16th FINA World Sports Medicine Congress - General Information
“Optimising Performance & Promoting Health”
7th and 8th April 2008 - Manchester, UK
The History
The City of Manchester is delighted to have been selected to host the 16th FINA World Sports Medicine Congress to be held in conjunction with the FINA World Swimming Championships 25m.
The event has been held every 2-3 years since the first meeting in London in 1969 and brings together the World’s leading figures in Aquatic Sports Medicine and Science.
The previous FINA World Sports Medicine Congresses and their convenors are as follows:
1969 London, UK - Noel Bleasdale
1971 Dublin, Ireland - Desmond Carney
1974 Barcelona, Spain - Jose Merino
1977 Stockholm, Sweden - Bengt Eriksson
1982 Amsterdam - Willem Mosterd
1985 Dunedin, New Zealand - David Gerrard
1987 Orlando, USA - Allen Richardson
1989 London, UK - Malcolm Cameron
1991 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Eduardo De Rose
1993 Kyoto, Japan - Yoshiteru Mutoh
1995 Athens, Greece - Vassilis Klissouras
1997 Gothenberg, Sweden - Bengt Eriksson
1999 Hong Kong - Frank Fu
2002 Moscow, Russia - Youri Schevtchenko
2004 Indianapolis, USA - James Miller
2008 Manchester, UK - Kevin Boyd
The Bleasdale Memorial Lecture
The Bleasdale Memorial Lectures were inaugurated at the 8th FINA World Sports Medicine Congress in London in 1989.
Dr Henry Noel Bleasdale, a chest physician from England, was the first Honorary Medical Advisor to the Amateur Swimming Association from 1950 until shortly before his death in 1985. He also served as committee member and Secretary to the FINA Sports Medicine Committee from 1968 to 1984.
He helped to establish the FINA World Sports Medicine Congresses and was, to a large part, responsible for the successful first Congress held in London in 1969. He was himself a former national swimming champion and provided medical care for the swimmers taking part in the London Olympics in 1948.
The invitation to present the Bleasdale Memorial Lecture is considered a great honour and is extended by the incumbent FINA Sports Medicine Committee Chairperson. Typically, individuals who have contributed enormously to sports medicine and/or science over the years are invited to share their experience and knowledge with the Congress participants.
We are delighted that Professor Arne Ljungqvist, Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Medical Commission and the World Anti-Doping Agency Health, Medical & Research Committee, has consented to give the Bleasdale Memorial Lecture at the 16th FINA World Sports Medicine Congress in Manchester on 7-8 April 2008
The Bleasdale Memorial Lecturers to date are as follows:
1989 Harm Beyer - Germany
1991 Wildor Hollman - Germany
1993 Malcolm Cameron - England
1995 Peter Daland - USA
1997 Gunnar Werner - Sweden
1999 Hironoshin Furuhashi - Japan
2001 Andrew Pipe - Canada
2004 Patrick Schamasch - France
2008 Arne Ljungqvist - Sweden
