Going for gold: Sharp doctor preps Team USA for Paris

As a child, some of Dr. Mark Schultzel’s favorite memories include gathering around the television with his family to watch the Olympics. He loved seeing the competition and was fascinated by learning about cultures from around the world.

Fast forward to the present and Dr. Schultzel is now an orthopedic surgeon affiliated with Sharp Memorial Hospital. He still loves the Olympics and has found a way to combine that passion with his profession.

Dr. Schultzel serves as a volunteer sports medicine doctor for Team USA. He spent a week in July at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, providing care for the athletes as they went through their final preparations ahead of the Summer Games in Paris.

“It’s always been my dream to be part of the Olympic Games,” Dr. Schultzel says. “This is a great way I can support my country and the Olympic movement.”

A front-row seat

Dr. Schultzel’s first time volunteering with Team USA was in 2018 when he traveled to PyeongChang for the Winter Games in South Korea. After watching from home all those years, he was delighted to witness the pageantry of the Olympics firsthand. He called his parents on FaceTime every day to share the experience with them.

“Being in the stadium for the opening ceremony was incredible,” he says. “And when you see your athletes walking in the parade — that was an amazing feeling.”

As a volunteer, Dr. Schultzel was assigned to cover the sledding sports and speed skating. He treated injuries as they came up during events and practices and provided other general health checkups as needed. In addition to caring for the competitors, he would also scan the crowd to keep an eye out for spectators who appeared to need medical assistance.

Among other injuries, Dr. Schultzel recalls treating a skeleton (sled racing) athlete badly hurt during a fall and a speed skater who had suffered a significant cut. It struck him that when an injury occurred, whichever doctors were on hand would immediately respond to help, regardless of their home country. During downtimes and meals, doctors would mingle and chat, even those whose countries are sometimes considered adversarial.

Dr. Schultzel saw the same phenomenon when he volunteered again two years later at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. “It’s sports diplomacy,” Dr. Schultzel says. “You see athletes from quarreling nations become friends on and off the field of play.”

Bringing lessons home from the Olympics

Treating the health concerns of the country’s top athletes so they can compete in the world’s premier events gave Dr. Schultzel new perspectives for when he returned to treating his patients at Sharp Memorial.

“Surgery always makes you different,” he says. “Our goal is to make you better. Some people believe that surgery is a panacea that will make them perfect or back to normal, but sometimes this isn’t possible, despite everyone’s best efforts. Patients need to know going into an operation what the risks and benefits of surgery are so they can make the best decisions for themselves.”

Dr, Schultzel says he’s learned the value of clear communication and managing patient expectations. While honesty is important, he says, treating elite athletes also helped teach him the importance of sports psychology.

“You have to be their best cheerleader, encourage them during their rehab and understand how their motivation works to get them the best outcome possible,” he says.

Now, when he treats local athletes, or even nonathletes who are very active, he sometimes suggests they see a sports psychologist. The specialist, he tells them, can help with strategies for dealing with the physical limitations they may face as they recover from surgery.

Paris and beyond

Having spent a week in Colorado Springs, helping prepare Team USA athletes for the Paris Games, Dr. Schultzel will be watching the events on television from back home in San Diego. But he plans to continue his Olympic efforts. Training in Colorado Springs increases his chances of being selected for one of the coveted volunteer spots with Team USA in 2028, when the Olympic Games return to Los Angeles for the first time since 1984.

“I consider it an honor,” Dr. Schultzel says. “It’s a small way I can support our athletes and promote the Olympic spirit.”

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