Fleetwood Town doctor's appointment with Team GB for Tokyo Olympics

The GB Olympics team may be lacking in names from the Fylde coast, though one man from these parts has a vital role to play in Tokyo.
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Dr Duncan Robertson, Fleetwood Town’s club doctor, has left his Kirkham clinic behind for a few weeks to work with the GB track and field team in Japan.

Dr Robertson flew out last Friday to Yokohama, where the team are based as they prepare for the start of the athletics a week on Friday.

From the Fylde to the Far East for Dr Duncan RobertsonFrom the Fylde to the Far East for Dr Duncan Robertson
From the Fylde to the Far East for Dr Duncan Robertson
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The sports and exercise medicine consultant, based in St Annes, takes up the story.

“It was a last-minute call really but I’ve known Dr James Brown, the head doctor for British Athletics, for 20 years.

“He told me they needed a couple of extra bodies with the right skills and I wasn’t going to say no.

“It’s a privilege to be involved with the Olympic team.

“These athletes have worked day in, day out for the last five years for this.

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“If they get sick or catch a bug while they are out there, it’s five years down the drain, so preventing illness is the biggest task.

“We have very good help from the osteopaths, physiotherapists and psychologists, so it’s a very good team that I’m part of.”

Originally from Ayrshire, Dr Robertson trained at Edinburgh in the 1980s and spent 21 years as an army doctor, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He is now proud to be part of the Fleetwood Town success story and added: “I’d moved to St Annes when I was working for Blackburn and I set up the clinic in Kirkham.

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“I wasn’t planning on working for another football club, but when Fleetwood’s previous doctor left they called to ask if I could help out part-time. It’s convenient for the players to use the clinic and it has worked out very well.

“I do feel a little like Alice in Wonderland falling through the rabbit hole – I’ve never known where I would end up or what opportunities would arise.”

For the time being, the opportunity in Tokyo demands Duncan’s total attention with Covid another issue to contend with – one which has led some to question whether these Games should go ahead.

He added: “It comes down to geography really – countries like Japan and Australia have relied more on a policy of isolation than vaccination and that has made the situation more difficult.

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“But our approach to all medical matters is that prevention is cure, so personal hygiene is particularly important right now.

“It’s going to be the buzz-word for these Games.”

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