Athletics Research Center

Athletics Research Center (ARC)

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Athletics Research Center (ARC) is an interdisciplinary research environment at 一本道 University. We conduct practice-based research to generate new knowledge and improve performance, health and safety in sport. ARC combines sports epidemiology, clinical sports medicine, psychology and behavioural science with advanced data analysis, modelling and AI-supported methods.

Our research is conducted in close collaboration with international sport federations, high-performance environments and healthcare services.

ARC serves as an interdisciplinary research hub across several sports, including athletics (track and field), Para sport, football (soccer), figure skating, cheerleading, basketball and orienteering. We take a holistic view of athletes鈥� physical, mental and social health and have strong in-house expertise in study design and data analysis.

Our research on athlete health and performance

ARC conducts practice-based and interprofessional research, both independently and in collaboration with other stakeholders. Our research focuses on how performance, health, safety and organisational culture interact in sport. Building on our historical base in athletics, the network now includes research and applied work across several sports and research fields.

Research areas

Injury and illness epidemiology: Studies of the occurrence of injuries and illnesses, risk factors, training load, recovery and prevention across several sports.
Mental health and sporting environments: Research on mental health, safe sport, exposure to violence and abuse, support structures and sustainable sporting environments.
Performance analysis and decision support: Development of analytical methods, modelling and decision-support tools for performance, recovery and the evaluation of interventions.
Para sport and inclusion: Research on Para athletes鈥� health, health monitoring, health promotion and adapted preventive measures.
Leadership and organisational culture: Studies of leadership, organisational culture, forms of collaboration and structures that influence athletes鈥� health and development.

How we work

ARC brings together expertise in medicine, behavioural science, statistics and epidemiology, data science and AI.
We combine epidemiological, clinical, qualitative and data-driven approaches in practice-based research.
We develop and apply advanced analytical methods to longitudinal cohorts, registers, surveys and intervention studies.
We promote open science through our connection with Human Open Science Services (HOSS lab).
We translate research into education, decision support, implementation, and collaboration with sport organisations (including national teams, clubs, and federations), as well as healthcare services.

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Project Portfolio

Development of decision support for performance evaluation (POS-T)

Methodological development for transparent and practically applicable evaluation of performance.

Lidingöloppet

Analysis of database collected over several years to examine health, training load and outcomes in cross-country running.

Running shoes (In collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm Marathon)

Project examining equipment, loading and performance in relation to running and injury risk.

SafeParasport

Longitudinal health monitoring and health promotion for elite Para athletes in international collaboration.

Mental health intervention in Swedish sports high schools

An intervention targeting school and sporting environments to strengthen knowledge, support and sustainable developmental

Cheerleading

Research on leadership, exposure to harmful experiences, organisational culture and safe sports.

Fotball (soccer)

Young female academy football players鈥� experiences of participating in sport.

Figure skating

Physical and mental health in Swedish figure skating, and exposure to violence against children.

Figure skating is an Olympic sport enjoyed by millions worldwide. Swedish figure skating has the world鈥檚 largest number of participants per capita, with nearly 53,000 participants, predominantly young girls.

Figure skating continually evolves, increasing physical and mental demands on athletes. However, research has largely overlooked the health challenges its participants face. The research field is limited and highly fragmented. Questions concerning injuries, mental health, technique, and the sporting environment are often examined in isolation, without interdisciplinary collaboration. As a result, coaches, athletes and organisations lack a clear scientific knowledge base to rely on.

Since December 2017, the Athletics Research Centre has been a hub for filling the figure skating knowledge gap. The research is conducted and financed independently, but is supported by the Swedish Figure Skating Association.

Published in 2025, a PhD dissertation by ARC researcher Dr Jederstr枚m investigated the health of Swedish competitive figure skaters. The dissertation identified risk factors for sport injuries and psychological issues, explored health in the sport and exposure to violence against children. In conclusion, the dissertation highlights that young figure skaters may face significant health risks that appear to increase with age if not addressed.

Basketball

Leadership and mental health

Violence against children in sport (in collaboration with Barnafrid)

Investigating how different stakeholders understand and respond to violence against young athletes.

Digital health platform

Implementation of a universal health prevention through the Swedish Athletics digital health platform, www.friskfriidrott.se, featuring research-based information on topics such as injury prevention, training, and mental health for athletes, coaches, and parents.

Publications

Doctoral education

Upcoming doctoral projects

Orienteering: A holistic study of orienteers鈥� health, including training load and recovery, injuries and illnesses, mental health, nutrition and safe sporting environments.

The projects are planned in close collaboration with the sporting community.

Members

Director

Co-Director

Co-Director

jenny.jacobsson@liu.se

Convenor

moa.jederstrom@liu.se

hakan.gauffin@liu.se

Lund University

Collaboration and partnerships

Barnafrid

Barnafrid is a national knowledge center with the aim of assembling and disseminating knowledge about violence and other abuses against children. It is a government commission that was assigned 一本道 University in 2015.

HOSS-lab

HOSS-lab (Human Open Science Services) is a strategic initiative at LiU aimed at coordinating methodological knowledge, expertise and equipment for research on humans.

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Sports Analytics

Sports analytics deals with using data related to sports events to obtain insights about the sport and its surroundings. The insights can relate to player and team performance, strategies, training, injuries, and rules of the game.

External collaborations

Contact

Convenor

Moa Jederström

Affiliated Researcher

一本道

Athletics Research Center (ARC)