Insep, France's school for Olympic champions

Many of the 330 French athletes competing in the London Olympics have gone through a high performance training centre near Paris called Insep. Over the last few years the institute has invested 230 million euros in improving its sporting and medical facilities.

President Francois Hollande, Minister of Sport, Youth and Associations, and Minister Delegate for Disabled People and the Fight against Exclusion, members of the French Judo team for the Olympic Games during a visit at the training headquarters of INSEP Reuters/Charles Platiau

 Insep now boasts cryotherapy chambers to help athletes recover quicker, hypoxic chambers where the oxygen content of the air is reduced to simulate being at altitude and luminotherapy to prepare them for time differences.

It also provides mental skills training to help athletes overcome nerves.

The institute’s motto is “a healthy mind in a healthy body” so athletes divide time between training and studying to get qualifications, which may come in handy when retirement hits earlier than for most of us.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics half of France’s 41 medal winners, were from Insep. They’re hoping to do just as well this year, if not better.