GSK HPL partners with young British athlete Morgan Lake

Morgan, 17, a double World Junior Champion (Heptathlon and High Jump), who holds several junior records, recently visited the HPL for the first in a series of assessments with its science team using the facility’s cutting edge technology. She took part in body composition assessments, jumping tests, a lactate profile and a V̇O₂max test to measure her aerobic performance.

Morgan said of the announcement: “This feels like a step forward for me, I’m grateful to have support from these top scientists. I hope knowing the science behind my performance will give me an edge in the future. The facility is amazing, it’s very cool.

“The cardio tests were hard but it’s great to push myself to that level, knowing that I can re-do them next time to measure my progress accurately. I’m really excited about my next visit; it will be very interesting to see where I need to improve in my training.”

Mark Langley, GSK HPL General Manager, commented: “Morgan’s a hugely promising athlete so it’s exciting to see if we can help her continue on that trajectory. At the moment it looks like the sky’s the limit.

“The fact that she’s breaking records left, right and centre set by great heptathletes such as Kluft and Ennis speaks for itself.

“We’ll see her six times a year, which will give our science team a detailed understanding of her progress, enabling us to work with her coach to improve her performance in very specific areas.”

Morgan has been competing in athletics since the age of five and is currently studying for her A-levels while training for the upcoming European Indoor Championships in March and August’s World Championships in Beijing. She recently won a silver medal in the heptathlon at the British Indoor Championships, where she set a British junior record of 1.94m in the high jump.

She is coached by her father Eldon, himself a former British junior international athlete. Eldon will be working closely with the HPL to maximise Morgan’s performance in competition.

Morgan said of her unique relationship with her father: “It’s really good having someone so close and who I know has my best interests at heart, though sometimes we do argue a bit!”

With her long term goal of winning a medal at an Olympic games a very distinct possibility, all concerned hope Morgan’s relationship with the HPL can help to make that possibility a reality. 

See what happened when HRH the Duchess of Cambridge visited the HPL for a SportsAid workshop set up to support young athletes aiming for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.