PhD student leads Hong Kong, China Strength & Conditioning provision at Tokyo 2020

David is based at Izu Velodrome supporting the track cycling team, focusing on sprint events. He has been with the team since 2013 and led the Strength & Conditioning provision over multiple Olympic Games, Asian Games and 8 World Championships, resulting in multiple podium performances including many gold medals.

David’s PhD candidature is in Sports Biomechanics with a specialisation in weightlifting pulling derivatives with Dr Paul Comfort and Dr John McMahon.

He said: “It is good to see how in Strength & Conditioning, we can use our research in an applied setting on a day-to-day basis to enhance athletic performances.

“My advice to young and aspiring Strength & Conditioning coaches would be to be persistent and devoted to developing yourself. Get any coaching experience you can, and make sure you stand out against other S&C coaches and doors will open.”

Dr Paul Comfort, a programme leader in Strength & Conditioning at the university, said:

“It has been fantastic to see David applying key strength and conditioning principles with the sprint cyclists, based at the Hong Kong Sports Institute, to optimise their force production and rate of force development.

“David has explored some of these principles and practices throughout his PhD studies and it will be great to see his athletes achievements at the Tokyo Olympics.”