The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Attributes her success to being a “team player” and “hard worker”
By Olivia Lueckemeyer
Crested Butte orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Gloria Beim has made her mark once again on the international sports medicine community by serving as chief medical officer—a role she describes as an “amazing honor”—to Team USA at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, which concluded on Sunday, September 18.
Dr. Beim has been working with the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Sports Medicine Team since she volunteered at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in 2001. Since then she has attended three Olympics, two World University Games, a Pan American Games, and a Parapan American Games, and this year she added Paralympics to her extensive résumé. In an interview with the Crested Butte News, Dr. Beim divulged her daily schedule, her insider trick to a successful relationship with the host country, and one of her favorite moments of this year’s Games.
Crested Butte News: When did you arrive in Rio and how did things go once you got there?
I arrived on September 4 and hit the ground running, visiting the different venues and making friends with the locals—particularly the polyclinic staff and hospitals. We always hope that we will not need to utilize their services but it is great to have friends in high places when you do need them. At all of the Olympics, Pan Am Games and now Paralympics that I have been to, the best currency are the Olympic and Paralympic pins. People go crazy for them!
I distribute them early before the Games begin and I have friends for life that will help me assist the athletes better. For instance, when the X-ray or MRI tech is out to lunch, yet I need one right away, I offer them a Team USA pin and they are back immediately to get me the imaging I need for the athletes, fast! It’s awesome!
Our athletes are doing great! In the final medal count, Team USA was ranked fourth with 115 medals, and Ukraine was third with 117. We had some fierce competition and there was great support for Team USA. It was thrilling to watch all of our athletes give it their all and their best after years of training and dedication.
Crested Butte News: You held the same title at the Sochi Olympics. How did you become the chief medical officer for Team USA at the Rio Paralympics?
This is the fifth time that I have had the honor of serving as chief medical officer for Team USA. I think the key is to be a team player and a hard worker. I have such passion for these athletes and staff; it is an amazing honor for me.
Crested Butte News: As chief medical officer, what are your responsibilities? What does your daily schedule entail?
My responsibilities include everything! I had an amazing medical staff here including doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, athletic trainers and massage therapists. It is my job to support them as well as the teams and to make sure that all of the athletes’ medical and general health needs are being met. I also feel responsible for forming good relationships with the host country as this always comes in handy. I think the best strategy to do this is to learn the local language. When I went to Sochi for the winter Olympics, I spent a year learning how to speak and read Russian. This served us very well and so I spent about six months learning Portuguese in preparation for Rio. It’s a good move strategically but it is also a blast chatting with the locals. When you start speaking their language, you get an immediate smile and often a hug, even from the military guys helping us out with security!
The athletes are in such great hands here. We have a sports medicine clinic that we staff from 7 a.m. to at least 11 p.m. and we are on-call 24 hours a day for the athletes and supporting staff. We also travel and support the teams during practices as well as competitions in the multiple venues. We are the “team behind the team,” so we do anything we can to make the athlete’s experience as seamless and positive as possible so that they can focus on their competition. It is definitely a marathon and we work very long hours. The experiences and the history we witness make it so easy. The energy at these Games is like nothing else I have ever experienced.
Crested Butte News: What are the biggest differences in acting as chief medical officer at the Paralympics and at the Olympics?
It is a completely different level of sports medicine. It can be more challenging at times and more satisfying at the same time. I learn something new at every Games and really enjoy the new experiences.
Crested Butte News: Now that you have experienced working both, which do you prefer—summer or winter Olympics?
That is like asking which kid (Skylar or Jakob) do I love more! I love them both so much!
Crested Butte News: Do you have any exciting stories to share with us about your experience at the Rio Paralympics?
There are so many amazing and wonderful stories—I could fill up your entire paper! There are so many athletes who have overcome so much adversity and are the strongest human beings I have ever met; it really humbles you. I can say that the men’s basketball gold was historic. After working with them in Toronto for the Parapan Am Games last year, the team requested that I support them at every game in the Paralympics if possible. They really took me in and made me a part of their amazing family. I doubled as the “water girl” and was never prouder serving a team. They had not earned a gold medal since 1988 so when they took gold the other night, it was really special. Listening to our national anthem and watching those boys with the gold medals around their necks made me cry!
Crested Butte News: What did you do in your spare time? Did you get a chance to explore Rio and the Brazilian culture?
I was working pretty hard so I did not have much time to sightsee. I did make it up to Sugar Loaf one afternoon after visiting the sailing venue. It was an amazing view of Rio. I generally explored the culture by speaking Portuguese to the locals. They are wonderful people and were very proud about their country. It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget.
Stay tuned for more information about Dr. Beim’s talk on her experience at the Rio Paralympics, “Superhumans in Sport,” to take place this November.
