PhD student joins Japan’s elite sports program

Doctoral candidate, Sam Gleadhill has been hand-picked to work at the prestigious National Institute of Fitness and Sports (NIFS) in Kanoya, Japan, in the lead-up to the 2020 Olympic Games.

Mr Gleadhill’s research focus is sprinting biomechanics and wearable technology applications for high performance sport. His work has been applied to gait monitoring and safe lifting practices in gym and workplace environments. 

Through his principal supervisor, Exercise and Sports Science lecturer Dr Jim Lee, Mr Gleadhill arranged to visit NIFS to collect data for his PhD research. He later returned to assist on a collaborative research project with several Japanese institutes. 

“Executives were clearly impressed with his work and invited him to apply for a position with the Institute,” said Dr Lee, who developed relationships with researchers at NIFS during his Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship for Research. 

“He is tasked with attracting international clubs, individuals and academics to NIFS in the lead-up to the 2020 Olympic Games,” Dr Lee said.

It’s not a hard sell. The Institute boasts facilities and features that are unique in the world, including a 50-metre force platform tartan track and a swim mill inside a hyperbaric chamber. 

The Sports Performance Laboratory includes an indoor half-pitch with a fully articulated gantry that provides full player camera tracking and 3D analysis, and the swimming pool has above and below water tracking and 3D analysis.

“NIFS has the only 50m force platform system in the world, creating exciting research and coaching opportunities. I am looking forward to assisting ongoing research and developing my own using this system,” Mr Gleadhill said.