An A level student from Barrow Sixth Form College has won a national competition for his innovative idea to help athletes keep at their peak physical fitness during lockdown.

Izzy Rodger designed an atmosphere mask to reduce the volume of oxygen an Olympic athlete can take in so they can train on limited breathing.

His equipment design won the BAE Systems/Sport England Design competition, including a conversation with a top athlete.

Izzy, who is an honours student at the Rating Lane campus and studies A levels in maths, physics and history, said he had chosen to focus on karate as a sporting discipline.

“I spotted the competition on Facebook and thought I’d have a go,” said Izzy, who joined sixth form from Walney School and aims to study a degree in natural sciences at Cambridge.

“The practice of kata and kumite in karate, which would have been assessed during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has fascinated me, as the training required to perfect them is strikingly similar to that which I practice myself.

“My submission was very fun to write as it allowed me to explore sport science and biology.”

Izzy’s mask helps athletes by increasing the muscle strength in lung tissues.

The design had to meet criteria set out including to be suitably compact for use in a global pandemic as well as being environmentally friendly.

Competition judges said his entry was ‘'excellent' and demonstrated a 'very good understanding of the sport and the challenges that the pandemic has imposed’.