About the team
Christopher P. Connolly, Ph.D.
is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Director of the Exercise Physiology & Performance Laboratory within the College of Education at Washington State University. Dr. Connolly’s research focuses primarily on ultra-endurance triathlon performance and medical care. He has worked extensively with past medical and performance data for elite triathletes, including examinations into serious injury occurrences and race performance metrics. Prior work has focused on women’s health and prenatal/postpartum exercise behaviors, and activity device validation. Dr. Connolly oversees management and logistics of the Global Triathlon Safety Database with his staff. He is an active member of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) at national/international and regional levels, having served on multiple boards/committees and authored or co-authored more than 50 presentations at ACSM meetings over the past decade.
W. Douglas Hiller, M.D.
is an orthopedic surgeon at Whitman Hospital and Medical Center in Colfax, WA and Clinical Professor at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University. Dr. Hiller was a founding member of the ITU/World Triathlon Medical and Anti-Doping Committee. He was chair of this committee for 14 years, and has served as secretary/Vice Char for 18 years. He has worked as an ITU/World Triathlon medical official at three Olympic and two Paralympic games, and medical delegate for the Rio 2016 and upcoming Tokyo 2020/2021 games. Dr. Hiller has been involved with Ironman Triathlon for nearly 40 years, having previously served as Medical Director, Chief Physician, and Research Coordinator for the Ironman World Championship at Kona, HI. A pioneer in triathlete medical care, Dr. Hiller’s work and research includes landmark publications on hyponatremia, electrolyte imbalance, and injury during ultra-endurance competition. Dr. Hiller received the Michel Gignoux Award for his exceptional contributions to World Triathlon at the 2019 Hall of Fame awards in Lausanne, Switzerland.