GSK Human Performance Lab welcomes Best Buddies España
In December, athletes from Best Buddies España visited the GSK Human Performance Lab for two days of assessments alongside their ‘buddies’ who encouraged and supported them every step of the way.
Best Buddies is an international, non-profit organisation which seeks to facilitate intellectually impaired athletes in realising their sporting dreams. The organisation works by uniting an impaired athlete with a sporting partner as they work towards a series of sporting goals together, overcoming copious physical and mental challenges in the pursuit of these aspirations. Ignacio García, Best Buddies España founder, explains how Best Buddies’ aim is to ‘empower people with learning disabilities from all over the world and to help them integrate into society through sport and friendship programmes.’ He added, ‘The GSK Human Performance Lab is giving us an incredible opportunity for our athletes to better understand their performance. It is a dream and a privilege to be here, in a place where the likes of Chris Froome, Jenson Button and Alistair and Jonny Brownlee have been and it’s an incredible opportunity to have the guidance and expertise of the HPL scientists.’
Throughout the two days, the athletes completed body composition assessments using the ‘BodPod’ which measures fat and lean mass, strength assessments using the isokinetic dynamometer and physiological assessments via a cycling lactate threshold and V̇O2max test. Completing these tests allowed the HPL’s scientists to analyse the athlete’s data and offer advice and guidance on how to optimise their training to ultimately improve performance.
We spoke to members of the Best Buddies Team about what it means to be a part of the organisation. Watch the video here.
Athletes from Best Buddies visited the GSK Human Performance Lab and completed VO2 max and lactate threshold assessments.
The displays of determination and courage from the athletes throughout the assessments were inspirational, with their buddies watching on and offering support throughout.
Daniel Jundacella, Mercedes racing driver and buddy, participated in the two days of testing alongside a few of the impaired athletes. He described being a buddy to impaired athletes as ‘an amazing opportunity, with the chance to meet great people and witness all of their passion and dedication to a sport; I can definitely learn a lot from these athletes.’
For the majority of the athletes, this was their first experience of any form of performance testing, which was daunting for some, however Daniel continued, ‘The best way to help these athletes is to treat them exactly the same as you would any other top athlete. They want to push themselves to their maximum level and compare themselves like any elite athlete would.’ This reinforces Best Buddies’ objectives of empowering disabled athletes and encouraging them to realise their sporting dreams, and the organisation evidently means a lot to their athletes.
José Luis García lost his eyesight suddenly in 2012, aged 30. Speaking of the time he found out this news, José Luis said, ‘There are things in life that you never expect to hear, and being told you will never see again is one of them. It is dramatic but I knew I wanted to keep fighting every day to enjoy sport. I joined Best Buddies with my friend, Fran (José Luis’s guide) and he was my friend long before he became my buddy and guide. It is so incredible to have someone that you can count on every day, that you can trust and that you can talk about your good and bad days with.’
Jose Luis Garcia talks about his ambitions and drive since losing his eyesight in 2012.
‘I live for sport now. To enjoy myself, I have to give 100% all of the time and working with the GSK Human Performance Lab will help me do this. They can find where my limits are and assess my physiological capabilities, and through this information I can improve and keep on giving 100% every time I train.’
HPL dietician, Ana Anton-Solanas, lead the athletes through their visit to the Human Performance Lab and described her admiration for the athletes, buddies and organisation in general, ‘Having Best Buddies in the lab has been extremely exciting for the GSK HPL and we have loved working with them over the past two days. It has been an incredible experience working with such determined and talented athletes and we hope to assist Best Buddies’ objective of empowering impaired athletes and proving to the world that they can achieve all their sporting goals.’
Ignacio added, ‘We are not here to break records; we are here to break the perception barriers which surround people with special needs. We want to demonstrate that with the right support, training, nutrition and courage people with special needs can break through these barriers and prove themselves just as much as anybody else.’
The team at the GSK Human Performance Lab wish all of the athletes involved with Best Buddies all the best with their training and competitions and look forward to welcoming the team back to the lab in the near future.
Posted
22/01/2016
Featuring
Ana Anton-Solanas
Dietitian, GSK HPL
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