Loughborough University National Performance Centre
British Triathlon’s Loughborough University National Performance Centre
Loughborough University is the home of the main High Performance Centre in the UK. A £36 million capital investment in world class sports facilities at Loughborough University over recent years has created the facility and support services infrastructure for the University, British Triathlon and other sporting organisations.
The National Performance centre now boasts one of the highest concentrations of top class sports training facilities found anywhere in the world. The athletics facility at Loughborough University is a prestigious indoor & outdoor centre, which caters for training and competitions. The purpose built centre supports the needs of athletes from school level through to elite international level.
Loughborough University is located in the centre of England and while it’s almost as far away from the sea as its possible to be, it’s central locations makes it easy for athletes to travel to and from to train and attend events.
Earlier this year the National Performance centre was chosen as the Team GB headquarters ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Athletes
- Adam Bowden – World Class Development Squad
- Lucy Chittenden – World Class Development Squad
- Aaron Harris - World Class Development Squad
- Matt Sharp - World Class Development Squad
Facilities
- 50m x 8 Lane Pool
- High Performance Athletics Centre and 400m track
- 100m 8 lane indoor track, jump pits, throws and conditioning area
- Performance lab – 3m long 60kph treadmill with harness and 25% gradient control
- EIS athlete lounge
- Powerbase – state of the art gym and cardio suites
A 360 degree tours of the centre facilities can be found here.
Loughborough Attractions
Loughborough is located within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire and is full of a fantastic range of shops, restaurants, services, bars and venues. It had a population of approx 60,000. It is the second largest settlement in Leicestershire after Leicester, is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council, and the home of Loughborough University.
In 1841 Loughborough was the destination for the first package tour, organised by Thomas Cook for a temperance group from Leicester. The town has the world's largest bell foundry —John Taylor Bellfounders, which made the bells for the Carillon war memorial, a landmark within the Queens Park in the town, and York Minster.
To the north of the edges of Loughborough, Dishley Grange Farm was formerly the home of agricultural revolutionist Robert Bakewell. The farm was also once home to the annual Leicestershire County Show.
Due to a large percentage of Australians living in and around the town as students and alumni of the University, it occasionally gets named Loogabarooga, both purposely for comic effect by Australians in the town and accidentally by visiting Australians unaware of its correct pronunciation.
About Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a fantastic place to study and work, boasting unrivalled sporting achievement, internationally acclaimed research and outstanding teaching quality – attributes that helped the university to secure the prestigious Sunday Times ‘2008/2009 University of the Year’ award.
Loughborough University is the UK’s premier university for sport and has perhaps the best integrated sports development environment in the world. The campus is home to some of the country’s leading coaches, sports scientists and support staff. It also has the country’s largest concentration of high quality sports training facilities, equipment and support resources in the world.
Loughborough University has made a unique contribution to the world of sport for over sixty years, bringing together exceptional athletes, facilities, coaching and research expertise, and extensive partnerships with major sports organisations.
Some of the most celebrated names in sport – including world record breaking athletes Sebastian Coe, Paula Radcliffe, David Moorcroft and Steve Backley; probably the greatest-ever Paralympian Tanni Grey-Thompson; England cricketer Monty Panesar; and World Cup winning England rugby coach Clive Woodward – have all studied at the University.
Today more than 250 international level athletes, many of whom will be household names in the future, are current Loughborough students. The University’s sports scholarship programme – the largest in the UK – enables the finest young athletes to excel in both their academic and sporting achievements.
Beijing was the latest in a long line of major sporting events involving Loughborough University athletes. Its students have been in action at every summer Olympics since the last London Games in 1948, and at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Loughborough athletes won 30 medals overall, including eight golds, which would have placed the University eighth in the medal table.
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