One of the busiest members of the large New Zealand contingent at the recent Birmingham Commonwealth Games in England was a Queenstown doctor.
Dr Sarah Beable, a sport and exercise physician at the local Axis Sports Medicine Clinic, was co-lead of the NZ health team which comprised seven doctors, five physios, three massage therapists and a nurse, who in turn looked after 400-plus athletes and staff.
She was also the Covid liaison officer, making sure everyone had a negative Covid test before entering the Games villages.
Beable says while she was very busy — commonly surviving on four to five hours’ sleep — it was also very rewarding.
‘‘It was our best-performing away Games and also, from a health point of view, there were just some really cool outcomes.
‘‘The team put a major emphasis on everyone’s health and wellbeing, including the staff, and I think it’s probably reflected in the results, too.’’
Beable, who also worked at the Glasgow and Gold Coast Comm Games and the Rio Olympics, says her role started months beforehand.
‘‘We do a health evaluation of every athlete that’s going, and that includes a mental health/wellness check, and also drug-free education, so we already have a handle on these people when they turn up.
‘‘The biggest spike is the two days before the opening ceremony, when they come in and have maybe picked up a training injury.’’
The NZ team also suffered a pre-Games Covid spike — ‘‘having a nurse in our isolation ward made all the difference’’.
‘‘What was cool is I think we had only one athlete who didn’t make it to the start-line.’’
The Comm Games are quite special to her as her mum, then Barbara Poulsen, competed in three Games and picked up silver in the women’s shot put in Edinburgh in 1970.
In Queenstown, aside from seeing clients in her clinic, she’s also medical lead for the Snow Sports NZ team.
Having completed the gruelling Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, she also regularly skins up Coronet Peak with her dog and competes in events like the recent Race Tekapo 32km trail run.
Over the past 18 months, she’s also had Dr Adam Castricum onboard — the former Athletics Australia chief medical officer has worked at two Olympics, three world champs, two Comm Games, with Aussie Rules’ Hawthorn team and at Hawaii Ironman.
