Sennheiser and West Ham improve performance with Finnish sports brands

WellO2, based in Tampere, hails its collaboration with the Premier League football club as a milestone achievement. The club has announced its intention to incorporate the company’s breathing devices into its training regimen. The partnership aims to assist professional athletes in enhancing their performance while also promoting respiratory health among West Ham fans and the wider public.

“The importance of effective breathing techniques and maximising lung capacity when playing football can’t be overstated,” emphasised Richard Collinge, performance director at West Ham United. “In working with WellO2 we are excited to explore how to best implement the WellO2 devices into the strength and conditioning programme for our players.” 

The WellO2 device, launched in 2016, combines steam breathing and resistance training of the respiratory muscles. Tuomas Mattelmäki, the company’s CEO, highlighted a recent study indicating that 5–15 minutes of daily exercise can improve lung function and alleviate breathing-related symptoms like coughing, dyspnea and voice hoarseness.

“In as little time as one month at best, respiratory muscle strength can improve by 10–20 per cent in different user groups, from asthmatics to top athletes,” Mattelmäki added.

In related news, Kempele-headquartered fitness technology company Polar Electro has announced a landmark collaboration with German premium audio brand Sennheiser. The latter has integrated Polar’s fitness tracking capabilities into its new Momentum sport earbuds.

The earbuds feature Polar’s heart rate and body temperature sensors, providing access to its performance tracking, training analytics, smart coaching and voice guidance.

This marks the first time the Finnish company has opened up its entire ecosystem to an external partner without requiring the use of a Polar device. Martin Grieder, group vice president of Sonova Consumer Hearing, said Sennheiser is delighted about the partnership, stating: “Polar is a legacy, pioneer player in the high-end sports watch market and a natural fit for our own customers, who value trust, heritage and innovation backed by science.”

The partnership also signifies a step forward in Polar’s new business-to-business offering, launched in collaboration with Japanese watch brand Casio in February 2023. 

“With the right brands that share our dedication to quality, we’re happy to partner up and ensure our IP, our technology and our ecosystem can empower their users to achieve their fitness ambitions,” commented Sander Werring, CEO of Polar Electro.