This month, Professor Karen Westervelt volunteers her expertise at Lake Placid's 2023 Winter World University Games.

Dr. Westervelt will offer physical therapy services to international winter athletes and UVM Athletics varsity competitors Greg Burt ’23, Annie McColgan ’24, Finn Sweet ’25, and Bjorn Westervelt ’24, who will represent Team USA in Nordic skiing and biathlon.

"It is a real honor to be able to use my 25-plus years of clinical experience to help some of the best athletes in the world," said Westervelt. "I am grateful to be a role model for my students and show them all the amazing opportunities they can get involved with as a physical therapist working in high-performance sports."

Physical therapist works with winter athlete
Dr. Karen Westervelt works with a winter athlete as a USOPC sports medicine volunteer.

 A board-certified orthopedic specialist, Dr. Westervelt teaches musculoskeletal evaluation, treatment, and health promotion and directs educational programs for the Osher Center for Integrative Health. Westervelt has previously served as a United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee sports medicine volunteer at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid and with the U.S. Biathlon team.  

Emeriti professor Charlotte Mehrtens and UVM Medical Center emergency physician Katie Dolbec will also offer their support at the Games. 

The Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games, the world's largest winter multi-sport collegiate athletic event, is an 11-day competition featuring 1,443 athletes from 595 universities across 43 countries.