What makes you a top athlete: science, training or talent?

Big Ideas

Are you a gazelle or a grizzly bear when you run? The bounce in your step defines whether you're a stronger sprinter or long-distance runner — and choosing the right sport for your biomechanics determines whether you can get to the top of the podium. Find out more about the secret weapon of biomechanics, the theory of optimal speed control within racing endurance, and how performance psychology has an impact both on and off the track.

The Science of Sport was presented at the York Festival of Ideas. The Festival is led by the University of York, UK.

Speakers

Professor Amandine AftalionMathematician and a senior scientist, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)Author of Be a Champion: 40 Facts You Didn't Know About Sports and Science

Dr Brian HanleyReader in Sport and Exercise Biomechanics, Leeds Beckett University

Colonel Dame Kelly HolmesBritish athlete, double Olympic gold medallist at the 2004 Athens Olympics Games for the 800m and 1500m

Adam NichollsProfessor of Psychology within the School of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Hull

Sharon Shortle (host)BBC Radio York