Chris­tiane Loinig-Velik receives IOC Diploma in Sports Medi­cine

The Carinthian sports physician and medical director of the Olympia Zentrum Kärnten since 2019,Christiane Loinig-Velik, was presented with the IOC Diploma in recent days: “A great deal from the programme can be applied to professional practice, both organisationally and technically. It gives you a broader perspective and new approaches. It is a very high-quality programme, as you work exclusively with people who are themselves active in sport.”

Loinig-Velik is one of only 15 Austrian sports physicians to have completed this additional qualification so far. Over a period of two years, the various modules are taught exclusively by specialist experts, all of whom are or have been involved in the Olympic Games.

“Alongside medical subjects, it covers areas such as how a polyclinic is set up and organised at the Olympic Games, what the waiting area looks like, which injury priorities are set at the Olympic Winter and Summer Games, what the legal framework looks like, and much more,” explains Christiane Loinig-Velik.

Participants come from every continent, creating a high-calibre network within which there is continuous, high-quality exchange.

Loinig-Velik is a specialist in trauma surgery, orthopaedics and traumatology, as well as a sports psychology coach, holds a diploma in international sports management, and has also worked for the National Anti Doping Agency NADA Austria since 2010, as well as serving as Anti-Doping Officer at the Olympia Zentrum Kärnten since 2014.

Loinig-Velik is not only the only woman on the IIHF medical committee; since 2018, she has also been one of three women worldwide to serve as a Medical Supervisor at the IIHF’s major ice hockey tournaments.