IOC confirms new partnerships with 11 Research Centres specialising in athlete health and injury prevention

The IOC Research Centres for 2023-2026 will each work widely to research, develop and implement effective preventive and treatment methods for sports-related injuries and illnesses, supported by a four-year grant from the IOC.

Professor Uğur Erdener, Chair of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission, welcomed the announcement of the new IOC Research Centres.

“I am delighted that we will once more be working with many of the world’s leading experts in sports medicine through these partnerships,” said Professor Erdener. “These 11 IOC Research Centres are conducting vital research into athletes’ health and the prevention of sports injuries. The IOC’s desire to keep athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement includes a robust commitment to athlete welfare, and we look forward to partnering with these Centres as they explore new ways to prevent injury in athletes.”

The new IOC Research Centres are:

• La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine (LASEM) Research Centre - Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), Australia

• Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC) – University of Calgary, Canada

• Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen (ISMC) and Sports Orthopaedic Research Centre – Copenhagen (SORC-C) – Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark

• French-Speaking Research Network for Athlete Health Protection & Performance (ReFORM) – National Institute of Sport, Expertise & Performance (INSEP), France; University and University Hospital of Liège, Belgium; Luxembourg Institute of Research in Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & Science (LIROMS); National Sport Institute of Quebec, Canada; Geneva University Hospitals, Switzerland

• Yonsei Institute of Sports Science & Exercise Medicine (YISSEM) – Yonsei University, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee, Sol Hospital and Korea National Sport University, Republic of Korea

• Amsterdam Collaboration on Health & Safety in Sports (ACHSS) – Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Netherlands

• Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) – Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway

• Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital – Qatar

• Sport, Exercise Medicine & Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI) – University of Pretoria, Stellenbosch University & South African Medical Research Council, South Africa

• UK Collaboration Centre on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport (UKCCIIS) – University of Edinburgh and University of Bath, Great Britain

• United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness & Injury in Sport – US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) and The University of Utah, USA

The announcement of the IOC Research Centres for 2023-2026 follows an open call for applications that concluded on 1 June 2022.

Pioneering partnerships

The IOC has long supported the work of established research centres that have demonstrated research, and educational and clinical expertise in elite sport. Since 2009, the IOC has worked in partnership with many such organisations, supporting their research and its practical application in sports medicine while simultaneously building an international network of expert scientists and clinicians in sports injury and illness prevention research.

Through these partnerships, the IOC promotes injury and disease prevention and the improvement of athletes’ physical and mental health by:

• establishing long-term research programmes on injury and disease prevention (including underlying studies on epidemiology, risk factors and mechanisms);

• fostering collaborative relationships with individuals, institutions and organisations to improve athletes’ physical and mental health;

• implementing applied, ongoing and novel research and development within the framework and long-term priorities of the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission, including follow-up and research related to IOC Consensus Statements; and

• setting up knowledge translation mechanisms to share scientific research results with the field throughout the Olympic Movement and sports community and to convert these results into concrete action to protect the health of the athletes.