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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Opportunities and obstacles of translating elite sport research to public health

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In a recent editorial, Thornton et al 1 argued that ‘Like folklore hero Robin Hood, we - sport and exercise medicine (SEM) scientists and practitioners - can draw on the opportunity and expertise gained by working with the elite few and apply it for the benefit of many ’ . We applaud this positive point of view. It was, however, supported by only one example—the successful ‘11 for health’ programme. That sport science-driven knowledge and innovation developed from elite sport translates or ‘scales down’ (ie, ‘Formula-1 circus to my garage’ paradigm) remains debatable. The goals may be similar for elite athletes and general or clinical populations, that is, optimising training impact and minimising negative effects (injuries, chronic fatigue/overtraining) but we argue that knowledge developed by sport scientists and practitioners working with elite athletes cannot be directly translated to population health without careful analysis and adaptation. Athletes are not immune from diseases or co-morbidities,2 so ‘elite athlete’ and ‘non-healthy population’ categories overlap. Moreover, treatment may be more challenging in elite athletes due to added stress from exercise or antidoping regulations.3 By presenting …