In Australia, the Chiropractic profession is still not considered a standard inclusion within a multi-disciplinary sports medicine team (to work alongside Sports & Exercise Physicians, Physiotherapists, Massage Therapists, and other medical and allied health professionals). It has always been my personal and professional goal to have the opportunity to work as a Sports & Exercise Chiropractor at the Olympic Games, and to see our profession become included as part of the multi-disciplinary teams within elite and professional sports in Australia. In early June 2024, I received a call, asking if I was available to take on a role as a Performance Support practitioner for Surfing Australia, as a part of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games (I will say, I was rather emotional when I received this call).
I must first disclose that my experience would be, and was, very different. Firstly, for the sport of surfing, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was held in Teahupo’o, Tahiti - 15,705 km away from Paris. Teahupo’o, Tahiti is an island in French Polynesia, which won the right to host the competition just before the pandemic, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) citing widespread support from the surfing community. Teahupo’o also hosts a World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour event each year.
Secondly, my contract with Surfing Australia for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was very specific. Since 2017, I have been fortunate to hold a position with the WSL as part of the Medical Team at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. In my WSL role, I work with any of the WSL athletes who are seeking care for acute/chronic injuries at the event, as well as athletes trying to enhance performance throughout the event / entire WSL season. My role for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was to be the Performance Support practitioner for Tyler Wright, one of the four Australian athletes to qualify for the Games (I was there purely to try and help assist Tyler achieve her performance goals).
Olympic Preparation
The two months leading into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games were filled with numerous team meetings where we discussed logistics – e.g. travel, accommodation, training and competition rules, communication procedures etc – as well as working remotely and face-to-face with Tyler. During this time, we tried to identify aspects of her performance that we wanted to enhance, specifically for the technical requirements needed to surf the wave at Teahupo’o.
Assessments included, but not limited to, vestibulo-oculomotor function, visual processing, balance performance, motor coordination, cervical spine sensorimotor integration, and functional movement evaluation. Where available, all assessments were performed with computerised diagnostic technology, to be as objective as possible (athletes love objective markers).
Various management strategies were then implemented to target the areas of decreased performance on her assessments and try to enhance those physiological areas in the months leading into the Olympic competition.
Tyler consulted with me face-to-face every fortnight (she travelled down from NSW to Melbourne) and we performed follow up phone / facetime calls each week to monitor the various aspects we were working on.
The Olympic Experience in Tahiti
I arrived in Teahupo’o on the Monday prior to the Paris Opening Ceremony. My accommodation was a house and bungalow at the “End of the Road”. I shared this accommodation with one of the Australian Surfing coaches, as well as the team’s marketing manager. The Australian team’s accommodation consisted of 4 different housing locations spaced within a 5-minute drive of each other – we were not staying on the cruise ship, which got quite a bit of media coverage – (1) my house and bungalow – “Blue House”; (2) another house with 2 bungalows – “Hill House” – which accommodated Surfing Australia’s head of high performance, the chief medical officer, the sports psychologist, the team manager, and the team media liaison/manager; (3 & 4) two more housing and bungalow complexes – “White House” & “White Bungalows” – where all the Australian athletes, coaches and team physiotherapist stayed.
In the five days prior to the Olympic surfing event window beginning, each day consisted of two practice sessions, where 12-16 athletes from various countries would be allocated official times when they could practice surfing the wave. What is unique in Teahupo’o, is that the wave is situated on the barrier reef surrounding the island, ~700 m from shore. The process to get to the “Field of Play” (i.e. the wave) was quite strict and regimented (only people with appropriate accreditation were allowed out in the field of play, and this accreditation became stricter during the competition days). We would arrive at the mariner 30-mins prior to the team’s official practice window, where the Australian team boat would take us out the field of play, where it would remain anchored for the duration of the practice window. We would then be collected by official IOC jet-ski’s and taken to one of three official IOC boats, which were anchored in the channel, next to the reef - home to one of the most unique and dangerous waves on the planet (Teahupo'o is commonly translated as "wall of skulls" or "broken skull" in English).
Once on the official IOC boat, Tyler and I would conduct her specific warm-up (based upon our findings during her Olympic preparation back in Australia and progressed during our time in Tahiti). She would then enter the water and practice surfing the wave. She would have hand signals to communicate her body awareness/performance/outcomes after surfing each wave. Following the official surf practice, Tyler and I would usually have lunch together with her wife, where we would debrief and review the practice session, and then head back to “Blue House” for further assessment and management.
At the end of each day, I would head to “Hill House” to review video footage of Tyler’s practice session(s) with the team sports psychologist, and then have dinner with the Australian Team (all Australian staff, minus the athletes). Over dinner, we would discuss that day’s practice session(s); any issues, injuries or concerns needing to be addressed regarding the athletes, Olympic accreditations, media and/or logistics; as well as preparing for the following day(s) events.
For Tyler and I, the five days of practice were extremely productive and beneficial, with her technical proficiency and performance on the wave excelling. Her body was responding and progressing well to the different management strategies we were integrating.
By the time the Olympic Surfing competition window opened, we were both optimistic about the process we were using, and the opportunity it was providing for her performance. Surfing is a unique sport, where competition is dictated by Mother Nature. Even when Mother Nature provides waves that are worthy of high-performance surfing, sometimes within a 30-min heat there may not be the opportunity (waves) to demonstrate this performance. Tyler made it through to the Olympic Quarter Finals, where she was beaten by the eventual gold medallist Caroline Marks. Tyler accepted the unpredictability of the ocean, stating to Channel 9’s coverage, "She does what she does and she kinda did. She gave me a wave underneath and I almost converted again which is probably the most frustrating thing… It's a bit of a bummer, I'm pretty frustrated but that's OK."
Despite the outcome, as a Sports & Exercise Chiropractor, having the opportunity to be a part of the Surfing Australia team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and witnessing one of the most unique waves, in one of the most beautiful locations on the planet, is an Olympic experience I will be forever grateful for.
To see some more photos and videos of my experience at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, please see my social media pages @brettjarosz
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