Speakers

Endurance lead and Head of Physiology at Aspire Academy; former Head of endurance, British Athletics
Dr. Fudge is a highly experienced performance leader with 18 years of experience in high-performance sport. Formerly holding key roles at British Athletics, including Head of Endurance, Head of Science and Senior Physiologist, he has a proven track record in developing effective strategies, conducting research, and collaborating with athletes, coaches, and support staff to drive performance. Currently, he holds key positions at Aspire Academy in Qatar, as the Lead for Endurance and Head of Physiology.

Professor of Copenhagen University in Human Exercise Physiology with a specialty in individual responses in human physiology
Nikolai Baastrup Nordsborg is a professor of exercise physiology and current head of department for nutrition, exercise, and sport. Nikolai has authored more than 115 scientific papers and many of them are related to human performance and the impact of altitude exposure. Nikolai is also an expert in anti-doping science and specifically related to strategies aimed at optimizing oxygen delivery to contracting muscles.

Head Coach of the Swiss middle- and long-distance running team
Started as the middle-distance national coach at Swiss Athletics in 2009 and moved to Head Coach middle and long distance in 2015. He coached Selina Büchel and developed his group to an international 800m group where Swiss female athletes train together with athletes from several countries. Louis also works at the Federal Office of Sport, in the Department of Training Science, and will talk about his way of analyzing athletes’ strengths and weaknesses, before they join his international training group.

Head of exercise and sports science of the Norwegian middle- and long-distance team
Asle Rønning Tjelta has a masters in exercise science and works in the Norwegian Athletics Federation and as a teacher at St. Svithun Videregående Skole as a physical educator. He is team leader for the middle- and longdistance national team with Nils Hetleflåt. Asle is the coach of Zerei Kbrom Mezngi and has a unique insight in the Norwegian Model, that his father has done research on with Marius Bakken, a trendsetter for Norwegian distance running. Asle also has insight into the UNO X pro cycling team.

Former director of competition and events, World Athletics
Jakob Larsen (DEN) is Head of Development and Communications at Sparta Athletics, a globally recognized road race organizer and a leading club in Nordic athletics. Prior to his role at Sparta Athletics, Larsen served as the Director of Competitions and Events at World Athletics. In this role, he managed the Competitions & Events team, overseeing the bidding processes and handling the planning and execution of the World Athletics Championships, the athletics competitions at the Olympic Games and more.

Professor of sport psychology, Institute of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark
Kristoffer’s research looks at the influence of social relations on athlete development and performance with an emphasis on successful talent development environments. He is also a sport psychologist in Team Denmark, where he works to develop mentally strong athletes and high-performance cultures. He has supported athletes at numerous championships and Olympic Games.

Head Coach of OAC Europe
Thomas Dreissigacker is 36 years old and studied sport science from 2006 till 2012 in Leipzig. After his studies he did diagnostics and talent screening project in running events at a German sports science center. He also worked as youth national coach and personal coach for the German athletic federation. From 2017 till 2020 he was head coach at the German federation and responsible for all running and race-walking events. Since 2022 he has worked for ON as head coach for the professional team OAC Europe.

International Endurance Coach based in Eugene, Oregon, USA
Peter Thompson is former IAAF Senior Manager in the Development Department (1990-2010) and Director and architect of the IAAF/WA Coaches Education and Certification System. Peter has been coaching athletes and coaches for 55 Years. In 2006, he became global ‘Event Group Editor for Endurance’ for IAAF/WA and the same year was appointed 'European Endurance Leader' by the European Athletics Coaches Association.