On September 24, 2019, Douglas Hiller, M.D., orthopedic surgeon and dual resident of Hawaii and Washington, is one of two physicians inducted into the International Triathlon Union (ITU) Hall of Fame. Hiller and Sergio Migliorini, M.D. were honored jointly by the ITU, the international federation for Olympic triathlon, for pioneering the medical committee of the relatively recent swim-run-bike Olympic competition. 

Douglas Hiller, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, is a specialist in endurance sports, their physiological effects and ramifications. He’s done extensive research with athletes, focusing on effects of fluid intake during races. He also treats and studies sports-related injuries.

A dual resident of Washington and Hawaii, he is affiliated with Whitman Hospital and Medical Center in Colfax, Washington, and a clinical professor at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine at Washington State University. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the ITU (International Federation for Olympic Triathlon) in August 2019 for his lifetime contributions to this evolving Olympic sport.

He is a board-certified, multiple fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon and a founder and director of the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship. He was director of the foot and ankle section of U.H.’s orthopedic residency program and served as an assistant clinical professor. From 1990 to 1996 he was University of Hawaii’s Wahine team doctor.

A three-time Kona Ironman finisher, he has served 35 years as a medical volunteer for the race. Dr. Hiller has served as research coordinator, assistant medical director, medical director, and chief physician for the Kona Ironman.

He served as a medical official for the International Triathlon Union (International Federation for Olympic Triathlon) for twenty world championships as well as the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, and the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Dr. Hiller has made five TransPacific yacht crossings, including two Los Angeles to Honolulu TransPacific Yacht Races, and an LA to Tahiti TransPacific Yacht Race. He’s paddled in the Molokai Hoe Canoe Race with Lanikai’s Senior Masters in 1995.

Instrumental in arranging for team doctors for Oahu Interscholastic Association schools in the 1990s, he promoted successful legislation providing certified athletic trainers for Hawaii public school athletics.

Dr. Hiller graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1981, and is a Duke University Fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Hiller was raised in Hawaii and spent the majority of his career in the Hawaiian Islands where he raised three children. He is a graduate of Punahou School and maintains a house in Waimea on Hawaii Island.