University of New England

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Olympians Go for Gold with Help of UNE Grads

UNE physical therapy alumni Kurt Jepson ’85 and Mike Hersey ’99 had the opportunity of a lifetime when they accompanied the United States Winter Olympics team to Turin, Italy this past February to provide physical therapy to the athletes. Jepson and Hersey, co-founder and director-intraining, respectively, for Saco Bay Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, were selected from a medical pool of more than 50 applicants to serve at the Winter Games.

Jepson worked with the men’s Nordic ski team in Sestriere, Italy, while Hersey worked with the men’s snowboarding team in Bardonecchia, Italy. Jepson and Hersey each were required to volunteer two weeks at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. in preparation for the Olympics. Jepson said the U.S. Ski Team has about eight full-time employees, to cover a dozen teams worldwide, so they rely on the volunteer medical team to care for the athletes.

This is Jepson’s eighth year working with the Nordic ski team and Hersey’s sixth year with the snowboarding team. Jepson provided venue sports physical therapy services at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics games, and, in 2002, was the physical therapist for U.S. Nordic Ski Team at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, but Turin marked Hersey’s fi rst-ever Olympics.

Formerly competitive athletes themselves, Jepson, 48, was a member of the men’s lacrosse team while a student at UNE, and also served as an assistant men’s soccer coach, while Hersey, 28, was a member of the UNE soccer and lacrosse teams. Jepson was also a competitive skier, but now skis Nordic and downhill just for fun, saying, “taking my kids to Lost Valley is about as competitive as it gets these days.” Hersey was the only credentialed PT for the snowboard team in Torino and had contact with all of them on a daily basis. He already knew Olympic Gold medalist Seth Wescott, having attended high school with him, and having worked with him prior to the recent Olympics. In fact, he and Jepson still see Seth around at Sugarloaf. Hersey said, “Seth is a great athlete, but is also a great guy – humble – the real deal.”

Hersey expressed his excitement about working with the snowboarding team at the Olympics, several of whom eventually won medals, including three golds, “It was a privilege to have been selected to work for the Olympic Medical Team.” Jepson added, “It is a lot of time and effort, but it’s a truly rewarding experience.”

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