International Olympic Committee partners with the University of Edinburgh

As part of its ongoing efforts to promote athletes’ safety and well-being, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), along with the University of Edinburgh, has launched the IOC Olympian Health Cohort, a new long-term research project aimed at reducing injuries and illnesses for elite athletes, and protecting their physical and mental health. 

The IOC Olympian Health Cohort is currently open to Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympians, but it is expected that future Olympians who compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be invited to join at later stages.

US skater Jordan Stolz during the Men's 1000 metre event at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games
US skater Jordan Stolz during the Men's 1000 metre event at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games

Monitoring athletes across their entire life cycle

The study aims to improve knowledge about athlete health across an athlete’s life cycle and after they retire from elite sport. Injury and illness surveillance during the Olympic Games provides important insights, but is limited in that it documents only two or three weeks of an athlete’s year. Equally, studies focusing on retired athletes can be limited by their retrospective nature. To more accurately identify and mitigate risk factors for short- and long-term athlete health and well-being, the study aims to monitor Olympians prospectively throughout their careers.

Links

https://olympics.com/athlete365/well-being/calling-tokyo-and-beijing-olympians-our-athlete-health-study-needs-you/

https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-launches-new-long-term-study-of-olympians-to-protect-athletes-physical-and-mental-health

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1126803/ioc-olympian-health-cohort-uni-edinburgh

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