STARKVILLE, Miss. -- A Mississippi State University Extension Service nutritionist has earned two rare designations in his field.

Brent Fountain, associate Extension professor of human nutrition, completed the International Olympic Committee Diploma in Sports Nutrition program last November. Last month, he joined a group of only eight certified sports dietetics specialists in Mississippi.

Brent Fountain

Fountain also earned the sports dietetics certification from the Commission on Dietetic Registration and the Academy of Nutrition of Dietetics. He logged 1,500 hours of academic and professional work over five years before completing the required national certification exam.

The requirements of the International Olympic Committee certification required Fountain to take 20 courses led by preeminent sports nutritionists specializing in all aspects of the field.

Half of the courses covered key areas of sports nutrition, including energy balance, nutrition for competition preparation and postexercise recovery for competition training. The remaining courses addressed practical sports nutrition issues and how they relate to sport-specific preparation. The instruction included nutrition strategies for training in the winter, participating in intermittent sports, and gaining strength and endurance.

For the Commission on Dietetic Registration certification exam, composing journal articles and peer reviews qualified as academic hours. Professional hours involved working personally with athletes at skill levels ranging from recreational to professional on nutrition plans to improve performance.

Specialists who earn this certification must document 1,000 more hours and take an additional exam every five years to retain the status.