Australian Institute Of Sport

Australian Institute of Sport

The Theatrette and Strength and Conditioning facility.

Australian Institute of Sport

Halls Of Residence.

Australian Institute of Sport

Volleyball player Christie Mokotupu in her room in the Halls Of Residence.

Australian Institute of Sport

Volleyball player Christie Mokotupu in her room in the Halls Of Residence.

Australian Institute of Sport

Altitude House in the Sports Science Building. Rower Karina Wieland lies in bed with a clip/sensor on her finger which monitors how much oxygen is in her blood and also monitors her heart/pulse rate. The Altitude House simulates different altitudes so that scientists can monitor how the individual athletes’ body responds depending upon the altitude they are in. Nitrogen is pumped into the room by a small copper pipe in the corner, the white pipe (with black ends) brings in normal air and the nitrogen mixes with the normal air to create a simulated altitude environment.

Australian Institute of Sport

Sports Science Building. Cycling Performance Test. This is an exercise challenge that is very similar to what road cyclists would go through in the field. During this challenge there are a lot of different parts of the physiology that change and one of those is the immune system and a particular part of the immune system that can be changed by the exercise stress is the Natural Kilo (?) cells (NK cells), so the idea in the lab is to give a really defined exercise challenge to see how this one aspect immune system responds. They are exercising in a controlled environment on stationary bikes so that a lot of data can be collected. The idea is to get high intensity exercise to stress the immune system. Blue bike pants – Julian Pripeg - Black bike pants – Dr. Rob Lewin with Ben Desbray and Dr Dave Martin taking notes.

Australian Institute of Sport

Sports Science Building. Heart and Lactate test. 400m hurdler Chris Carroll runs on a tread mill for 20 second intervals at progressively faster speeds every two minutes. Various AIS staff watch and monitor his body. Blue shirt/white pants – his (AIS track and field) coach Esse Taltoler; red shirt/blue pants Peter Logan – physiologist; Danielle Foniessera, physiologist takes blood samples; blue shirt – physiologist Michael Ashendon; white shirt/green trimming – physiologist Sean Stevens. This test looks at what by products are produced in the blood to indicate he’s moving into what is called anarobic (or oxygen dependent) pathways which show that he’s working hard and he’s up in the sprint power area.

Australian Institute of Sport

Sports Science Building. Angela Maquin runs Chris Carrolls' blood through radiometer which analyzes the blood for lactate and oxygen levels.

Australian Institute of Sport

Sports Science Building. Bio Mechanics (Gait Screening) Test. Female soccer player Diane Alagic is videotaped at 1000 frames per second as she runs on the treadmill. The technicians give the physiotherapist a video of the girls running in slow motion so that he can look at their individual running styles and then look at building up their strength out on the field through individualized exercise programmes. This recently installed new system captures three different views of exactly the same moment: three different cameras are set up to capture the movement of the pelvis, the feet and the whole body. It’s then tied all together and it’s possible to isolate where the athletes problems might be.

Australian Institute of Sport

Young gymnasts in the Gymnastics Centre.

Australian Institute of Sport

Young gymnasts in the Gymnastics Centre.

Australian Institute of Sport

The Swimming Centre.

Australian Institute of Sport

Swimming Centre. A swimmer seen through one of the underwater viewing panels.

Australian Institute of Sport

Swimming Centre. Physiologists taking blood/lactate tests from the swimmers / Olympic rings tattooed on one of the Australian swimmers.

Australian Institute of Sport

Swimming Centre. Swimmers relaxing in the spa after their training session.

Australian Institute of Sport

Rowing Centre. Coach Steve Evans, Oarsman Dave Cameron, biomechanics expert Valery and his asst Caroline Webb set up one of the single scull boats with Valery's equipment. For competition this single scull boat weighs 14 kilos, with all the additional equipment it weighs 19 kilos. The equipment measures different parameters about the oarsman. The gates (where the oars go) have a special attachment which measure the angle of the arc the oar is travelling through. The gates themselves (made by Valery especially for the AIS) measure the force applied by the rower when he makes a stroke. The foot plate (with shoes bolted onto it) measures the pressure applied by the rower and the seat measures the distance traveled by the seat backwards and forwards. There is also a thin clothes line attached to the back of the rower which measures the distance traveled by the rowers body. These measurements are then all synchronized on a computer which can then come up with the optimum graphic which the oarsman needs to attain. All the information is transmitted by a special box in the boat back to Valery’s laptop computer as he follows the oarsman in his little tinny.

Australian Institute of Sport

Rowing Centre. Oarsman Dave Cameron training in a single scull boat on Lake Gurley.

Australian Institute of Sport

Rowing Centre. Valery sits in his tinny and checks the measurements as Dave Cameron prepares to start rowing / Archery Range. Members of the Australian Archery team in training.