With just over five months until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the British Olympic Association have confirmed the 44-person performance services team that will provide day-to-day support of the athletes.
The sportscotland institute of sport staff supporting Team GB are: Niall Elliott (chief medical officer), Jonathan Hanson (doctor), Michelle Jeffrey (doctor), Carrie McCrea-Routray (doctor), Irene Riach (nutritionist), Oli Davies (physiotherapist) and Craig More (physiotherapist).
Games preparation
In addition to the sport's own performance staff these performance service members – including doctors, physiotherapists, a psychologist, performance scientists, performance analysts, nutritionists and a chef – will form an integral part of the Team GB HQ workforce and will be spread across the Olympic Village, as well as Team GB’s own performance venues: Preparation Camp and Performance Lodge.
Team GB’s Preparation Camp will be situated across Keio University (Hiyoshi Campus), Yokohama International Pool and Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki, while Team GB’s Performance Lodge, a venue for quiet training during Games-time, will be in the Odaiba area, adjacent to the Olympic Village.
In addition to these Tokyo roles, there will be eight performance analysts based in the UK but working on Tokyo time, situated at Team GB’s Cardiff Hub at the Sport Wales Institute, supporting on the ground operations in Tokyo.
The Home Country Sport Institutes will once again play an integral role in delivering expertise through their practitioners and as in 2016 at the Rio Games, Dr. Niall Elliott, sportscotland Institute of Sport, has been appointed as the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) having most recently performed as CMO for Team Scotland at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Niall will be the head of the medical team for the British athletes at Tokyo 2020, which will attend training and competition venues during the event in the Japanese capital and beyond.
He said: “It’s a huge honour to work with the British Olympic Association and be charged with the health and wellbeing of the whole delegation.
"This is the opportunity to work alongside some excellent, experienced and trusted colleagues from across the UK at the pinnacle of sport.”
The performance services team will be led by Deputy Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020, Dr. Paul Ford MBE, with the experienced team having attended over 100 multi-sport games between them.
Ford said: “We have created the best and most detailed pre-Games training environment that will rival any in the world to prepare the athletes for their sporting pinnacle at Tokyo 2020 and I have no doubt that we have also recruited the best possible support team to fill these vital Games-time roles."
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