‘Irish competitors have real medal chances’
LIMERICK man and world renowned sports injury physiotherapist Gerard Hartmann has been appointed to the Team Ireland’s medical and sport science team for the London Olympics and the man with the healing hands notes that spirits are high and that a number of the competitors could bring home medals from the London games.
Gerard is a native of Limerick City and has extensive experience in sports medicine. Over the past twenty two years he has developed a reputation for treating many of the world’s elite sports stars.
This week, Gerard said that; “It is an honour to have been appointed on the Olympic Council of Ireland’s Medical Team for the London Olympic Games. It is a challenge working with athletes from the 14 sports that Ireland has competing at the London Games, a challenge I will embrace in an effort to ensure Irish participants get to the starting line of their respective event healthy”.
Noting the medal prospects of the Irish, Gerard said that the feeling in the camp is that medal prospects are high in boxing and that sailing could also feature on the podium.
“Many of our competitors are feeling good ahead of the games and we could feature in a number of sports. The team is in good spirits on the whole.”
This will be Gerard’s sixth Olympic Games appointment. In 1992 at the Barcelona Games he worked with the USA team and his individual clients won 12 medals. He was the Physical Therapist to the Irish Olympic Team in Atlanta USA in 1996. He served on the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team at the Sydney Olympic Games, 2004 Athens Olympic Games, and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Gerard has treated 61 Olympic medal winners to date, 47 World Champions including world record holders in 100m, 110m hurdles, 1,500m, 1 mile, 3,000m, 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m, 10 mile road, half marathon, marathon.
Additionally he has worked with many of Irelands GAA and rugby stars, Sean Og O Hailpin, Henry Shefflin, Lar Corbett, Seamus Moynihan, Keith Wood, Ronan O‘Gara, Brian O‘Driscoll. Gerard is director of Hartmann International Sports Injury Clinic at the University Arena, University of Limerick and its satellite clinic at the High Altitude Training Centre, Iten, Kenya. International athletes have visited Hartmann International Sports Injury Clinic at the University of Limerick Sports Arena from the following countries: USA, Great Britain, Kenya, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania, Algeria, Morocco, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Portugal, Spain. In recent weeks double world 5,000m and 10,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya) spent time in Limerick. Other international stars who visited include Moses Masai, Linet Masai, (Kenya), Moses Kipsiro (Uganda), Delloreen Ennis, Johan Blake (Jamaica), Paula Radcliffe (GB).
