KOC Employee Heads to Germany with USA Olympic Diving Team

KOC Employee Mitchell Russell, ATC, at the 2025 World University Games in Berlin.

KOC Cast Tech and Certified Athletic Trainer Mitchell Russell is headed to Germany to work as a trainer for the USA Olympic Diving team competing at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr World University Games in Berlin, Germany.

Russell will be working alongside other top medical professionals to provide care, treatment and injury management for some of the nation’s most elite athletes throughout the games.

“It’s truly an honor to serve our country in this capacity, and to continue representing KOC, where I’ve proudly worked since 2013,” said Russell.

The World University Games are the second-largest international multi-sport event after the Olympics, welcoming over 8,500 athletes from more than 150 countries. Events will span across Germany in cities including Berlin, Essen, Duisburg, and Hagen.

Russell says many of the athletes competing at the games are future Olympians, making this a significant step in their athletic journey, and a humbling one on his professional journey as well.

Last June, Russell provided support on behalf of KOC for the USA Olympic Diving Trials held at the University of Tennessee. He provided on-site orthopaedic evaluations, injury management, treatments, and rehabilitation services to the competing athletes. Through that connection, he was then invited to join their staff as a certified athletic trainer and was selected to travel with USA Diving to the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr World University Games in Germany.

Russell does actually speak a little German, having learned some in high school. He co-owns a brewery in Knoxville, so if he ends up with any free time in Berlin, he’ll want to try some authentic draught German beer (for research purposes, of course).