Olympics: Reddin proud of new order for Team GB

DAVE REDDIN is hoping a British Olympic Association first will help Team GB athletes to deliver medals at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

British athletes are feeling the benefit from having medical, physio and performance support services all together under one roof in performance centres based within the British blocks at the Games Villages in Vancouver and Whistler.

"We have some really talented athletes and the centre gives them the best opportunity to use that talent," said former England and Lions fitness coach Reddin, who manages the Vancouver centre.

During a tour of the British facilities in the Vancouver Games Village, short track speed skating athlete Elise Christie, from West Lothian, was busy going through a post-training warm down in the fifth-floor performance centre.

A row of exercise bikes point towards a breathtaking view out over False Creek towards BC Place, which will stage the opening and closing ceremonies, and Canada Hockey Place, where the ice hockey event will be staged.

Reddin, who was recruited by BOA director of elite performance Sir Clive Woodward, believes recovery from a workout can be as important as the workout itself.

"We are setting new standards in the way that we operate," he added. "We are monitoring the athletes' fluid balances, their hydration status. They use the bikes for spin downs after training, contrast baths (hot and cold) to clear the build-up of lactate quickly and vibration platforms to get them fired up or warmed up."