Interview with Gijs Langevoort Founder and owner of LanCon

Abstract

In 2000 Gijs Langevoort founded LanCon, a company that provides sports educational seminars, tours and camps showcasing the European model of sport. Langevoort created LanCon as a second career after a successful practice as an orthopedic surgeon, which specialised in sports medicine and orthopedic surgery, was interrupted by a macular degeneration. In addition to his ownership of LanCon, Langevoort has been extensively involved with numerous Dutch and international sports organisations, and worked in anti-doping at national and international levels for many years. Recently, he was instrumental in the case involving cyclist Michael Rasmussen's alleged doping violations in the 2008 Tour de France. The findings from the Rasmussen case are helping shape the legal parameters involving the use of scientific methodology to detect and investigate alleged doping violations. AZ: You founded a company called LanCon. What exactly does LanCon do? GL: Basically our mission is to facilitate the exchange of ideas between the American and European sports worlds. We do that in several ways. We have the educational component, which comprises seminars and study tours for students studying in sports management and sports medicine. For example, every summer we run a tour through several European countries for American college students. On that tour, they get to hear lectures from top-level executives in European sport. It is a great opportunity for the students because most would not have access to IOC [International Olympic Committee] and FIFA [International Federation of Association Football] officials in this way. In the LanCon programme the students sit face-to-face with these sports professionals and ask them questions. Some students even get interviews for internships and jobs. We take the students to play-off matches in football, handball and basketball. They get behind-the-scenes tours of some of the greatest sports facilities in the world, and see things that lifelong fans can only dream of. Last summer we helped several students earn internships at the UEFA [Union of European Football Associations] U21 championship for three weeks. In addition, we host seminars for sports professionals in Europe and the US, and we also bring European sports executives to the US for a tour. Other aspects of the business include creating opportunities for student-athletes to compete overseas. We help send Dutch field hockey players to compete at the college level in the US by hosting a showcase and inviting coaches to come to recruit players. We also attempt to bring American athletes to the European leagues, particularly Dutch baseball. Finally, I work as a consultant in sports medicine. Through this work, I also help bring American students in sports medicine or athletic training to Europe for valuable educational experiences. AZ: How long have you been doing all this work? GL: LanCon was founded in 1998. Since 2000 we have hosted study tours and taken European executives to the States to lecture at colleges and tour the country. I gained these contacts through my many years in sports medicine. Once my career as a surgeon ended, the relationships I had developed as a doctor helped me to start a new career with LanCon. So although LanCon is young, the ability to offer such unique connections was built throughout my career in sports medicine. I served as a professional and national team doctor and spent decades in the Netherlands and Germany working in sports medicine. Now I continue to build contacts in the industry through my medical consulting at a national and international level. SZ: What was your role in the Rasmussen case? GL: Rabobank, the sponsor of the cycling team of which Rasmussen was a member, put together an independent commission to evaluate the course of events involving the team, before, during and right after the Tour de France in relation to Rasmussen. My role was to provide expertise in the fields of anti-doping and medical matters as one of the four members of the Vogelzang Commission. …