Physio Paul Prepares for Another Paralympics

Next week, physiotherapist and director at Physio Remedies, Paul Martin, will be putting on his other hat (and sunglasses too) as technical lead physiotherapist for the English Institute of Sport. He’s heading out to Tokyo - which has always been a dream of his!

Paul is part of the ParalympicsGB preparation team that will be based at Keio University’s Hiyoshi Campus. This state of the art preparation facility based in the greater Tokyo area, was secured for the Games by the British Paralympic Committee in 2018. It is in fact the Paralympics biggest ever preparation camp.

However, the current outbreak of COVID infections in the city, strict travel regulations and local restrictions for visitors, mean the next week will be fraught with challenges for the team of athletes as well as their support crew. They’ll also have some pressure on their shoulders, following GB’s overall 2nd placing in Rio 2016. And for those who experienced Rio, this will feel a lot different. There will be no family support, regular COVID testing, and of course - heat!

The Holding Camp

For those athletes heading to the Keio preparation camp, there will be fantastic training facilities, a chance to acclimatise to their performance environment and support ready for their final preparations, before they head out to compete in the Games. This will enable them to acclimatise to the heat and humidity, and to recover from their long journeys.

As well as knowing how the athletes like their tea or coffee, details like the distance between their accommodation to the food block or the bus-stops have all been considered. Representatives from ParalympicsGB were able to carry out Recces on location before the lockdowns, and were able to suss out the logistics and adapt them where needed. Even so, with such a vast campus, some of the athletes have been preparing to move around more than they are used to. And the team is ready to do everything it can to help get the athletes on the start line in the best possible shape they can be.

Paul said: “The holding camp is quite a fun time. There is a little bit of anxiety, but everybody is off the big training schedule and in their taper. The athletes are starting to feel the benefit of their training. And they’re ready. It’s an enjoyable place to be.”

Preparation Is Key

Some sports choose to complete the final stages of preparation in the UK and arrive straight into the village. However, some athletes, for example those with a high spinal cord injury that play wheelchair rugby, can have difficulty with thermoregulation and might require time to acclimatise to the local conditions so will try to spend more time in the environment. As such, the team will need to support and continuously monitor them as they get used to the heat and humidity.

The COVID restrictions mean that the team will be limited to the compound - that includes accommodation and training space. Equipment such as consumables, have already been shipped over in a container and there are volunteers that can go and fetch supplies if needed. This will be reliant in part on good old fashioned ‘Whatsapp’! Paul said it will be a stark contrast to the last Winter Games he supported, where the container in the village was in about a foot of snow and -20 degree temperatures! “There are always challenges,” he said.

A Paralympic Pro

Paul will not only be helping with any fine-tuning of the athletes, but will be on hand to help the practitioners. And they couldn’t really ask for a more experienced guide. Paul has supported all the Paralympic Games since 2004 and he has developed the physios that work with the different squads - in rowing, powerlifting, wheelchair tennis...and many more sports.

Paul said: “There’s either nothing happening, or everything happening. When everything’s happening - it’s wild!

“The spirit in the GB squad is amazing. If someone wins a medal, it lifts the whole team.”

Paul also mentioned the positive impact the Games has on youngsters starting off in sport, who really look up to these elite athletes performing on the World stage. This must be a lovely thing to witness in the immediate aftermath of the Games.

We wish Paul all the best at the Games! Keep an eye on our social media - we will share any updates direct from Paul at the GB Prep Camp!

Words by Paul.