Consultant, Scientist and Honorary Senior Lecturer: UCT Sports Science Institute

For Ross Tucker performance is everything. In a world where a half percent means the difference between being champion or runner-up, he is 100% committed to providing objective insights into the field of sport and exercise. Tucker is not one of those “all theory, no practice” types. He has done extensive research into sports performance, including barefoot running, and has written a book, The Runner’s Body, an Amazon bestseller in its category. He also manages the biggest website in the sports science world and has walked the summit of Kilimanjaro barefoot. Putting muscle behind his PhD in Sports Physiology and a Diploma in Marketing and Management to enhance his own performance in a field that is growing in importance, Tucker has long been making sports science more accessible to both the average person and the not-so-average sports star. His ultimate goal? To help the Souther African Sevens rugby team win Olympic Gold in 2016.

— Caroline Cowan

Twitter: @scienceofsport Website: sportsscientists.com