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Dr. Press - Chief Physician, Olympic Team of USSR (1992)

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OlymrngsStephen J. Press,DC, PhD,  a 4th generation American, was invited in early 1991, by Nicholai Rusak, then Minister of Sport of what was still the Soviet Union, to serve as Chief Physician for their Winter Olympic Team in Albertville, France in 1992.

Naturally, no one knew then that the USSR  would break up before the Games. This whole scenario  was of course, unprecedented, and required the permission of then President Geo. H. W. Bush, for Dr. Press  to represent them and not lose his US Citizenship as an agent of a foreign government. Thus when the team actually marched into Albertville, the Soviet Union had disintegrated, and was 15 separate nations, by that time called simply  the "Unified team" (сборная команда). This means that Dr. Press  was also the only doctor in Olympic  history  to have been Chief physician for 15 nations at one Olympic Games!

Copyright 2011 Dr. Press - Chief Physician, Olympic Team of USSR (1992). by Stephen Press, DC, PhD. All rights reserved.