Sports Physician - Athlete 1952

1952

Brigitte Ahrenholz (1952-) won silver with the GDR coxed eight at the 1971 European Rowing Championships in Copenhagen. Two years later in Moscow she won the European Championship with the coxed four. In 1974 she was again European champion in Luzern with the coxed eight. But she achieved her greatest success at the 1976 Olympics in Montréal, where she won the gold medal with the coxed eight. She graduated in 1983 and specialized in Surgery. She started her practice in Werder, a town near Potsdam.

1952

Gymnast Karin Büttner-Janz (1952-) represented the GDR at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. She won the 'vault' and the 'uneven bars'. In that last part she also became world champion in 1970 and she won four European and twenty GDR titles. At the age of 15 she won the silver medal on the uneven bars during her first Olympic participation in Mexico and the bronze medal in the team classification. A lot of exercises are named after her, the most famous being the forward Janz salto to the uneven bars. In 1971 she graduated from the Humboldt Universität Berlin and specialized in emergency medicine. She then also obtained her degree in Orthopedics at the Charité Universität Berlin. Together with her colleague Kurt Schellnack she developed the first artificial intervertebral disc, the Charité-Disc. From 1987 to 1990 she was head of Orthopedics department at the Charité Universität, after which she became Chief Physician Orthopedics at Klinikums Hellersdorf. In 2004 she was appointed Medical Director of the Vivantes Klinikums Friedrichshain and from 2008 onwards she was also head of Emergency and Orthopedics departments

1952

Ric Charlesworth (1952-) played both cricket and field hockey at the highest level in Australia. He was captain of the hockey team of Western Australian State and was selected five times for the Olympics, with the silver medal of 1976 in Montréal as the best result. With Australia, he won the World Hockey Cup in London in 1986 and after the 1998 Olympics in Seoul his player career ended with 227 games for the national team. From 1993 to 2000 he was head coach of the Australian women's team with whom he won the Champion's Trophy in 1993, 1997 and 1999, the World Hockey Club in 1994 and 1998 and gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and 2000 Olympics in Sydney. In 2009 he was in charge of the Australian men's team, with which he won the Men's Hockey Champions Trophy the same year, the year after the Hockey World Cup, the Men's Hockey Champions Trophy and the Commonwealth Games. He graduated as a physician but went into politics for ten years, but stopped in 1993 because he was never appointed Minister.

1952

Despite a knee injury, Bill Mackie (1952-) was selected for the Canadian gymnastics team of the 1972 Olympics. In Munich, however, he injured himself again and had to give up on his Olympic dreams. He returned to Canada and started his Medicine studies at the University of British Columbia BC Medical School, which he successfully completed. He settled as a GP in Victoria but also coached the gymnastic team at the University of Victoria. Afterwards he specialized in Sports Medicine.

1952

With her 12 years and 10 months, South African Karen Muir (1952-2013) was the youngest ever to break a world record. In 1965 she finished in 1.08.7 after 110 yards backstroke. The next five years she swam fifteen world records on 100 and 200m backstroke and 110 and 220 yards backstroke. She won 22 South African titles and was the fastest in the US National Championships three times. However, she could never participate in Olympics, due to the sporting boycott against her country, although she was at that time the fastest swimmer. After she quit competitions, she graduated from the University of Orange Free State and together with her husband she settled as a GP in South Africa. In 2000 both emigrated to Canada, where they first started a practice in Saskatchewan, later in Vanderhoof, British Columbia. In 2009 she was told that she had breast cancer, three years later it appeared to have spread, after which she returned to South Africa, where she died on April 1, 2013 at 60 years of age in Mossel Bay.

1952

Rower Ronald Vervoort (1952-) represented the Netherlands in the double-four at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. He settled as a general practitioner, specialized in Sports Medicine and opened a Medical Center in Vlaardingen.

1952

West German Thomas Wessinghage (1952-) was five times European champion 1.500m and earned four Olympic selections. Because of the German boycott of 1980 and a broken leg in 1984, he could only participate twice. With 62 international selections, he was the record holder of the German athletics federation. In 1982 he was crowned European champion of the 5.000m. In 1977 he graduated as a medical doctor and from 1996 to 2002 he was in charge of the Rehaklinik Saarschleife Mettlach, after which he became director of the Rehaklinik Damp.

1952

American Mike Woods (1952-) was selected for the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics, where he skated the 5,000 and 10,000m each time. The fourth place on that last issue during the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid was his best result. In 1980 he also won the 10,000m at the World Championships. He graduated as a medical doctor and specialized in anesthesia.