Dr. A.J. Monseau to serve as team physician for USA Wrestling at Summer Olympics

In West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, the surname Monseau is rather synonymous with wrestling. That’s why it’s not surprising that A.J. Monseau, M.D., WVU Medicine Emergency Medicine physician, has been named the team physician for USA Wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Dr. Monseau, who grew up in West Liberty, is the son of Vince Monseau, Ed.D., who spent more than 30 years as the head coach of West Liberty University’s wrestling team and is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Among the All-American wrestlers he coached during his tenure at West Liberty are his sons, Vinnie Monseau, M.D., and Dr. A.J. Monseau. Dr. Vince Monseau is currently the head wrestling coach at Magnolia High School in New Martinsville.

A.J. Monseau began volunteering for USA Wrestling’s medical pool during his residency training at the WVU School of Medicine and continued volunteering during his fellowship training in primary care sports medicine at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. He was the team physician for his first international tour with USA Wrestling in 2011 and takes one to two trips per year with the team. To date, he has accompanied the team on trips to Russia, Uzbekistan, Italy, England, Thailand, and Panama.

For this year’s Olympics, which will be held Aug. 5 through 21, A.J. Monseau will be USA Wrestling’s only team physician. The team will also have its own trainers, massage therapists, and chiropractors.

Though his own wrestling career ended when he completed his undergraduate degree, Monseau made sure to choose a medical specialty that would allow him to remain involved with the sport. So, being selected as USA Wrestling’s team physician for the Olympics is a dream come true.

“I’m extremely excited,” he said. “This has been one of my career goals all along. It’s an honor and a privilege to be chosen.”

Monseau will be tweeting about his trip to Rio with USA Wrestling. His Twitter handle is @EMedSportsDoc.