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Team Doctor

The concept of a team doctor is thought to have started when a Canadian doctor, Dr. J.C. Kennedy,  first organized a medical team to travel with the 1972 Canadian Olympic team to Munich. Such was the impact of that decision that bringing along specialized sports physicians to high-level sporting events soon became standard practice. The team physician's job is to ensure the health and performance of the athletes. Now each professional sports team has its own team medical staff that travels with and treats the athletes to personal medical care.

Although the concept has gained popularity only recently, the world's first team doctor is really Galen (real name: Claudius Galenos), the renowned Greek physician of the 2nd century AD. Galen started off his career as a personal doctor to the gladiators in a gladiatorial school in Pergamum, where he learned much of his knowledge about treating wounds. He was responsible for the health and well-being of the gladiators and also responsible for ensuring peak performance by the gladiators during fights.

Artwork showing Galen treating a gladiator

Sources

https://www.aspetar.com/journal/viewarticle.aspx?id=322#.YP2Jpo5KiUk
https://www.sportsmed.org/AOSSMIMIS/Members/Downloads/History/HallofFame/KennedyBio.pdf

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