Fort Myers doctor accompanying athletes to Rio 2016

FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Olympics are nearing and one Fort Myers doctor is going to Rio de Janeiro knowing he won’t win a medal, but he just might be able to help the athletes earn one.

Dr. Ryan Nickens, owner of City of Palms Chiropractic, is one of many keeping USA athletes healthy for the games.

“In order to qualify for being able to go down there through the Sports Performance Council, yes, there’s qualifications and then you take a test and then there’s live different events that you have to do and volunteering in the community,” Nickens explained.

That amounted to about 800 hours of work Nickens had to complete to make sure he received the invite.

Nickens set his goal of going to Rio years ago, “as soon as I heard about our 170 doctors going to London, I said ‘next one’s Rio. I’m going to be there, I’m going to do everything that I have to do to be there.'”

Like the athletes, Nickens won’t get paid for his time at the Olympics, “it’s completely volunteer,” but he’ll get to take his expertise to a global stage.

Nickens will spend about a week in Rio. The majority of his time will be spent with athletes in wrestling, judo, weightlifting, volleyball, and track and field.