Kusal Goonewardena

MA
Goonewardena in 2021
NationalitySri Lankan born Australian
Education
Nalanda College, Colombo, BA in Physiotherapy, University of Melbourne

Master of Physiotherapy, La Trobe University

Occupation(s)Physical therapist, lecturer, author
TitleFounder and Head of Sports Medicine at Elite Akademy, University of Melbourne
Board member ofEntrepreneurs' Organization (formerly)

Kusal Goonewardena is an Australian physical therapist and health lecturer known for being founder and Head of Sports Medicine at Elite Akademy, University of Melbourne.[1] He has authored several books and is a fitness expert on ABC Radio National's Life Matters program.

Early life and education

Kusal Goonewardena was born in Sri Lanka. He had his primary education at Nalanda College, Colombo.[2][3] His family travelled often during his childhood, as his father was an engineer who worked for the United Nations. They lived in Zambia, England, Oman and Bangladesh before settling down in Australia when Kusal was nine.[4]

Kusal Goonewardena earned a bachelor's degree in physiotherapy from the University of Melbourne in 1999.[5] He earned his Master of Physiotherapy from La Trobe University in 2007.[6] He specializes in sports physiotherapy and high-intensity interval training (HIIT).[7][8]

Career

Physical therapy

In 1999, Goonewardena founded Vigor Sport Medicine, a chain of fitness clinics in Melbourne which double as teaching clinics for La Trobe University and Melbourne University.[9] He also runs clinics in Bacchus Marsh and Melton, Victoria.[10]

He became a team physiotherapist for University of Melbourne in 2002, and has been Head of Sports Medicine for the UniSport Nationals' University of Melbourne team since 2008.[11] In an interview with The Age, Goonewardena stated that he wanted "to give something back to the University that gave me a great grounding in my career".[5]

He was the head of the medical team for University of Melbourne during the 2009 Australian University Games,[11] and is the official provider for the university's Elite Athlete Program.[12] In this capacity he is known for working with Australian athletes such as Katya Crema, Lachlan Norris, Phoebe Stanley, Jeff Tho and Freddy Ovett.[13] He is also the physical therapist of German tennis player Laura Siegemund.[4]

Goonewardena is the head physiotherapist of Elite Akademy, a training clinic based at University of Melbourne, which he founded in May 2012.[14] The training clinic is part of the Nona Lee Sports Centre and works with Olympic, Winter Olympic and national athletes from Melbourne University Sport.[15] He led the medical team for German tennis player Laura Siegemund at the 2020 Australian Open. He then worked with Russian player Vera Zvonareva at the 2022 Australian Open. Svonareva had been Siegemund's tennis doubles partner at the 2020 Australian Open.[16]

He has authored several books including 3 Minute Workouts (2015), Natural Healing: Quiet & Calm (2016) and Back Pain – 30 Days to Pain Free (2014). Goonewardena created the Kinrgize app with Elite Akademy in 2018, which allows users to track their fitness levels, workout regimens and sleeping habits.[17]

Health expert and lecturer

Kusal Goonewardena has been the fitness expert on ABC Radio National's Life Matters radio program since 2017.[18] He has been featured as a health expert on The Informer with George Donikian.[19][20]

Goonewardena has also been a guest expert in publications such as Body+Soul and The Sydney Morning Herald.[21][22]

Goonewardena was a board member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, an international nonprofit.[23] In 2014, Goonewardena became a mentor at The Founder Institute in Melbourne.[24] That same year he co-presented "The Three Entrepreneurs", part of Swinburne University of Technology's Learning from Entrepreneurs series.[25]

In 2015, Goonewardena was a plenary speaker at the 8th International Research Conference at KDU College in Malaysia.[26]

Publications

Books

  • Back Pain – 30 Days to Pain Free. Wilkinson Publishing. 2014. ISBN 1922178780, 9781922178787
  • 3 Minute Workouts. Wilkinson Publishing. 2015. ISBN 1925265137, 9781925265132
  • Natural Healing: Quiet & Calm. co-authored by Helene Finizio. Wilkinson Publishing. 2016. ISBN 1925265587, 9781925265583

Articles

References

  1. ↑ White, Sue (16 January 2015). "The inside job ... in sport". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Sri Lankan-born physio going great guns Down Under
  3. ↑ SL born physiotherapy expert to escort the medical team of the renowned tennis player to Aussieland…
  4. 1 2 "Sri Lankan-born physio going great guns Down Under". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 Scott, David; Soderlind, Laura (January 2012). "Behind all great athletes...". The Age.
  6. ↑ "IPC to Host Australian Sports Physiotherapy Programme in SL". Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 13 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "How three minutes of exercise, twice a week could make you fit | WYZA Australia". WYZA. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "The three-minute workout that could be as good as going to the gym for half an hour". The Independent. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. ↑ van Alkemade, Anne (June 2011). "A sporting chance". The Moorabool News.
  10. ↑ Cozza, Andria (June 2011). "Test cricketers look to recruit physio's touch of magic". Melton Telegraph Express.
  11. 1 2 "A week at the University Games". InMotion. Australian Physiotherapy Association: 32. December 2009.
  12. ↑ "Health & Wellness". Melbourne University Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Who's Kusal Goonewardena". Elite Akademy. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  14. ↑ "University's Elite Akademy wins excellence award" (PDF). University of Melbourne. January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Sports Medicine & Massage". Melbourne University Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2020."Elite Athlete Program". Melbourne University Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  16. ↑ Amit, Naushad (26 December 2021). "Kusal Goonewardena Going Places Down Under". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka).
  17. ↑ Thakar, Subrata (31 July 2018). "New app uses physiotherapy, accountability to encourage users in losing weight". AI In Healthcare.
  18. ↑ "The Exercise Room: Fitness trends". ABC Radio National. 8 May 2017."How to exercise at home". ABC Radio National. 24 March 2020.
  19. ↑ theinformer (8 April 2021). "Healthy Ageing | Kusal Goonewardena | TheInformer". TheInformer. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  20. ↑ TheInformer (11 November 2020). "Understand The Human Body | Kusal Goonewardena". TheInformer. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "The 10 most common health and fitness questions – answered by experts". bodyandsoulau. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  22. ↑ Cain, Alexandra (29 May 2018). "Oh my aching feet! How to stop long-term damage from standing". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  23. ↑ Long, Christine (5 March 2015). "How to make your first million". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  24. ↑ "Great Startup Mentors Confirmed for the Melbourne Founder Institute". The Founder Institute. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  25. ↑ "The three entrepreneurs (AGSE Learning from Entrepreneurs)". commons.swinburne.edu.au. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  26. ↑ "How 'Real' Professionalism can Change a Nation: transcribed plenary speech of K Goonewardena" (PDF). Proceedings - KDU. November 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
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