A Charles Sturt University (CSU) sports expert will play a pivotal role in preparing the Indonesian national team for the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008.
Dr Stephen Bird, a lecturer in exercise rehabilitation at CSU’s School of Human Movement Studies has been engaged by the Indonesian National Olympic Committee (INOC) as Head of Team Management (Strength and Conditioning).
Dr Bird has also recruited two strength and conditioning professionals, former Olympic and Commonwealth Games sprinter Robert Ballard and ex-CSU student Andrew McCann, to provide full-time practical assistance to the Indonesian athletes until December 2007.
“We are very excited about this engagement,” Dr Bird said. “It’s another great opportunity to apply current theory, research and practice at the elite athlete level, and this could lead to opportunities for CSU Human Movement students to work with the Indonesian Olympic team in the future.
“My role, which is integrated with my CSU work, is to provide expert guidance and I will travel to Indonesia for three or four 10-day placements in the next seven months, while Robert and Andrew remain with the Indonesian athletes and oversee their daily training in the lead up to the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.
“The current Indonesian squad of about 800 athletes from 19 sports will be progressively culled to 200 and then to 100 or fewer.
“At the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 Indonesia fielded a 35 member team that won four medals – three in badminton and one in women’s weightlifting. The INOC objective for the 2008 Beijing Olympics is to double the number of Indonesian athletes competing and boost the overall national medal tally,” Dr Bird said.
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