Two Northside Hospital Orthopedic Institute physicians will care for U.S. athletes during the Paris Olympics.
Dr. Torrance Laury, who specializes in family medicine and orthopedic sports medicine, is a physician for the men’s gymnastics team.
Dr. Mathew Pombo, an orthopedic surgeon, will travel to France to serve the men’s soccer team.
Preliminary competitions have begun, but the opening ceremony is Friday, July 26.
Dr. Torrance Laury
Dr. Laury was born at Northside Hospital Atlanta and grew up in Cobb County. He became interested in gymnastics at age 6, watching his older brother, Justin, compete. Dr. Laury competed through his childhood and after graduating from McEachern High School, he was part of the University of Michigan gymnastics program.
The Wolverines won a national championship in 2010, Dr. Laury’s senior season. Dr. Laury began working toward his career in medicine while a student in Ann Arbor, and he met the medical director for USA Gymnastics while an undergrad studying biology and premed.
“One thing kind of led to another,” Dr. Laury recalled. “I was able to do some volunteer work with some of the gymnastics national competitions and then in 2021, I officially took on the role as the men’s national team physician for USA Gymnastics.”
Team USA is looking for its first men’s medal since a bronze finish at the 2008 Beijing Games and first gold since 1984 in Los Angeles.
Dr. Laury said his experience as a gymnast prepared him for a career in medicine.
“It forced me to organize, to learn how to set goals and work toward them, to be committed to attaining those,” Dr. Laury said. “Some of the qualities that gymnastics has instilled in me — including the hard work and work ethic, (and) the dedication — all of that I think definitely went a long way preparing me for a career in medicine.
“Those attributes, I was able to use when I was going through medical school and residency and fellowship as well, and I think that just having gone through the experience of being a competitive gymnast has been able to help me relate more personally to the athletes, specifically the gymnasts that I work with because I can say that I’ve been there.
“I know firsthand, through and through, the kind of work to get through whatever injury, whatever illness, that you’re going through to get back to doing what you love.”
Dr. Mathew Pombo
Dr. Pombo will be working his first Olympic Games, but he’s no stranger to big-time soccer. He is a diplomat with FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, and a pool physician for the United States Soccer Federation.
For the 2024 Olympics, he’s part of a team of two surgeons and two primary care sports doctors ready to serve the soccer stars of Team USA.
“They wanted the most experienced doctors and surgeons they had,” he said.
Dr. Pombo came to Northside last year and is a key part of the growing Northside Soccer Medicine Program.
Soccer has been growing for years in the Atlanta area and its visibility locally is only going to increase in the next couple of years. The headquarters of the United States Soccer Federation is under construction in Fayette County, and Atlanta will play host to eight matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including a semifinal.
Before that, though, Dr. Pombo is excited to be a part of Team USA in France.
“It’s going to be an amazing experience,” he said. “It’s a little different than anything else I’ve done. There's a sense of, when you’re playing for your country and it’s USA and the Olympics — the only thing that rivals that is the World Cup.”
The U.S. men’s team is competing at the Olympics for the first time since 2008.
Group matches are underway with the knockout stage starting Aug. 2. The gold medal final will be Aug. 9.
Learn more about the Northside Hospital Orthopedic Institute.
