Oakwood chiropractor could add Olympics to his resume

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OAKWOOD — A local chiropractor said his name is on a national waiting list for a chance to work at the Olympic Games.

Dr. Patrick Prikkel, whose office is at 2301 Far Hills Ave., recently returned from a two-week volunteer stint at the U.S. Olympic Complex in Colorado Springs, Colo. The 1991 Chaminade Julienne High School graduate is now one of seven chiropractors chosen in 2009 to be a part of the Olympic Training Center Program that allows physicians the opportunity to work with Olympic-bound athletes.

“You do a two-week rotation. That’s like your entry level into the Olympic Volunteer Program,” Prikkel said. “They had, this year, less than 30 doctors from around the country in the program. So they had teams of maybe two to five physicians or therapists.”

The Olympic staff uses the volunteer stint to evaluate the physicians to see which are eligible to work at any upcoming Olympic games. The eligible physicians are notified about a month after they leave the program.

“I found out mid-November that I was accepted to go to the next level, which would be, hopefully, international-level games,” Prikkel said. “That also allows me to network with different national governing bodies, like USA Cycling, USA Triathlon and USA Wrestling. I can send them my information and say, ‘If you need any medical coverage, could you keep my resume on file?’ ”

Prikkel said the volunteer program was the first level on his quest to work at the Olympics. The third level would be the Pan-American Games and then the Olympics.

“It’s specifically a four- to eight-year wait to get to the Olympic level, depending on the number of physicians that are in the queue ahead of you,” he said. “Then also the need, then also due to the budget. There are also some events that the Olympic committee isn’t committing medical resources to because of budgetary cuts.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2414 or kwynn@DaytonDailyNews.com.