2020 PINES IOC sports nutrition scholarship winners

With the generous support of Sportsoracle, PINES is able to offer two IOC Diploma in Sport Nutrition Scholarships for members beginning their studies in 2020.  We are pleased to announce the two PINES members who were successful in their application for the Scholarship.  Congratulations Mercedes Muniz and Kim Abbott.

Mercedes Muniz – Mexico

A 24 year old nutritionist from Mexico City. Mercedes graduated at the top of her class in 2018. Since graduating she has been practicing in one of the leading sports nutrition practices in her country, learning from top mentors.

Mercedes has been passionate about sports since she was a child, and in the past few years has been intensively involved in triathlons and running events. This passion for sports has led her to be more involved in leading practices in sports nutrition and related initiatives, such as co-creating a nutrition-app to help balance healthy lifestyles, and a recipe book for novice athletes.

In the following years, Mercedes hopes to learn more about the best practices in sports nutrition to create more programs that help athletes. In particular, she wants to focus on spreading the knowledge of the importance that an adequate diet has in an athlete’s endurance.

Kim Abbott – New Zealand

Kim is a New Zealand Registered Dietitian and Accredited Sports Dietitian (SDA). She graduated and began work as a clinical dietitian in 2001 and moved into sports nutrition work in 2015. Kim currently works part time as a Performance Nutritionist at High Performance Sport New Zealand in Cambridge, working with Rowing NZ and Triathlon NZ athletes. She also works part time as a Specialist Eating Disorders Dietitian at the Waikato District Health Board. This combination of roles has led Kim to develop a particular interest in RED-S, low energy availability & disordered eating in sport. Kim lives in Raglan, a popular surf spot on the west coast of New Zealand. In her spare time, she enjoys running with her dog on the beach, getting out on the water in her sailboat or kayak, relaxing with a good book or trying new things in the kitchen.