tennis, amongst others – and in 2017, became the first European recipient of the International Paralympic Committee’s prestigious Scientific Award.

She tells Professor Jim Al-Khalili about her work with elite para athletes, her experiences at major international sporting events, and her childhood dreams of becoming an Olympian herself.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.1	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.
0:32.3	And maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:38.3	Hello, my guest today is at the forefront of the science that make sporting dreams a reality.
0:44.3	Vicky Talfrey is the director of the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at Loughborough University,
0:50.4	a hub for elite parisport research.
0:53.3	She's worked with sporting stars from the worlds of wheelchair athletics, basketball, rugby and tennis, amongst others.
1:00.2	And in 2017, she was the first European recipient of the International Paralympic Committee's prestigious scientific award.
1:07.8	She says sport is so powerful for social connections as well as health benefits.
1:12.9	Even if someone doesn't become a world champion, if I've helped them to embrace sport as part of
1:18.0	their lifestyle, that in itself is the reward. Professor Vicki Torfrey, welcome to the life
1:22.8	scientific. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to be here. You've been going to the Paralympic
1:27.0	Games, Vicki, since 1996. What's it like being there and soaking up the atmosphere with the British team?
1:33.8	It's fantastic. I've had different roles, different experiences, so it all means something quite different to me, really.
1:40.3	We're there to enjoy the games and a network.
1:43.3	I have to mention here that when you were in primary school, Vicky,
1:47.0	you wrote one of those essays on what I want to do when I grow up.
	...

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