The 2024 Paris Olympic Games are here! Universally known and loved for generating excitement and awe-inspiring athleticism around the globe since 1896, this year’s games welcome nearly 3000 athletes to perform in 45 sports categories and 329 competitive events. The games kicked off on July 24 and conclude on 11. August 2024. Can you imagine the magnitude of the task of managing healthcare and medical accommodations for an Olympic event?
What Could Go Wrong?
For athletes, coaches, and their travel teams, there are many potential health risks. Illnesses, geographic-specific concerns (i.e., altitude or air quality), weather, extreme temperatures, and food to injuries and mishaps—not to mention therapeutic and performance medicine needed to keep athletes at their peak for the demands of multiple events. Through another lens, the physical state of the athletes must be verified as compliant with International Olympic Committee (IOC) anti-doping rules.
As sports and exercise physiology and conditioning practices advanced, so has the use of performance-enhancing supplements and drugs. As the impact of athletes’ use of certain performance-enhancing substances (i.e., steroids) was called into question, the IOC acted, commencing formal urine and blood analysis to prevent cheating in 1968. In 2009, the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) was established, profiling athletes through blood testing over time to observe hematological variables to detect doping. Findings were also analyzed against an athlete’s performance records that could inform a finding. Testing protocols have been refined as technology has advanced. Today’s testing collects highly sophisticated individual statistics using the ABP and other biological data to produce streamlined—yet more detailed profiles to ensure violations are identified and appropriately confirmed. Certain testing is submitted before athlete acceptance into the games, with further verification taking place during the games.
Got it Covered?
Aside from anticipating myriad medical scenarios, state-of-the-art equipment and tools must be available for the hundreds of dedicated medical teams with diverse needs. There will be a body of overseeing physicians in the host location to direct all medical professionals coming into the games. All nations and territories arrive with their own medical staff, coordinating needs with the hosting venue’s healthcare board. Stockpiles of medications, emergency supplies, bandages, and specialty goods for each medical discipline must be assembled as dedicated medical bags in sufficient quantities to serve the entire traveling population for a territory.
How Many Doctors and What Kind?
For Team USA in Paris, 800+ athletes will be supported by a team of more than 60 physicians and additional clinical staff. Team Australia, with nearly 500 athletes assembled a physician team of about 20. Some teams joined forces, with the Netherlands, Switzerland, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, and Belgium coming together as the “Club of 6” and a team of 16 doctors.
With the expected presence of sports medicine specialists come nurses, internists, orthopedists, infectious disease specialists, gastroenterologists, physical therapists, chiropractors, mental health experts, and don’t forget dentists! British dentist Tony Clough, BDS, director of the 2012 London Olympics dental program noted that he had to plan and equip a full-scale dental and oral surgery clinic for the games. The clinic managed nearly 800 emergency dental procedures, 1,000+ toothaches, and infections, and performed nearly 200 root canals on athletes.
How do Doctors Get There?
With high stakes for event outcomes and the futures of every Olympic contender, can just any physician sign on with the team? While it might seem possible, since presumably, any board-certified doctor has mastered his or her specialty, it is just about as much work to be selected as an Olympic team clinician as an athlete! With the stakes high, working with the world’s best athletes is equally selective. In the US, high malpractice insurance coverages, licenses and certifications, DEA registration, and special certifications in the latest external defibrillators and CPR are required.
Some doctors must complete additional coursework before they can even apply. Applicants then train, treat athletes (who are also at the training facilities), and interview with leaders at various Olympic Training Centers. Additional commitments are required as applicants progress through rotation assignments by invitation to travel with a team, say track, basketball, or gymnastics. In these settings, physicians and other clinical professionals experience immersion school: being on call, working with other applicants to evaluate and treat athletes, coaches, and any team members. This snapshot is truly that.
In all, physicians hoping to be accepted as Olympics medical staff dedicate more time to the training and acceptance process than their residencies, with five up to more than ten years practicing amid training and qualifying events for various teams! And in the end, all of this is uncompensated. They are physician volunteers from the time commitments throughout the journey and if they are invited to serve. The resulting talented, tireless doctors, nurses, and technicians agree that the financial and personal sacrifices are real. In all, they will lose many months away from their practices, employers, and families, but insist the experiences and memories they get in return make it all worthwhile.
Winners, One and All
For those of us who support the medical field through the manufacture and supply of all the goods and equipment required to deliver healthcare around the world, we send our high admiration, share in the excitement, and cheer for our athletes for their courage. We also take pride in our humble contributions to this exhilarating showcase of strength, teamwork, and pure talent around the world! Bravo and well done!
