Sportsdesk - The Team Behind The Team
Sign in to watch this content please.
- Episode
- Sport’s drive for data
- Broadcast Info
- 2025 (48 mins)
- Description
- How is data used in sport? Katie Smith investigates the growing use of and reliance on data in sport, as part of a new four-part podcast series on what goes into helping athletes and teams perform at an elite level, made in partnership with The Open University. There’s a visit to an England Golf training camp at their headquarters in Lincolnshire to hear from rising golf star Lottie Woad on how data has helped improve her game and from Steve Robinson, England Golf national women’s performance coach, on how data can help with coaching. Dr Ben Langdown from the Open University explains what is measured as golfers look for an edge and the potential pitfalls of data, while Dr Nichola Kentzer explains some of the ethical dilemmas around the use of data. What role does data have in cycling? Olympic gold medallist Geraint Thomas explains why he still sees the sport as an art form and he doesn’t rely on the data too much but rather the feelings in his legs. Ineos Head of Innovation and Performance Support Mehdi Kordi reveals how everything can be measured in cycling. Plus, Liverpool FC’s former Director of Research, Ian Graham shares how football clubs can gain an edge through using data but cautions that football is the hardest sport to analyse data in. He also explains how he sold former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on the merits of data as the club built the team that ended their 30 year wait for a Premier League title.
- Genre
- Sports Science
How to cite this record
The Open University, "Sportsdesk - The Team Behind The Team". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ou/search/index.php/prog/254307 (Accessed 04 Apr 2026)