Ashford and St. Peter’s represented at Olympics

“Participating in the Olympics is a great honour,” says hospitals Chief Executive Paul Bentley.  “We are proud that two colleagues from Ashford and St. Peter’s are part of Olympic team during this prestigious event and everyone at the Trust will be supporting both of them.”

Susan Scott (30), a cardiac physiologist, will be running in the 1500m.   Susan produced a strong performance to finish third at the 2008 European Cup.   She ran 4:07.00 over 1500m to achieve the Olympic A qualifying standard, finishing second in Lillein June 2008.    She finished just off the podium in fourth at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games for Scotland.   If all goes to plan Susan will be running on the following days:

·          19th August at 10:00am in the Women’s 1500m Round 1

·          21st August at 7.00pm in the Women’s 1500m Semifinals

·          23rd August at 7.50pm in the Women’s 1500m Finals

Susan, who works on both the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospital sites and lives in Twickenham, flies out to Beijing on Wednesday 6th August.   She said: “I’ve been training hard for this event and am looking forward to the competition.   I am very proud to be representing Great Britain and will be doing my best for the country and all those that know me.   I’ve had great support from all the patients and staff at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals.”

Consultant Rheumatologist Dr Michael Irani is the other member of staff attending.   He has been invited by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) and International Olympic Committee (IOC), to attend the games in China as an official Doctor.  Dr Irani is proud to have been involved in both the Commonwealth and Olympic Games having been to them many times and said: "It is a real privilege to have been asked by the IWF and IOC to be an official doctor at the games in Beijing.   My work over the past 23 years in the NHS at Ashford and St. Peter’s and elsewhere has provided me with the experience in musculoskeletal conditions and science required to provide these world class athletes and their managers with the advice they need to ensure their weightlifting is safe and within the rules of the Olympics.”

Dr Irani, who is from Chiswick, is for the first time in his many visits to the Olympics permitted to take a guest and will be accompanied by his 14 year old son.   He has been a medical officer at the Olympic Games since the games in ‘84 in Los Angeles and was first asked in 1986 in Edinburgh to be an official Doctor for the England Team.   In his role as Official Doctor he will be looking after athletes from many nations and the IWF and IOC sees him as being a true and unbiased person.   Unlike Susan you are unlikely to see Dr Irani on the television unless there is a problem at the weightlifting events which can last for up to two hours at a time.

Dr Irani said: “Weightlifting is a very safe sport but because the weights being lifted are huge, when things go wrong, they go very wrong.   My role in Beijing will include training the Chinese support workers and paramedics how to handle things if there is a serious problem and also providing health education for the weightlifters and their managers about the policies of the IWF and IOC on drugs and supplements.  With the development of new technologies it is increasingly difficult for any athlete to beat the tests which are available for the 2008 Olympics.”

“Working at the games helps with my work as a rheumatologist. I get to see what the body can and more importantly, can’t do in people whose physiques are honed for a specific task – lifting huge weights.  This helps with improving the care techniques for many of my patients in my normal working life.”

Beijing was elected as the host city for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad on 13 July 2001 in Moscow, shaking off competition from Istanbul, Osaka, Paris and Toronto.    It is the first time the Olympic Games will be held in the People's Republic of China and coincides with a period of vast economic growth in Asia. The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will take place on 8th August 2008.

Sixteen days of intense competition will follow as 10,500 elite athletes from around the world compete for the 302 gold medals on offer across 28 sports. The Closing Ceremony will bring down the curtain on 24th August 2008. Besides Beijing, Qingdaowill hold the sailing competition; Hong Kong will be the location for the equestrian events; Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang andQinhuangdao are the co-host cities for the football tournament. The Paralympic Games will take place from 6th-17th September 2008.

The Games slogan of “One World, One Dream” captures China’s aspirations to open their doors to the world through the Olympic Games and leave a lasting legacy for their population of 1.3 billion people, which includes some 56 ethnic groups. The Beijing Organising Committee has labelled the 2008 Games the "Green Olympics, High-tech Olympics and People's Olympics" with a focus on three core issues: Environmental protection; Technological expertise and above all else cultural exchange between people from across the world.