An NHS Tayside doctor will have rink-side seats at the Winter Olympics when he takes on the role of Team GB’s chief medical officer.
Dr Niall Elliott is no stranger to working with Britain’s elite athletes, having worked at two other Olympic Games. However, this is his first time leading the medics in Sochi.
He said: “This is my first time as the chief medical officer for Team GB so it’s a great honour and opportunity to lead a team of two doctors and six physiotherapists.
“The total team size is just over 120 athletes and support staff and we are expecting long days and a real mix of things to contend with.”
Dr Elliott is in familiar territory working with athletes.
In his day job the Dundee University graduate deals with sportsmen and women at the sportscotland Institute of Sport and also has an NHS role as a sports and exercise medicine specialist, working in a multi-disciplinary musculoskeletal clinic at Dundee’s Kings Cross Hospital.
Speaking from Russia he said: “I am in Sochi, well, the mountain village, so just getting unpacked and making sure all is ready for the first athletes that arrive tomorrow.
“With seven kit bags of medical equipment from medications to defibrillators, I think I have most things covered.”
Dr Elliott will be supported by some familiar faces from the sportscotland institute.
“Scotland is well represented in Team GB in the Olympic Winter Games with over 30% of the athletes being Scottish and a large number of high performance experts from the sportscotland Institute of Sport including doctors, physiotherapists, a sports psychologist and a sports analysis expert,” he said.