As part of Hopkins’ Sports Medicine team, Brian Krabak, a physiatrist with a dual appointment in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Surgery, often works out subtle biomechanical and rehab solutions that allow athletes to forego surgery. One of his patients, a triathlete who participated in a 126-mile Ironman (triathalon), suffered with serious lower back and hip pain. Krabak figured out that the pedal on the triathlete’s bike needed readjusting. “Her running style was also just off because of the hip problems. We fine tuned it, and she was able to go back and compete.”

Krabak himself has a passion for endurance events. He has run triathalons, 24 to 48-hour adventure races, and recently completed a 350-mile, seven-day mountain bike race through the Canadian Rockies. He was a volunteer physician at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and is slated to work at this summer’s Athens games.