WINNIPEG, MB – Seven weeks from now, Dr. Glen Bergeron will be helping Canada’s elite cyclists battle the effects of heat, humidity and air pollution in Beijing, China as they head into the Summer Olympics. Bergeron, associate professor and Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Health at The University of Winnipeg, and a certified member with the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association, is joining the Canadian Olympic medical team and will be in Beijing from August 3-26, 2008.
“We anticipate temperatures in the mid 30’s (Celsius) with the possibility of air pollution. So those are issues,” said Bergeron. “Other concerns for our cyclists are chronic muscle pain of the legs and back, and the risky potential for crashes. Our role is to provide pain management and therapies including acupuncture, massage, and lots of stretching.”
This is the fifth Olympics Bergeron is attending as part of the Canadian medical team, which consists of 47 professionals ranging from physicians to sports psychologists and therapists. In addition to treating the four cycling teams, Bergeron will provide back-up assistance to the boxing and table tennis teams.
“It is a tremendous amount of work because we go from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, seven days a week. But it is also really exciting to be in the heart of it all, surrounded by motivated, high-level athletes who are living out their dreams,” said Bergeron.
Bergeron added that treating elite athletes involves much equipment – 30 to 40 trunks are already on their way by ship from Canada to China.
Click here for Bergeron biography.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Diane Poulin, Communications Officer, The University of Winnipeg
P: 204.988.7135 E: d.poulin@uwinnipeg.ca
