St. John's chiropractor cracks Olympic squad for Tokyo 2020
Chiropractor Janice Drover has been trying to earn a spot on the Canadian Olympic team for 20 years. Now she's hoping coronavirus concerns fizzle out before the summer comes.
Drover was selected to the medical staff for the Tokyo 2020 Games, but the Olympics are in question with a global outbreak of COVID-19.
"Right now we're just keeping our fingers crossed and washing our hands and hoping we can go," Drover told The St. John's Morning Show.
As of now, the Games are a go.
That's good news for Drover, who says it is her dream to work for her country at the Olympics. The process for medical professionals to make the squad is similar to the process for athletes.
Drover said people start with local sports clubs, work their way up to provincial and national teams, and then become ranked by the Canadian Olympic Committee.
National pride
While this would be her first Olympics, Drover has worked the Commonwealth and Pan-American Games. She's also worked with the Canadian soccer program and young athletes at the Canada Games.
"I'm a proud Canadian and a Team Canada junkie," she said.
One of the most surreal experiences is being part of the team with arms linked while singing the national anthem, she said.
"It never gets old. Goosebumps from head to toe," she said.
Drover said one of the things she's most excited for is feeling the excitement in the Olympic village.
"We may have Roger Federer there. We may have Bianca Andreescu from Canada. We have a lot of very hard-working international athletes, and just being part of that, part of that buzz is incredible."
It's a demanding job. On top of working with teams at events, the medical staff is also responsible for running a fully staffed clinic from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. All the work is on a volunteer basis, with expenses paid.
Drover hopes to leave for Japan in mid-July and stay until mid-August.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
