A springboard for sports medicine and science

Dedicated to providing the best medical care for athletes, the Association Internationale Médico-Sportive (AIMS) (now the Fédération Internationale de Médecine Sportive (FIMS)) was founded by a group of sports medics at the Olympic Winter Games St Moritz 1928. Just a few months later, the AIMS organised its first World Congress of Sports Medicine at the Olympic Games Amsterdam 1928, where 280 sports physicians from 20 countries discussed key medical issues.

FIMS works closely with international sports federations, the IOC, and national and international organisations in sports medicine and related fields. Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, FIMS is the umbrella organisation for four continental and 117 national sports medicine associations worldwide, bringing together 125,000 sports physicians from 117 countries. 

Affiliated with the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), FIMS publishes scientific articles in various journals including the International SportMed Journal, organises courses and regional and international events, and hosts the World Congress of Sports Medicine every two years. 

The founding of its predecessor, the AIMS, reflected a growing interest in sports-related health issues and the emergence of a new field called “sports medicine”, a term coined when the AIMS was established.   

This growing interest was reflected in a study conducted at the 1928 Olympic Games, titled “A competent scientific assessment of the status of hearts of athletes.” Two medical professors examined around 300 athletes in a couple of rooms at the Olympic Stadium, demonstrating that high-performance middle- and long-distance runners, cyclists, swimmers and rowers had larger hearts than the average individual.

Given the concentration of elite athletes from a wide range of nationalities, ethnicities and backgrounds, the Olympic Games have provided an opportunity for scientists to study athletic performance and explore the factors for success. At subsequent Games, athletes were often given elaborate forms to complete as part of these medical studies.

One country that capitalised on the benefits of this nascent sports science was Japan, prompted by the success of swimmer Yoshiyuki Tsuruta, who won the 200m breaststroke gold at Amsterdam 1928. Keen to understand how Tsuruta had won the event, Japanese scientists used underwater cameras to analyse his stroke, leading to changes in technique that revolutionised the sport, such as the rolling of shoulders.

Japan’s commitment to sports science brought immediate success. Having fielded no swimmers at all at Antwerp 1920, the Asian nation saw its athletes win 11 medals in the pool at Los Angeles 1932, including another 200m breaststroke gold for Tsuruta. The 83 Olympic medals won by Japanese swimmers up to and including Tokyo 2020 account for nearly 19 per cent of the country’s total, with Japan currently ranked fifth in the all-time Olympic swimming medal table.