David Weinstein (DW): I have had the opportunity and privilege to be an orthopedic sports medicine consultant for the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Training Center since 1995. The center is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where I currently practice as an orthopedic surgeon at the Orthopedic Centers of Colorado – Colorado Center of Orthopedic Excellence. I have been in this role taking care of athletes and working for Team USA for more than 30 years now. There are a number of athletes who live and train at the USOPC Training Center, as well as a number of athletes who live and train elsewhere and come to the Colorado Springs center for training camps with their teams. Other athletes come individually for training, and still others come specifically for medical care and recovery. Through this process I have had the opportunity to care for multiple athletes on Team USA and provide international medical coverage for USA Basketball, USA Volleyball and USA Wrestling.

DW: My first Olympics were back in 2000, in Sydney. The Milan Cortina Olympics are my 10th Olympic Paralympic Games.

David Weinstein (DW): Every day at the Olympics is different. We have a large number of Team USA medical providers who work the different sports and between the multiple venues. This requires a significant amount of coordination. At the Milan Cortina Games, the events were in many geographically separate locations. The days just prior to the start of competition require setting up our clinics, visiting venues and local supporting hospitals, developing emergency medical plans, and establishing relationships with the local organizing committee’s medical teams. Once the athletes arrive the fun and rewarding part of providing medical care begins. There is an unpredictability to each day as we know injuries and illnesses will occur but not exactly when or what type. Generally, I am available 24 hours a day, but fortunately, at the Milan Cortina Games, we did not have a lot of middle-of-the-night emergencies.

DW: I cannot comment on any specific athlete’s injury but can say that when anyone on Team USA is injured, the full resources of Team USA are prepared and engaged to provide world-class care for every athlete on the team.

DW: The non-medical fun part of the games included being in the hockey arena where the atmosphere was so intense when both the women’s and men’s hockey teams won gold medals, both beating Canada in overtime. My family also had the opportunity to come out for part of the games, and we all took a cooking class making ravioli and tiramisu.

DW: The most satisfying part of the games is supporting the athletes to compete at their best. For every high-profile athlete, there are many more athletes at the games for whom this will be the biggest and maybe only opportunity to be in the spotlight. It is extremely fulfilling when you can help someone who has worked so hard to achieve their goals and truly perform at their healthiest level. I think this self-satisfaction to be part of the team behind Team USA makes it worth the time commitment it takes to continue to provide medical care for Team USA.