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Local physician offers world-class experience

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BY ERIC HORCHY

THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: February 18, 2009

Merely saying Dr. John Russell has seen a fair share of faces and places during his 40-plus-year medical career would be an understatement of the scope of the man's professional experiences.

When it comes to traveling the world and meeting and working with high-profile athletes, the West Pasco-based physician's resume is tough to top - let alone to comprehend.

After hearing a few short stories or sifting through a stack of star-athlete filled photos, it seems as though a percentage of Russell's life would fulfill much of many sports fans' or globetrotters' bucket lists.

Michael Jordan, Carl Lewis and Muhammad Ali? Moscow, Barcelona and Seoul? All checked off and then some.

If those don't tickle a particular fancy, then perhaps reminiscence about hitchhiking back to a hotel with all-everything athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee during the Pan-Am Games in 1980's Soviet Moscow after she broke a world record in the pentathlon will pique some interest.

Much of these experiences have come as a result of Russell's lifelong passion toward athletics - both in personal competition and sports medicine. He was an alternate for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City as a high jumper and decathlete before he began his continued career handling physical therapy and performance consulting for numerous Olympic teams and sports organizations around the globe.

Russell has been part of three Team USA Olympic physician teams as well as consulting national teams from Morocco, Kenya and Cameroon, to name a few.

One of his specialties in regards to what he provides the athletes is laboratory work, he said.

By looking at blood work and other tests, Russell will determine a competitor's physiology and design a treatment regimen unique to his or her needs.

Other tasks involve preparing manuals that show athletes traveling abroad how to best remedy jet lag, get their biorhythm back to normal and prevent things like injury or asthma depending on where it is they are competing.

While sports medicine is Russell's forte and passion and his stints with Olympic and professional teams is a joy, he also takes equal enjoyment out of his local general practice.

Since coming back from a nearly four-year residency in Costa Rica and Panama, Russell now serves North Suncoast residents out of offices in Trinity and Port Richey.

He previously had medical centers in Kissimmee and Zephyrhills, but Hurricane Charley's 2004 decimation of the offices was when he uprooted his family of four to Central America.

On top of the medical missionary work Russell performed while overseas, he also kept busy with an array of different projects.

Regarding research, he continued his development of a mostly natural vitamin line designed to stimulate the build-up of energy.

Both countries offered experimental access to a multitude of herbals not available in America.

He also worked with the Costa Rican minister of health and sports to aid the country's Olympic team and teamed up with another physician to help build a brand new medical school.

Though he described the countries as "a bit of paradise" and enjoyed treating area locals who at times would be queued out the door and halfway around the building, Russell said being away for so long made him realize the things he missed about home and what a great country America can be.

Russell now primarily works out of the Pasco County offices, but said he is eager to get back onboard with high school or professional clubs around the area and eventually continue working on the Olympic level.

He had plenty of offers to be at this past summer's Beijing Olympics, but the prospect of political uprisings prompted Russell to stay away.

The London Games in 2012 - consulting to who knows which country - could very well be the next excursion Russell will add to an already exciting and extensive resume.

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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