Athanassios Bissas, Professor of Sports and Exercise Technologies, presents his Inaugural Lecture.
Sprint running is one of the oldest athletic events that has dominated the athletics scene since the first ancient Olympic games in 776 BC. Has this happened through an evolution process where this competitive gait has managed to adapt and modernise itself to remain contemporary? If this is the case, how do the sprinters of the 21st century compare to the ancient runners competing barefoot on plain dirt surface? What does the future of sprinting look like?
Having spent over two decades studying sprint running through a biomechanical lens, Professor Bissas will philosophise about this pure, uncomplicated and aesthetic mode of human locomotion that obeys unfailingly the laws of classical mechanics.
The Speaker
Following the successful completion of his BA (Hons) Physical Education & Sports Studies with QTS at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athanassios completed an MSc, PGCert and PhD at Leeds Beckett University. Having begun his academic career at the University of York, he subsequently spent seventeen years at Leeds Beckett University, most recently as the Head of Sport & Exercise Biomechanics. Having joined the University of Gloucestershire in 2020, Athanassios was appointed Professor of Sport and Exercise Technologies in March 2021. As well as being an Editorial Board Member for the journal Scientific Data – Nature, he is currently the Deputy Chair of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences: Biomechanics and Motor Behaviour Division.
Throughout his journey he has been pursuing excellence in teaching, research and leadership. An internationally respected scholar in his field, Athanassios has produced 144 research items which have been read over thirty-three thousand times. His approach to scientific inquiry is all about working with fellow scientists to make a tangible contribution to methodologies and applications in sport performance, exercise and health contexts.
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