Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island CMO Matthew Collins, MD, will be the U.S. rowing team's head physician at the Tokyo Olympics, opening July 23.
Dr. Collins will be responsible for scheduling and administering of COVID-19 tests and regular check-ins with the 37 athletes on the team, the Boston Globe reported.
"I never served in the military, and while I'm not comparing the two, it feels so great to do something on behalf of a great nation," he told the publication.
The Tokyo games, which were scheduled for 2020, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While a medical student at Washington, D.C.-based Howard University in 1993, Dr. Collins competed in the lightweight men's final race at the World Rowing Championships in Czechoslovakia.
"I've trained and put in a lot. And I know what type of sacrifice it takes to get to the level they've reached," he said.
Dr. Collins joined BCBS in 2015.
He will depart for Hawaii July 10, where he will join the athletes before the team travels to Japan, the article said.