Blatz bows out of Tokyo Olympics

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This article was published 05/03/2021 (1601 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Steinbach athletic therapist Dave Blatz prepares to head south to Florida with the Canadian National Men’s Soccer Team, he will not however travel to Tokyo this summer for the 2020 Summer Olympics, now to be held in 2021 following the one-year delay due to the pandemic.

Blatz’s expertise in working with world class athletes means he has criss-crossed the globe over the past 15 years or more working with athletes in a variety of different sports and in a variety of different scenarios.

It was in 2019 that Blatz, who owns Eastman Therapy Centre in Steinbach, was named to the Canadian Olympic Team’s Core Medical Team to work at the Tokyo Olympics, which were originally scheduled to begin July 24, 2020.

It was to be Blatz’s fourth Olympic Games working with Canadian athletes. Previously he worked at the 2008 Summer Olympics at Beijing, the 2010 Winter Games at Vancouver and then the 2016 Summer Olympics at Rio. “But on the positive side, last summer was the first time I have had a full summer at home and was able to enjoy it at home with my wife and kids,” said Blatz.

The Tokyo Games have been delayed by a year, and they now have ambitious plans to hold the Games this summer, beginning July 23, despite the fact the pandemic still lurks, with vaccinations just now starting to ramp up.

But for Blatz to renew his commitment to the Tokyo Games this summer, he needed to confirm that he would be part of the medical team by last fall.

Unfortunately, late last fall his mother was very ill and ultimately died in a Steinbach nursing home as she had contracted COVID-19.

“It was during that time when my mother was ill that I also needed to make my commitment to the Olympic team for Tokyo, and I just wasn’t able to do it at that time, so I bowed out,” said Blatz.

“I pulled out of the Olympics as all medical practitioners were given an opt out date of Dec. 1. At the time my mother was trying to recover from COVID and unfortunately lost her battle.”

Apart from the Olympic Games, which he will no doubt be a part of again in the future, he has been a mainstay with Team Canada at other international Games. He has worked at five different Pan Am Games around the world and two more Commonwealth Games.

Among other gigs, Blatz has been at various times and for the past number of years, working with Team Canada Soccer, Rowing Canada, Team Canada Men’s Volleyball and Team Canada Soccer, attending multiple world championships and other events with those teams.

He is currently the Head Athletic Therapist for Team Canada Baseball, and the Director/Rehabilitation Services for Team Canada Men’s Soccer.

FIFA World Cup qualifier

And it’s in his role with the Canadian National Men’s Soccer Team that he will be heading to Orlando, Florida, this month as the team begins the process to try and qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, being held Nov. 21 to Dec. 18, 2022.

He would also not be part of the Canadian National Baseball team in Tokyo, if they are successful in qualifying for the Olympics in a couple of upcoming last chance qualifiers. He says that’s something he will miss as he has been with the team for a number of years and is friends with the likes of the legendary Larry Walker, who is one of the coaches of the team.

In addition the U23 Men’s Soccer Olympic qualifier is being held this month in Mexico, but Blatz is not working directly with that team, should they qualify for the Olympics.

The Orlando World Cup qualifiers will be held Mar. 20-29. The first of four qualifying games, will be played Mar. 25 vs. Bermuda and then Mar. 28 vs. Cayman Islands. Canada will also face Aruba on June 5 and Suriname on June 8, with the locations still to be determined.

Only one of these four teams will advance to the next round as qualifying continues over the year.

Blatz says it is quite the opportunity to work with world class players such Alfonso Davies, who is considered one of the top young soccer players on the planet.

In addition to the soccer World Cup qualifiers, the team will also be competing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, being played in the U.S. in July and August.

The worldwide travel that is required to be involved with these teams is substantial and requires a major commitment. Over the years, Blatz’s travel with these national teams has taken him to more than 30 countries worldwide, some of them which he has visited on multiple occasions.