IOC recognises 11 Research Centres worldwide for prevention of injury and protection of athlete health

These centres are:

• The Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention (Edith Cowan University and La Trobe University Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, Australia)
• Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (University of Calgary, Canada)
• Institute of Sports Medicine & Sports Orthopedic Research Center-Copenhagen (SORC-C) (Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark)
• French-speaking Research Network for Athlete Health Protection & Performance (French Institute of Sport; University and University Hospital of Liège; Luxembourg Institute of Research in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and Science; National Sport Institute of Quebec; Geneva University Hospitals)
• Yonsei Institute of Sports Science and Exercise Medicine (Yonsei University, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Korean Sports and Olympic, Sol Hospital, Korea National Sport University, Republic of Korea)
• Amsterdam Collaboration on Health & Safety in Sports (VU University and Academic Medical Centre, Netherlands)
• Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Norway)
• Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital (Qatar)
• Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (University of Pretoria, University of Stellenbosch, South African Medical Research Council, South Africa)
• London’s Institute for Sports, Exercise and Health and National Centre for Sports Exercise and Medicine (United Kingdom)
• United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport (United States Olympic Committee, Steadman Philippon Research Institute, The University of Utah, USA)

Over the next four years, these centres will be tasked with researching, developing and implementing effective preventive and treatment methods for sports-related injuries and illnesses. They will receive support from the IOC and join an international network of expert scientists and clinicians in sports-injury and disease-prevention research.

“We are delighted to have appointed 11 highly qualified centres from the four corners of the world to assist us with our mission,” commented IOC Medical and Scientific Commission Chair and IOC Vice-President Prof. Uğur Erdener. “These centres have all demonstrated that they are at the forefront of research in sports medicine and are committed to our shared goal of using knowledge and resources to ensure the athletes’ well-being so that sportsmen and women can perform at their best level with minimal risks to their health.”

The IOC Head of Scientific Activities, Lars Engebretsen, added: “While athletes were previously active until they were 25, today they compete until they are 40 to 45 at a very high level. An injury to one of them is a major issue, so treatment and prevention have become all the more important.”

Collaborating closely with the newly-appointed 11 research centres, the IOC aims to further promote and protect the health of athletes 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’ health,
• Implementing applied, ongoing and novel research and development within the framework and long-term strategy of the IOC,
• 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 actions to protect the health of the athletes.

Since 2009, the IOC, under the leadership of its Medical and Scientific Commission, has supported and partnered with established research centres from around the world that have demonstrated clinical, educational and research expertise in the fields of sports medicine and elite sports to promote the athletes’ health through the prevention of injury and illness.