Global experts in athlete health to gather in Edinburgh for IOC Research Centre annual meeting
Leading researchers, clinicians, athlete representatives and sports health experts from around the world will come together in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 23 to 25 September 2026 for the annual meeting of the IOC Research Centres for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health.
The Annual Meeting of the IOC Research Centres for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health, hosted during the final year of the current IOC Research Centre cycle (2023-2026), will bring together the IOC Health, Medicine and Science Department, representatives from the IOC-supported Research Centres, and experts involved in recent IOC Consensus Statements. Discussions will incorporate the athlete perspective to help ensure that research priorities and outcomes remain athlete-centred.
Since 2009, the IOC has partnered with leading research institutions worldwide to advance athlete health through projects and research focused on the prevention of injury and illness, safeguarding, and mental health. The IOC Research Centre programme supports long-term research, fosters international collaboration, and helps translate scientific evidence into evidence-based strategies that support the health, safety and well-being of athletes worldwide.
The strength of the IOC Research Centre Programme lies in its ability to bring together experts from different countries, disciplines, and healthcare systems around a common mission. More than simply funding research, the IOC’s support acts as a catalyst for collaboration, multicentre projects, and the development of the next generation of clinician-researchers.
This year's meeting will focus on four key areas identified through recent IOC Consensus Statements :
- Elite youth athletes
- Female, women and girl athlete injury prevention
- Interpersonal violence and safeguarding in sport, including the prevention of harassment and abuse
- Mental health in elite athletes
As the final annual meeting of the current four-year Research Centre cycle (2023-2026), this year's gathering represents an important opportunity for representatives from the programme's research centres to share ongoing and planned projects, knowledge translation activities and collaborative initiatives across these priority areas as well as reflect on achievements across the network and identify opportunities for future collaboration and impact.
The IOC Research Centres event offers the chance to cross pollinate ideas and efforts in the common global goal of supporting elite athlete health and wellbeing. Forging new collaborative, partnerships, being energized by diverse approaches to problem solving, and addressing sport issues meaningful to athlete success are what excites me about attending.
By bringing together expertise from across the Olympic Movement and the global sports medicine community, the IOC Research Centre Meeting reinforces the IOC's commitment to advancing research, strengthening collaboration and translating scientific evidence to continue improvements in the protection and promotion of Olympic athlete health.
Participating organisations
- IOC Health, Medicine and Science Department
- UK Collaboration Centre on Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport (UKCCIIS)
- Amsterdam Collaboration on Health & Safety in Sports (ACHSS)
- Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital
- French-Speaking Research Network for Athlete Health Protection & Performance (ReFORM)
- Institute of Sports Medicine Copenhagen (ISMC) and Sports Orthopaedic Research Centre – Copenhagen (SORC-C)
- La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine (LASEM) Research Centre
- Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC)
- Research Centre of South Africa
- Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC)
- United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness & Injury in Sport
- Yonsei Institute of Sports Science & Exercise Medicine (YISSEM)
- IOC Consensus Statement experts