Post Olympics Wrap-Up

How I assisted athletes

My main role was to address aches, pains and minor injuries with manual therapy before the competition. This included: massage, cupping, active release, and myofascial compression. 

Some athletes like Caeleb Dressel liked to have work done after competition to speed up the recovery process. 

How I became an Olympic PT

This was my goal when I decided to pursue a career in physical therapy. During my schooling, I hooked up with a sports medicine network volunteering at local USA Swim Meets. Then I was able to get a USA Swimming Sports Medicine and Science Internship. This opened the doors for me to assist at national competitions. I worked my way up to being selected to attend the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Training Camps. Tokyo was my first on-site Olympics experience as a physical therapist. I had such a great time. It was such a pleasure and an honor to work on the USA Olympic Swimming Team.

Sharing the joys of victory with these amazing athletes, shown here with Allison Schmitt and Katie Ledecky,  put me on an emotional high.

What inspired me

This Olympic Team had 11 teenagers on it. The amount of time and dedication to pursuing their swimming goals was amazing, Take Bella Sims - a 16-year-old. She regularly practiced from 3:30-5:30am and 3:00-4:30pm daily. Every other day the afternoon practice was followed with an hour of weigh training.  How she had the energy to also attend school is beyond me.

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