UKSI among the winners at UK Sport's PLx Awards
The UK Sports Institute [UKSI] enjoyed success at UK Sport’s annual PLx Awards in Manchester on Tuesday.
The awards celebrate the incredible contributions of individuals, teams, and sportspeople in the Olympic and Paralympic high-performance community.
The UKSI won the Innovation Award for its work on garments for the British Diving team, led by Fiona Johnson, Senior Performance Innovation Consultant, and Vic Downie, Performance Innovation Consultant & Senior Physiologist Technical Lead at the UKSI in partnership with Aquatics GB.
When reflecting on winning the Innovation Award, Fiona Johnson from UKSI said: “I am delighted about this win, which was really driven by the female athlete health program at the UKSI and Aquatics GB.
“I am really proud of how the teams came together as many parties were involved in a very short period of time.
“Our motivation was responding to what the divers wanted us to do, which really enabled us to make this project happen and to change the way we think about diving garments.”
Olly Logan from Aquatics GB added: “Pairs was the best-ever diving performance! When working on this project, we were conscious that suits shouldn’t be a distraction, which it has previously had been for athletes.
“It was about tackling comfort and fit issues, and the project was really impactful from the athlete’s input. We wanted them to feel pride and comfort in their garments.
“We were in a situation where we produced bespoke fits for the athletes. They kept coming back to us to say we looked the best at the games, which was brilliant for their confidence when performing.”
Rebecca Shanahan, Performance Innovation Consultant at the UKSI, was nominated for the Innovation Award for her work with British Rowing.
Elsewhere, British Triathlon won the Collaboration and Teamwork Award for creating a team to ensure Alex Yee’s performance in Paris could be the best to win gold. That team included multiple members of UKSI staff (listed below), who contributed to this award and Alex winning gold at Paris 2024.
- Laura Needham, Co-Head of Physiology & Senior Physiologist
- Oliver Freeman, Head of Performance Support
- Hannah Brooks, Senior Sport Psychologist
- George Robinson, Senior Performance Nutritionist
- Matt Croyle, Strength & Conditioning Coach
A full list of the UK Sport PLx Award winners can be found below.
Innovation Award
Fiona Johnson (UKSI), Vic Downie (UKSI), Olly Logan (AquaticsGB), Erin Foster (Aura Lingerie), Ben DeSantis (Aura Lingerie), Tim Jones (AquaticsGB), Pete Ambrose (BOA) for their work on garments for the Diving team
Collaboration & Teamwork Award
British Triathlon – Adam Elliott, Laura Needham, Oli Freeman, Hannah Brookes, Phil Clayton, Emma Moscrop, George Robinson, Matt Croyle and Ben Bright
Support Staff Award
Dawn Peart – Aquatics GB
Coach Award
Ian Johns – GB Judo, VI Lead
Pathway Coach Award
David Aitken – British Curling
Athlete Breakthrough Award
Amber Rutter – British shooting, Paris Olympic silver medallist
Social Impact Award
Cindy Ngamba – Refugee Olympic Team, bronze medalist in boxing
Spirit of high-performance sport
Sam Dickinson – British Triathlon
Outside the awards, the UKSI led three sessions at the PLx event and contributed to a fourth with Wheelchair Fencing. Those sessions were:
- Mental Health with Sam Cumming, Head of Mental Health
- Athlete Support with Jo Harrison, Head of Performance Lifestyle
- Female Athlete Health and Performance with Richard Burden, Senior Physiologist Technical Lead (Biosciences)
Find out more about PLx on the UK Sport website.