In the Olympian spirit…

The similarities between the Olympic competitors and the competitors in diabetes care can be easily seen in this issue of EDN. One of the essential qualities of a great athlete is a belief in his or her own ability. Boström et al. study the extent wherein diabetes nurses in Sweden perceive their professional role in diabetes care. Olsen et al. present their findings on the perceived knowledge of diabetes among personnel practising in municipal care. The object of athletes should be to perform to the best of their ability. Thabit et al. describe the individual components of the artificial pancreas and aim to highlight existing clinical evidence from studies performed on available artificial pancreas prototypes. Most athletes perform better in front of a crowd. Jutterström et al. throw light on turning points in self-management described by people with type 2 diabetes. Every athlete has to struggle against difficulties such as injuries and defeats. Peter Schwarz briefly describes how the message of IMAGE gets translated to clinical practice and invites you to register for free on the international network ‘Who is active in diabetes prevention’. The Olympic spirit is shown when spectators applaud all the competitors, not just the winners. To this end we should all give ourselves a pat on the back for the hard work and dedication we commit to diabetes care.

One important difference, however, is that most Olympic athletes take part once every four years, while people with diabetes and health care professionals participate every day.

Both Gillian Hood and I have decided to retire as Co-editors of EDN. We have done our best and do thank: you, the readers of EDN, for your contributions; FEND for providing us with the opportunity to take part in the editorial challenge; and the John Wiley & Sons publishing team for their continuous support. Last but not least we wish Angus Forbes and Magdalena Annersten-Gershater lots of fun and success as the new Co-editors of EDN.