KAROO NEWS - Old Unionite Lawrence van Lingen was at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, as part of the coaching staff of the Bermuda team, in particular Bermudian triathlete Flora Duffy.
As a sports chiropractor and movement specialist, Van Lingen was on hand to assist Duffy with her running technique, movement, injury treatment and prevention.
Duffy, undoubtedly one of triathlon's greats, just so happened to take home the gold in the women's triathlon event and earning her country its first gold medal.
In addition to Duffy, Lawrence was also working with American racing cyclist Amber Neben, a three-time Olympian for the past six years, helping her to overcome a pelvic fracture and chronic pain following a cycling incident.
Van Lingen, who relocated to Laguna Beach, California, in 2013, matriculated from Union High School as part of the Class of 1989, after having attended the school from Grade 5 to 12.
After matriculating from Union, Lawrence launched his professional journey by qualifying in South Africa as a licensed sports chiropractor by graduating with a master's degree from the Durban University of Technology.
He has since amassed more than 20 years of experience working with world-class athletes, gaining an international reputation for helping athletes overcome injuries and postural problems and helping them achieve significant breakthroughs in performance.
Van Lingen provides physical therapy to world-class runners, including New York marathon winner Willie Mtolo, Olympic marathon gold medallist Josiah Thugwane, South African marathon record holder Zithulele Sinqe and members of the 4x100m world champion South African track team.
At the same time, he was working with Olympic swimmers, triathletes, professional golfers, tennis, cricket and rugby players.
Some highlights of Van Lingen's career include assisting the Durban Surf Lifesaving Club to three world titles. He was then tapped by the Natal Sharks rugby team as a movement and core conditioning coach for a year, simultaneously working with several Springbok rugby players.
He was also the fitness and conditioning coach and team physician for the Glenwood Falcons Premier League rugby team for four years. This diverse range of sports and responsibilities equipped him with a broad and varied foundation for his whole-body view - of people generally and athletes specifically.
Van Lingen's philosophy and views on elite performance are not merely theoretical either.
He has walked the walk when it comes to high-level sports, racing as a professional triathlete for two years and completing ten full ironman races during that time.
His last three years in South Africa he spent working full time in private practice. Here, he treated numerous world-class and amateur athletes, using manual therapy and tissue release to both restore normal function and movement and to catalyse higher levels of performance.
His unique approach drew the attention of Red Bull and in 2013 he was appointed as their high-performance manager for the company's South African athletes. This included world-class surfers, trail runners, triathletes and XC mountain bikers.
Van Lingen also worked with the legendary Santa Cruz Syndicate and Greg Minnaar, the 2012 and 2013 UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Champion.
At the end of 2013, he relocated with his wife and daughter to Southern California and currently has a structural integration practice in Laguna Beach.
Throughout his career, he has made a point of assisting not just elite athletes, but also amateurs and regular members of the community. His philosophy of attaining a better life through a better-integrated body applies to all.
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