Prof Roald Bahr appointed as new Senior Advisor to the IOC Medical and Scientific Department
Prof Roald Bahr, a former Norway national team volleyball player and coach, has been appointed Senior Advisor to the IOC Medical and Scientific Department.
In his role, he will assist the IOC’s scientific and medical activities in the field of sports sciences so as to position the IOC as the reference in sports medicine, through education, research and partnerships, with the ultimate goal of protecting the health of the athletes.
Prof Bahr will take up his post on 1 January 2025 and succeed Prof Lars Engebretsen, who will retire in December 2024, after having led the Scientific Activities since 2007.
Roald Bahr MD PhD is a Professor of Sports Medicine in the Department of Sports Medicine at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and the Chair of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, and was most recently the Chief Medical Officer for Olympiatoppen and Chair of the Medical Department at the National Olympic Training Center. His main research area is sports injury prevention and his contribution to the field of sports medicine includes over 350 original research articles, review papers and book chapters, in addition to several books, including the “IOC Manual of Sports Injuries”, published in seven languages, as well as the “IOC Handbook of Sports Injury Prevention”.
He will bring experience from prominent leadership roles including that of a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, past chair of the National Council on Physical Activity, past president of the Norwegian Society of Sports Medicine and past president, secretary and member of the FIVB Medical Commission. He chaired the IOC Medical and Scientific Commission Games Group for the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
In his new role, Prof Bahr will report to IOC Medical and Scientific Director Dr Jane Thornton.