A local doctor is headed to the Olympics as a Team USA physician. Orthopedic surgeon, Jonathan Fow, practices sports medicine with Dignity Health Central Coast at Arroyo Grande Specialty Center and will represent the U.S.
Dr. Jonathan Fow is heading to Tokyo, but it’s not his first time at the Olympics. Fow was a team physician for the USA beach volleyball team in London in 2012 and for Paralympic athletes at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru.
“Working with all the different athletes as a doctor, you get more interaction with the athletes,” said Fow. “Probably half of the stuff you deal with as a sports medicine doctor is not injury, it’s medical, so it’s more sickness and illness.”
With strict restrictions set in Japan because of COVID-19, Fow will likely be behind the scenes, working with the athletes prior to competition.
“My job at the Olympics is going to be working at the high-performance center,” said Fow. “I will most likely be in the background, warming these people up, getting ready to go the venue.”
For Fow, working with the most elite athletes in the world is something he does not take for granted.
“Being able to cover the Olympics, it doesn’t get better than that,” said Fow. “Most sports medicine people, somewhere in their head, may think, ‘Maybe someday I’ll do the Olympics,’ but I’ve been very fortunate to go twice.”
Dr. Fow is scheduled to leave Saturday for Tokyo.
