At King’s, we are conducting research and translating it into practice in ways that will be useful for the community. Being able to share the knowledge we have, while understanding the needs of sport, helps us prioritise the work we do.
Dr Oliver Runswick, Senior Lecturer at King’s College London
09 October 2025
King's welcomes high-performance sports leaders to explore immersive technologies
The UK Sports Institute brought British Olympic, Paralympic and sporting leaders to King’s College London to explore the use of immersive technologies in future Games.
Immersive technologies are digital tools, such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR), that create interactive, engaging experiences by blending the physical and virtual worlds.
The event, hosted by the UK Sports Institute Performance Innovation team on King’s College London’s Guy’s Campus, was attended by the British Olympic Association, the British Paralympic Association, UK Sport, National Governing Bodies and other key stakeholders both inside and outside of sport.
As well as exploring potential applications of immersive technologies, it provided an opportunity to share knowledge and identify opportunities for future Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Dr Oliver Runswick, Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s, presented an overview of immersive technologies. He shared examples from golf, boxing, cycling and cricket, including the use of head-mounted displays, and highlighted that simulation training has been taking place since the moon landing.
Dave Thomas, Performance Innovation Consultant at the UK Sports Institute, said: “As technologies surrounding immersive environments continue to improve and broaden, it was a logical time to bring people from the High-Performance System together along with leading thinkers and doers from the arts, academia and industry, to progress our understanding and identify where the sweet spot might be, if any, for immersive technologies to assist in the support of athletes, coaches and staff.”
Jonathon Riall, Head of Performance Services at the British Paralympic Association, added: “I think it is critical to hold space to consider things untried and unknown in our respective worlds. The delivery of teams to the Games requires a complex operational plan, and it’s important to consider whether new technologies, or new thinking, can support this delivery being done more efficiently or effectively.”
Immersive technologies offer new and different ways to enhance performance, so the opportunity to explore the possibilities is exciting as we consider how we can optimise athlete development in preparation for LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032.
Chris Wagg, Head of Performance Support at British Shooting
Following the event, the UK Sports Institute Performance Innovation team plan to organise a follow-up meeting with attendees and continue to build a network in the immersive technologies space.
For more information, please contact Milly Remmington (School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences Communications Manager).
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Senior Lecturer in Performance Psychology