The decision by Milos Mallol-Soler to travel from Spain to Flinders University for her studies has paid handsome dividends, with the expert in applied sports science having endured trials through lockdown to now work with powerhouse Spanish football club Barcelona FC.
Milos arrived in Adelaide in December 2015 as a Cotutelle student in conjunction with the University of the Basque Country, Spain. She had already completed 1 year of her PhD in Bilbao and, based on the recommendations of one of her supervisors, Dr Gaizka Mejuto, who had spent 12 months in Adelaide on sabbatical, Milos commenced her research at Flinders University under the supervision of Dr Lynda Norton.
Milos had an extensive background in triathlon as both a triathlete and a coach, and her areas of research were focused on the benefits of various types of high performance training programs. Milos joined the Lakers Traithlon Club, where she was able to recruit many of her participants for her research interventions.
During her busy year at Flinders she conducted three interventions which resulted in three of her PhD publications, a Sports Medicine Australia conference presentation in Melbourne and also in Essen, Germany, at the European College of Sports Science.
In between her studies, she also completed a number of half-marathons and Olympic triathlons while in Australia, with her performance in the Cairns Half Ironman resulted in a completion time of 5 hours, placing her 6th in her age category.
She has shown great resilience in 2020, despite the significant lockdown in Spain. She completed her PhD thesis – “High Intensity Interval Training effects in moderately trained athletes: triathlon training implications” – in two languages and successfully defended it in November.
Milos’s expertise in applied sports science has now landed her the prestigious role of Sports Scientist at Barcelona FC. She is responsible for monitoring the athletes’ training loads across all professional sections of the Barcelona club (in football, basketball, handball, futsal and roller hockey) and she manages the club’s internationally renowned education conferences. “My job is a transversal job, where we investigate the best ways to improve our players’ performances,” says Milos. “I am the performance department person in contact and in charge of relationships with external academic and research institutions. It’s a dream job.”