Physios join the nation's best athletes at the Paris Olympics

Dozens of physiotherapists will provide treatment and rehabilitation of injuries, as well as interventions on injury prevention, athlete recovery, and to support athlete performance.

The 33rd Summer Olympic Games take place from 26 July until 11 August followed by the Paralympic Games,  28 August - 8 September.

Team GB deputy chief physiotherapist Sian Knott, writing in Frontline, said of the Olympics:

It is an environment like no other, meaning that we draw on all our knowledge and skills to provide a service to the highest standard, enabling athletes to get to compete on the world stage.

Dr Ian Horsley is also part of the Team GB headquarters medical team. He said he was 'privileged' to be selected for the role, his fourth Olympics.

The team is eight physiotherapists and eight doctors, who are across the GB HQ medical centre, GB performance lodge and GB prep camp. There are other physios present with specific sports.

Ian will be supporting cycle BMX and weightlifting, and assisting with tennis and rugby sevens, as well as being HQ liaison to boxing.

His day-to-day role is one of the athlete health lead physiotherapists at UK Sports Institute (formerly English Institute of Sport), where he is based in Sheffield, and clinical director of Back In Action Rehabilitation, in Wakefield.

‘As a wider support team including nutritionists, conditioning coaches, performance analysis, and psychologists, we aim, together with the other members of the British Olympic Association, to provide the best opportunities and support for all Team GB athletes, and later paralympic team athletes in Paris,’ Ian said.

Others in the Team GB headquarters team are chief physiotherapist Nicki Combarro, deputy Sian Knott and physiotherapists Jonny Bucke, Celia Gillbe, Paul Gould, Emma Levy, Craig More and Calum Repper. 

Ben Breakspear is at the Olympics in his referee role in the rugby sevens tournament, which has already begun. Ben works at Cardiff and Vale health board as a health disability activity officer within a physiotherapy service-led Wales wide initiative getting disabled people more active.