New study: Expert-led consensus statement on the use of Menthol for Tokyo 2021 Olympic games

Dr Owen Jeffries (Newcastle University) along with Dr Martin Barwood (Leeds Trinity University) and Dr Russ Best (Waikato Institute of Technology) led a 14-strong global team of experts in the creation of a consensus statement on the use of menthol in sport. The article was developed following a collaborative meeting at the recent ICEE conference (July 2019) in Amsterdam, in the context of the forthcoming Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games. The article was published in Sports Medicine on 4th July 2020.

The article can be found here (open access): 10.1007/s40279-020-01313-9

New study: Explores the time course of adaptations in thermoneutral VO2max following heat acclimation

In our latest study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in September 2019, we report that VO2max in thermoneutral environments can be enhanced following a bout of heat acclimation. Crucially we report that future research should take care when testing athlete post HA as residual fatigue may blunt the maximal responses that can be achieved and that on average confirmatory tests should be performed at least 96hr following the final bout.

This article can be found here: 10.1007/s00421-019-04218-2

Conference: ICEE 2019, Amsterdam

During the XVIII International Conference on Environmental Ergonomics in Amsterdam, Dr Owen Jeffries (Newcastle University, UK) and Dr Martin Barwood (Leeds Trinity University, UK) chaired a symposium on Thursday 11th July 2019 entitled: “The application of menthol in sport, exercise and occupational settings: to apply, ingest or discard?”. Dr Russ Best (Waikato Institute of Technology, New Zealand) and Dr Jason Gillis (Salem State University, Massachusetts, USA) accompanied both Martin and Owen presenting recent findings and exploring unpublished observations expanding our understanding of the use of menthol in hot environments and posing future questions in what was a fascinating discussion.

Pictured (L-R), Dr Jason Gillis, Dr Martin Barwood, Dr Owen Jeffries. ICEE 2019 Amsterdam.