Sports Massage At The Olympics

by Julie Bradford
(San Diego)

With the 2008 Olympics in Beijing almost over, I am struck by how much sports massage at the Olympics there has been. I love how the cameras have zoomed in on star athletes right after they have finished an event and they are being massaged by one or two massage therapists.

Once, after Michael Phelps had once again won a gold medal, he was on a massage table and two massage therapists were working on him, getting him ready for yet another swim where he won yet another gold medal. What a fabulous swimmer. Sports massage at the Olympics really paid off for Michael Phelps and countless others athletes. It is so great that the cameras captured this.

Also, I noticed that the different sports commentators often mentioned massage and sports massage as they spoke of particular athletes. This is great worldwide exposure for our field. Sports massage at the Olympics shown on TV can really bring massage therapy to new heights all over. Thank you Beijing Olympics!