As part of an Olympic and Paralympic themed Universities Week this new report highlights just some of the many ways in which research will help Team Great Britain achieve exceptional results. While most attention will be on the results achieved in London this summer, it is inspiring to look at the research taking place in UK universities that will help make London 2012 the best Olympic and Paralympic Games in history. Importantly, the impact of this research will be felt by many more people once the Games are over. It is sometimes easy to forget when you watch an athlete or team compete just how much preparation has gone into their performance. This isn't simply a training schedule or practice, sport today makes use of ground breaking research to aid everything from nutrition, health, equipment, physiotherapy, rehabilitation and performance. The first chapter of this report features examples of cutting-edge technology and manufacturing. Increasingly, this knowledge is being applied to sport and is already helping athletes improve their competitiveness. The final chapter of this report looks back at the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the way this has shaped the modern version that will come to London.