By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Behind the success of an elite athlete is a group of skilled individuals tasked to oversee their health and well-being.
Hazel Calawod is one of them.
Calawod has been Carlos Yulo’s sports occupational therapist for the past years including in the 2024 Paris Olympics where the champion gymnast went home with a rare two-gold medal haul.
She works on Yulo’s biomechanics and gathers scientific data to help him improve and push through with the rigorous training and high-level competitions – from the conditioning, therapy, recovery and everything in between.
Little is known about Calawod.
She was a graduate of University of the Philippines Diliman where she took up BS Occupational Therapy. She took specialized courses in Environmental Home Modifications and Ergonomics from Occupational Therapy Australia and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and has licenses and certifications from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, Australian Physiotherapy Association, Autism Behavioral Intervention Association and Australia Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, to name a few.
Apart from her work as an occupational therapist, she is also an elite sports performance coach, with clients including Bren Esports’ 2021 Valorant Team that became a Southeast Asian champion.
She also worked in front the camera for various commercial brands.
