Five-time Olympic gold medalist and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Eric Heiden has opened the Heiden Institute of Sports Science and Human Performance in Park City. Heiden decided to establish the institute “after years of envisioning a comprehensive program encompassing sports medicine, human performance, sports psychology and nutrition as a team approach,” he said in a release.
In addition to his success as an athlete, Heiden is the BMC Racing Team physician, USA Road Race series winner and Tour de France competitor. He has teamed with Dr. Russ Reissin in the venture. Together they’ve assembled a team of professionals with more than 65 years’ combined experience working with professional and elite amateur athletes. The team includes Dan Barlow, former director of sports science and performance with Real Salt Lake; sports psychologists John Flint and Nicole Detling; and Jessica LaRoche, sports dietitian with U.S. Speedskating.
“The Heiden Institute is something I’ve thought of for years. I am an orthopedic surgeon, I take care of athletes, and have been an athlete myself. I’ve understood the components for a successful athletic career are quite diverse and have always dreamed about bringing those components together under one roof in a comprehensive way,” said Heiden.
“The Heiden Institute is a collective of like-minded, sports-oriented medical and fitness professionals offering human performance services … previously only available to professional and Olympic-level athletes,” the new company said. “Heiden and Reiss are pioneering an innovative model combining the latest in sports science and human performance with state-of-the-art sports medical care, including orthopedic surgery, sports cardiology and regenerative medicine.”