Johnson and Johnson, Olympic sponsors, invited me to their very impressive 'Visioncare Institute' in Prague to conduct a Sports Vision assessment on Kelly which was also filmed by Sky. This was the first time I've done an eye test for the cameras... very exciting and a bit scary! Kelly's event involves 7 different sports all of which have different visual needs. My job was to assess her visual ability and relate that to her specific needs in each event.

Kelly hadn't had an eye test for over 20 years, never mind a specific sports related one. As part of the examination it became clear that she was having problems with her eyes working together. This was causing her problems with maintaining a 'focus'. This is important in many of her events and could contribute to her performance level in a particular event. For example in the hurdles if she is unable to keep her eyes focused on the top of the hurdle it's harder for her to know exactly where it is so there is a greater chance of her clipping it and slowing her down, which could mean she loses vital points. She was aware of the problem but had not considered that anything could be done about it. This is something I see regularly with athletes, even those at the elite level, where they train everything but ignore their eyes, which I find odd as we know it's the eyes that lead the body.

Clive Woodward, The British Olympic Associations Director of Performance, has said "There are 6 muscles controlling the eye, and if you can strengthen every other muscle in the body, why not the eye muscles?" He is keen to involve Vision Assessment and Training, as he did when England won the Rugby World Cup, and feels that it may give our athletes a competitive edge.

As a result of my assessment Kelly was given a range of exercises to do, to improve her binocular vision ‑ the way in which her eyes work together.After 3 weeks she then came and visited us in Bristol for a follow up assessment. At this appointment there was a measureable improvement in her eye co‑ordination. We have worked closely with Kelly over the last few months, and her eye co‑ordination has improved consistently, and importantly this has lead to an enhanced confidence in her ability to maintain her focus.

We have also been seeing Badminton player Donna Kellogg, who visited us in Bristol earlier this year. She took part in the Olympics in both the mixed and ladies doubles. With Donna we had different visual issues to resolve, which we were able to do with the use of contact lenses. In a fast moving sport like Badminton making sure that the lens is stable and not moving around to much is critical so that her vision is maintained and is accurate.

If you would like more information regarding any sport you play please ask at your next appointment. Whether you're missing a lot of putts or struggle to see the ball at the far end of the tennis court we may be able to help.