News Update

January 2009

Professor Greg Whyte PhD FACSM joins the optima-life team
Optima-life is delighted to announce that Professor Greg Whyte is joining the team as Technical Consultant.

Greg is Professor of Applied Sport and Exercise Science at the Research Institute for Sport + Exercise Science, Liverpool John Moores University and he is also Director of the CRY Centre for Sports Cardiology, at the Olympic Medical Institute, Northwick Park; the first dedicated centre for sports cardiology in the world.

He has held Director of Research roles at the British Olympic Medical Unit at the British Olympic Association, the English Institute of Sport, The Irish Institute of Sport and he is a member of the advisory panel for the English Commonwealth Games Team.

The 7 times British Modern Pentathlete champion competed in 2 Olympic Games, (Barcelona and Atlanta) 10 World Championships and 6 European Championships and won a Silver medal at the World Championships in 1984 and a Bronze at the Europeans in 1991.

But, despite his sporting and academic prowess he is probably most well known throughout the UK for his work for Sport Relief. He trained actor and Little Britain star, David Walliams for his truly epic swim across the Channel and put TV presenter Adrian Chiles and footballing legend Alan Shearer through their paces, as they prepared for their 335 mile Sport Relief bike ride from Newcastle to London via Birmingham. And, when it came to the actual race, he even cycled with them.

Greg said:
'I am very pleased to be joining such an innovative company. The team is committed to making a difference to the performance of our sports men and women, as well as playing a role in tackling some of the complex health challenges in society today.'

For Simon Shepard, Chief Executive of optima-life, Greg is a very welcome addition to the team. He said:
'We are delighted to welcome Greg onboard to the optima-life team. His past experience, knowledge and skill base brings an invaluable dimension to the team both from a practical and a research perspective. We are all looking forward to working with him.'