When members of the Canadian team at the 2008 Olympic Games dazzle and glory in the spotlight, Dr. Connie Lebrun will be able to take a well-earned bow from behind the scenes.
That?s because Lebrun was recently appointed by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to the role of Assistant Chief Medical officer to the Canadian team. Lebrun will be one of 35 ? 40 volunteer members of the Health Care Team, consisting of physicians, physiotherapists, athletic therapists, massage therapists, as well as sport psychologists, conditioning coaches, a performance nutritionist, an exercise physiologist, and a meteorologist who will accompany the 300-strong group of Canadian athletes to Beijing. The Health Care Team works within the larger support staff for the Canadian team, and is tasked with ensuring the athletes? health and well-being and keeping them primed for peak performance.
?Our goal is to maximise both the opportunity and health of the athletes while there,? she says. ?There is also a great deal of preparation that goes on well in advance of the Games.?
Lebrun, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, and Director of the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, is a seasoned hand in this role. The 2008 Olympic Games will mark her fifth Olympic Games as a member of the Canadian Health Care Team. She has served as a medical services team member at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, and the 2004, 2000 and 1996 Olympic Games.
?I love to go to the Olympic Games,? explains Lebrun, a former national volleyball athlete and an Olympian at the 1976 Olympic Games. ?I thrive in the environment and appreciate the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team environment with like-minded professionals. It?s a very stimulating and challenging job.?
In her role Lebrun will aid the Chief Medical Officer in liaising with the 28 summer National Sport Federations on numerous, often complex, health-related issues. ?These include things like Doping Control and athletes who have asthma and who have to use inhalers,? says Lebrun. ?There are very specific protocols for the Olympic Games just to get those approved. We also have to decide on the necessary supplies and medications, order those ahead of time and have them sent over by ship in a container.?
Lebrun notes that while the host country provides medical services for athletes from all countries, Canada?s goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible.
As a member of the Mission Staff, Lebrun will put in days as gruelling as any athlete?s, starting at 7 a.m. everyday and finishing well after 10 p.m. when the Health Care Team debriefs and plans for the next day.
Health care professionals are also assigned to teams that don?t bring their own physicians or therapists with them to the Games, and attend practices and competitions. At the Games in Torino, Lebrun worked with the snowboarding team; in Athens she was assigned to men?s and women?s beach volleyball, women?s softball, cycling, sailing and modern pentathlon.
In addition to her experience at the Olympic Games, Lebrun has worked extensively with Canada?s athletes at multi-sport events including the 2003, 1991 and 1987 Pan American Games, the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the 1999 and 1989 World University Games and the 1993 Jeux de la Francophonie. She was the Chief Medical Officer for the 2001 Canada Summer Games in London, Ontario.
Now with the lead up to Beijing just months away, Lebrun is looking way ahead. She says she?ll certainly apply to be part of the Health Care Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. ?After all,? she says, ?this is the type of experience money just can?t buy.?
That?s because Lebrun was recently appointed by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to the role of Assistant Chief Medical officer to the Canadian team. Lebrun will be one of 35 ? 40 volunteer members of the Health Care Team, consisting of physicians, physiotherapists, athletic therapists, massage therapists, as well as sport psychologists, conditioning coaches, a performance nutritionist, an exercise physiologist, and a meteorologist who will accompany the 300-strong group of Canadian athletes to Beijing. The Health Care Team works within the larger support staff for the Canadian team, and is tasked with ensuring the athletes? health and well-being and keeping them primed for peak performance.
?Our goal is to maximise both the opportunity and health of the athletes while there,? she says. ?There is also a great deal of preparation that goes on well in advance of the Games.?
Lebrun, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, and Director of the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic, is a seasoned hand in this role. The 2008 Olympic Games will mark her fifth Olympic Games as a member of the Canadian Health Care Team. She has served as a medical services team member at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, and the 2004, 2000 and 1996 Olympic Games.
?I love to go to the Olympic Games,? explains Lebrun, a former national volleyball athlete and an Olympian at the 1976 Olympic Games. ?I thrive in the environment and appreciate the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team environment with like-minded professionals. It?s a very stimulating and challenging job.?
In her role Lebrun will aid the Chief Medical Officer in liaising with the 28 summer National Sport Federations on numerous, often complex, health-related issues. ?These include things like Doping Control and athletes who have asthma and who have to use inhalers,? says Lebrun. ?There are very specific protocols for the Olympic Games just to get those approved. We also have to decide on the necessary supplies and medications, order those ahead of time and have them sent over by ship in a container.?
Lebrun notes that while the host country provides medical services for athletes from all countries, Canada?s goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible.
As a member of the Mission Staff, Lebrun will put in days as gruelling as any athlete?s, starting at 7 a.m. everyday and finishing well after 10 p.m. when the Health Care Team debriefs and plans for the next day.
Health care professionals are also assigned to teams that don?t bring their own physicians or therapists with them to the Games, and attend practices and competitions. At the Games in Torino, Lebrun worked with the snowboarding team; in Athens she was assigned to men?s and women?s beach volleyball, women?s softball, cycling, sailing and modern pentathlon.
In addition to her experience at the Olympic Games, Lebrun has worked extensively with Canada?s athletes at multi-sport events including the 2003, 1991 and 1987 Pan American Games, the 1994 Commonwealth Games, the 1999 and 1989 World University Games and the 1993 Jeux de la Francophonie. She was the Chief Medical Officer for the 2001 Canada Summer Games in London, Ontario.
Now with the lead up to Beijing just months away, Lebrun is looking way ahead. She says she?ll certainly apply to be part of the Health Care Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. ?After all,? she says, ?this is the type of experience money just can?t buy.?