Central Coast doctor heading to Olympics as a Team USA physician

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. -- Jonathan Fow, MD is heading to Tokyo later this week after being named a Team USA physician for the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

“I am truly honored and humbled to have been selected as a sports medicine physician for Team USA.” Said Fow, “Being a physician for Team USA in Tokyo will be a major milestone in my sports medicine career.”

Dr. Fow is a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon practicing in San Luis Obispo County at Arroyo Grande Specialty Center. He is the Team Physician for Nipomo and Morro Bay High Schools and is employed by Dignity Health’s Pacific Central Coast Health Centers (PHC).

"It's exciting," said Fow. "I think it's just a great opportunity. It's hard to be away from the family for three weeks, but it's such a great opportunity that's once in a lifetime, so I'm really looking forward to it."

The trip will actually mark the second time Fow has worked as a Team USA physician during an Olympics.

In 2012, he served the United States beach volleyball team that won gold and silver medals in the women's tournament.

"It's a different job," said Fow. "The first time I went it was with beach volleyball, so it was setting up a treatment center just for that. This one is where you're treating all the athletes where they're coming through the high performance center, so I'll have the opportunity to meet a huge variety of athletes, which is in and of itself is pretty amazing."

He was also a team physician for Paralympic athletes at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru and head team physician at the ANOC 2019 World Beach Games in Doha, Qatar.

The Olympics Games were originally scheduled to begin July 2020, but have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 will be a major storyline throughout the Games, especially since the pandemic has postponed the event by an entire year.

"I think the main goal is to be as safe as possible for the athletes and the host country, no matter what they're concerns are," said Fow. "A lot of the athletes and myself are vaccinated and being periodically tested is just a small price to pay to be able to have the Olympics."

With the pandemic still going, organizers recently announced spectators will not be allowed to attend the events.

"When you're an athlete competing, I think you respond to fans in the stands," said Fow. "You respond to cheers. You respond to jeers, so I think part of the whole experience, they'll have to be more self motivational. For the athletes, they're going to miss out a little bit on having the fans motivate them and responding to the fans in the stands."

The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will run from July 23-August 8.