Waikato doc swaps ED bustle for Games stint
His day job involves tending to the injured, ill, and intoxicated at one of the country’s busiest hospital EDs.
But emergency physician Dr John Bonning recently stepped away from the relentless bustle of Waikato Hospital to look after elite mountain bikers at the Commonwealth Games.
The 51-year-old has spent the past four weeks on the Gold Coast as venue medical manager at the Nerang Mountain Bike Trails.
The mountain-biking venue proved a happy hunting ground for New Zealand competitors, with riders Sam Gaze and Anton Cooper snaring gold and silver in the men’s cross-country on Thursday.
The Kiwi one-two, however, was somewhat overshadowed when Gaze accused his teammate of poor sportsmanship after Gaze suffered a puncture with little more than a lap to race. Gaze was photographed giving Cooper the middle finger as his compatriot rode on.
Gaze later apologised for his behaviour, saying he acted in the heat of the moment.
Bonning said mountain biking was a tough sport. The Nerang Mountain Bike Trail was especially gruelling.
‘‘For Sam [Gaze] to come back after losing air in his tyre, he deserved to win. It was a very physically and mentally tough course. These guys are competitors and the best rider won. Just to be able to complete the course, you have to be a spectacularly good mountain biker.’’
The men’s and women’s races were held on the same day.
Despite the challenging nature of the course, only one rider – a female competitor from Lesotho – suffered a significant fall.
Bonning said his team had to show discretion when dealing with the felled rider.
‘‘If you assist the rider, they may be disqualified. So the first thing you have to find out is if they want your assistance.
‘‘The rider from Lesotho fell but didn’t injure herself too badly. She recovered her mojo after 15 to 20 seconds and rode on.’’
Bonning’s 35-member team included emergency physicians, nurses and paramedics. They were assisted by paramedics from the Queensland Ambulance Service and volunteers from the State Emergency Service.
Bonning returns to Waikato Hospital’s ED today, but his Commonwealth Games stint may not be his last sporting sojourn. He has aspirations of being involved in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Dealing with elite athletes was an enjoyable break from caring for drunks in ED.
‘‘The whole experience was a learning curve for me and very different to my day job. You’re managing all these people in a wilderness environment with rough terrain. The elite athletes are really focused on their job and are very grateful for any assistance that we offer them. And, of course, the crowds at these events are pretty cool, as well. We came across a lot of Kiwis waving their New Zealand flags.’’
Bonning is the New Zealand faculty chair of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.
He has worked as a specialist at Waikato Hospital’s emergency department since 2002.