Joe Theobald, aka DJ Captain Wormhole, Looks at all things vinyl 

THE RiOlympics are nearly done and dusted, which is sad because all that running and riding and rowing and throwing has been fun to watch.

Seeing the athletes get pumped up before their respective disciplines by strapping on a pair of gaudy Beats by Dre headphones often makes me wonder: What crazy dope sounds do Olympians use to achieve optimum focus?

Personally I like to listen to house and techno when I cycle for added oomph and a house/disco mix (maybe something by Floating Points or Benoit & Sergio) when I run and I’m sure that after years of training, coaching and focus on marginal gains the elite athletes in Brazil are relying on some carefully honed playlists of their own.

In a chat with Trevor Nelson, the lovely Jessica Ennis-Hill revealed some good and some questionable taste with a playlist that included Massive Attack, Stormzy and the Spice Girls.

Bradley Wiggins is well known for his love of the Jam but I also read in his book about winning the 2012 Tour de France that he listens to a dance mix put together by none other than Steve ‘Bad Man’ Cummings for his pre-time trial warm up.

Googling the subject also revealed that many athletes including some guy called Michael Phelps like to listen to Eminem’s Lose Yourself which is a bit obvious if you ask me… As the Team GB Music, Sound & Motivation Coach I would be putting together curated mixes designed specifically for training and competition.

If the track runners were listening to the Benny Hill theme music during their training sessions I am confident you would see a 20% increase in intensity and PBs would be tumbling left, right and centre.

If Rob Ellingworth is reading, please get in touch, I’ve also got some great ideas for sprint intervals involving Gabber/Samba splits.

Next week: The Big Interview.