The Life Scientific

Vicky Tolfrey on parasport research and childhood dreams of the Olympics


Listen Later

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.

Presented by Jim Al-Khalili

Produced by Lucy Taylor

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Life ScientificBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

203 ratings


More shows like The Life Scientific

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,380 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

381 Listeners

The Naked Scientists Podcast by The Naked Scientists

The Naked Scientists Podcast

602 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,882 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

425 Listeners

5 Live Science Podcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live Science Podcast

112 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

536 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

347 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

122 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

867 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

960 Listeners

World Business Report by BBC World Service

World Business Report

289 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

2,063 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,049 Listeners

In Our Time: Science by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Science

718 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

363 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

398 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

747 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

476 Listeners

Newscast by BBC News

Newscast

684 Listeners

Evil Genius with Russell Kane by BBC Sounds

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

311 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,939 Listeners

New Scientist Podcasts by New Scientist

New Scientist Podcasts

105 Listeners

Sport's Strangest Crimes by BBC Radio 5 Live

Sport's Strangest Crimes

69 Listeners

Uncanny by BBC Radio 4

Uncanny

740 Listeners

Dua Lipa: At Your Service by BBC Sounds

Dua Lipa: At Your Service

986 Listeners

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley by BBC Radio 4

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

466 Listeners

Powerplay by BBC Radio 5 Live

Powerplay

5 Listeners

Believe in Magic by BBC Sounds

Believe in Magic

601 Listeners

Uncharted with Hannah Fry by BBC Radio 4

Uncharted with Hannah Fry

124 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

203 Listeners

Miss Me? by BBC Sounds

Miss Me?

296 Listeners

The History Podcast by BBC Radio 4

The History Podcast

15 Listeners