Physiotherapy Travels

PACE Physio Sam Bishop has been extremely busy this summer, supporting his former training partner and South African Olympian Decathlete Willem Coertzen as he competed across Europe.  Sam is a Decathlete himself, so was able to combining pre and post-event Physiotherapy/stretching/massage/taping with coaching across the 2 day competitions.

Willem achieved 9th in the London 2012 Olympics and has continued to compete strongly this year, with a close second place to Damian Warner at the 2013 Decastar meeting in Talence, France; finishing with 8118 points (including a 2.08 m personal best in the high jump).

L-R: Sam Bishop, Willem Coertzen (SA); Renaud Lavillenie (FR); Ashton Eaton (USA)

By having a Physio on hand for the duration of the competition, Willem can concentrate more on the events and less on any niggles or aches he may have, ensuring he is in the best possible shape to compete.

The competitions are also a chance for Sam to meet with other coaches and athletes, further enhancing his knowledge of Athletics! The athletes shown above are:

Renaud Lavillenie who won the gold medal for Pole Vault at London 2012 Olympics.  Aside from his Olympic victory he has won one World Indoor Championships gold medal, two European Outdoor Championships gold medals and three European Indoor Championships gold medals. He has also won one silver medal and two bronze medals at the World Outdoor Championships. As of 2013, he holds the French national record for the highest pole vault clearance outdoors at 6.02 m and indoors at 6.03 m, which is the third-highest personal best indoor clearance of all time.

Ashton Eaton an American decathlete and Olympic champion, who holds the world record in both the decathlon and heptathlon events, and is only the second decathlete (after Roman Šebrle) to break the 9,000-point barrier, with 9,039 points.  In 2011, Eaton won the first international medal of his career, a silver, in the decathlon at the 2011 World Championships. The following year, Eaton broke his own world record in the heptathlon at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, and then went on to break the world record in the decathlon at the Olympic Trials. After setting the world record, Eaton won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Roman Sebrle with his plaque from the Gotzis Athletics Meet.

Sam was also fortunate to meet with Roman Šebrle at the Athletics meet in Götzis, Austria this summer.  Šebrle is from the Czech Republic and considered to be one of the best decathlon athletes of all time. Originally a high jumper, he competes in decathlon and heptathlon and is a former world record holder in the decathlon. In 2001 in Götzis he became the first decathlete ever to achieve over 9,000 points, setting the record at 9,026 points.  After placing second in the decathlon during the 2000 Summer Olympics, Šebrle won the gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Tradition dictates the winner of the decathlon holds the title of “World’s Greatest Athlete”.  A panel of experts convened by the Wall Street Journal in 2008 also ranked Šebrle as the world’s greatest athlete. That very same year, Seberle finished 6th in the decathlon in the Beijing Olympics.