13 February 2026 – Athletes’ voices drove the agenda and fired the imagination of those who attended Podia Day 2026. The annual gathering brought together Podium Analytics with The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford – and proved an invaluable opportunity to collaborate, support and debate around the shared mission of reducing injury in youth and grassroots sport.

The event was also attended by the Institute’s 19-strong cohort of doctoral students – the next generation of leaders in sports medicine – who benefited from connecting the realities of sports practice and governance with the innovations at the heart of their work.

The synergy between the two teams was evident throughout the sessions, which this year covered four key pillars: musculoskeletal (MSK) health, cardiovascular health, mental health, sleep and cognition, and brain health. For each pillar, an athlete provided a personal testimony of how injury has impacted their career – from triple jumper Dr Montana Jackson and dancer Maisie Edwards, through to Arsenal FC’s Dr Zafar Iqbal and rugby union and England A international lock, Tom Lockett. 

At the forefront of discussion was the ways in which the Institute’s innovative science can be applied to revolutionise sports-injury treatment and prevention at all levels. Professor Constantin Coussios, Director of The Podium Institute, said: “This is always a valuable opportunity to bring together both organisations. We always want our approach not to start from research alone, but from the impact we want to have in the world. The sessions themselves, and the conversations that happen outside the room, help us understand how we can make this possible.”

Andy Hunt, CEO, Podium Analytics, said: “This year it was exciting to have athletes who could talk about their own experiences in a very open way. We have some extraordinary scientists, and it is incredibly powerful for them to listen to these athletes’ stories and understand the impact Podium Analytics and The Institute can have on sport at every level.”

The brain health session featured a presentation from the Podium Institute’s Professor Johannes Weickenmeier and Podium Analytics’ Stephen Jones and Ben Greenhough – who provided insights into the SportSmart app and its Concussion Recovery Tool.

It was followed by a powerful address from Tom Lockett, the Northampton Saints star. The 23-year-old has suffered several muscular injuries during his career but admits that it is head injuries that are the most daunting. 

He said: “The scariest injury I've had is concussion – purely because you don't have a clear timescale of recovery or understanding of how it will affect you in the long term. You can’t play rugby in fear, but concussion is always something that's in the back of your mind. [Players] would like a clear diagnostic way of knowing if their symptoms are a concussion – or something else like a migraine.”

The Podium Institute are already involved in a pioneering multimodal study with Gloucester Rugby and Gloucester-Hartpury. The study aims to explore the body’s physiological response to head injury by employing (effectively pitch side) a high-specification mobile functional MRI scanner to obtain acute neuroimaging of rugby players’ brains within three hours of a confirmed or suspected concussion event, as well as collecting a range of biomarkers and other data.  

Dr Montana Jackson’s flourishing athletic career was derailed in her mid-teens by the late diagnosis of a stress fracture in her foot. Her incredible story from promising young athlete to NHS Sport and Medicine doctor inspired the musculoskeletal-health morning session, which also included a presentation by the Institute’s Associate Professor leading the MSK Health theme, Prof. Liang He. 

Dr Jackson said: “There’s still lots of misinformation in grassroots sport. As researchers, academics and medical people, we know all about this stuff, but I can see the benefits of reaching out and helping to educate coaches, athletes and teachers in grassroots sports.” 

Professor Mauro Villarroel, from The Podium Institute, led the cardiovascular health session, which also featured Dr Zafar Iqbal, Head of Sports Medicine and Performance at Arsenal FC, who spoke powerfully on cardiovascular health and the importance of widespread CPR training.   

Dancer Maisie Edwards’ career has been blighted by hamstring injuries, but it was her reflections on the mental impact of injury that struck a chord with her audience. She admitted: "Injury is something I'm managing every day. It's a constant spiral of fear that it will come back. As a sports person you want to be the best and I feel I can never be that because of the injury I've had.” The mental health session also saw presentations by Podium Analytics’ Dr Catherine Wheatley on the Young Voices in Sport mental health programme, and the Institute’s Associate Professor Tom Okell. 

Dylan Morrissey, Podium Analytics’ new Director of Research, added: “These voices just bring incredible honesty – they bring the real world into everything that we’re doing, and that is so important.”

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