Speaker Bios

Prof. Billy Sperlich

Billy Sperlich is Professor at the University of Würzburg, where he leads the Chair of Integrative and Experimental Exercise Science and Training. His research focuses on dose–response relationships of different training methods, endurance performance, multi-stacking training (heat, cold, hypoxia/hyperoxia), and high-intensity training concepts. After serving as a researcher and lecturer at the German Sport University Cologne from 2002 to 2010, he completed his postdoctoral studies (2010–2012) and held a visiting professorship at Mid Sweden University in Östersund. Since 2015, his work has increasingly emphasized wearable sensor technology and an integrative 24-hour perspective on training adaptations in both elite sport and everyday physical activity. 

Lecture: AI in Winter Sports: Enhancing Performance While Preserving the Coach’s Judgment 

Dr. Helen Hanstock

Helen Hanstock is Associate Professor at Mid Sweden University’s Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre. Her research explores the intersection of training adaptation and health preservation, with a focus on winter endurance sports. Helen’s work spans respiratory health, particularly asthma and infection risk in winter endurance athletes, and the use of multi-omic approaches for biomarker discovery and athlete health monitoring. Her collaborative research programme, centred around investigating respiratory function in sub-zero environments using experimental chamber studies, questionnaires and qualitative interviews, has resulted in providing recommendations to the Swedish Ski Federation to develop evidence-based guidelines for safe training in cold conditions. Helen serves as an Associate Editor for the European Journal of Sport Science, regularly contributes to international symposiums, and engages in public science communication, including providing expert commentary to leading Swedish media outlets such as P4 radio, Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter. 

Lecture: Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction when exercising in the cold

Dr. Jos de Koning

Jos J. de Koning, Ph.D., FACSM, is a Dutch associate professor in the Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. His research interests range from biomechanical modeling to high-performance exercise physiology. De Koning is internationally recognized for his research in pacing strategies, monitoring training loads, the physiology and biomechanics of elite sports performance, and the biomechanics and physiology of speed skating. De Koning was a pioneer in developing and implementing the innovative, world-records-producing ‘klapskate’ for competitive speed skating. He had the honor of receiving the 2025 ACSM Citation Award for his translation of fundamental science concepts into sports. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in exercise physiology and performance modeling.  

Lecture: Challenges when measuring aerobic metabolism in sub-zero environments