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"Mountain biking: Serious injuries scuttle world title dreams"
http://www.odt.co.nz/sport/mountain-...d-title-dreams
Mountain biking: Serious injuries scuttle world title dreams By Alistair McMurran on Thu, 21 May 2009 Mountain Biking Erin Greene has pulled out, and Sheryl MacLeod's chances of competing at the world mountain biking championships look slim. An ironic twist of fate caught up with the riders, who had their eyes on a podium spot at the world mountain biking championships. They have had severe accidents that have dented their world championship ambitions. MacLeod, New Zealand's 2008 national champion, was targeting September's world championships at Canberra. Greene qualified for the world 24-hour event in Alberta in July when she won the New Zealand title in March. MacLeod (31), a qualifications assessor for Work and Income in Dunedin, broke her neck and dislocated her second and third vertebrae when her bike slid on a wet surface halfway down the course on a training ride on Signal Hill in early January. Greene (26), a sales specialist at R and R Sports, cracked her pelvis in five places and fractured her hip when hit by a car while she was out cycling last month. Greene has had her entry qualification for the world championships transferred to next year. Her movement is restricted and she still has a long way to go in her recovery. She must either lie down or sit. "I can only stand up for short periods with the aid of crutches," Greene said yesterday. "I have an X-ray next Tuesday and it will tell me if I can stand up and do more weight-bearing activities. I would not be confident riding 24 hours on a bike in July." Greene has been in a lot of pain that has been relieved with morphine and other medicines. "It has been uncomfortable some nights, but the pain level has dropped and that is a relief," she said. MacLeod has been steadily recovering from her broken neck. She returned to her job mid-March and is working almost full-time. "My spinal cord was badly bruised which affected the nerve signals to all the muscles in my body, making them weak," she said. "I am not back to full strength yet and I still have tingling sensations in my hands." She will receive the results next week of an X-ray from one of the Burwood spinal team surgeons who operated on her at Christchurch Hospital. "It is early days yet and I am holding off making any decisions," MacLeod said. "I'm not sure about the future, if I'll be able to race downhill again at a high level. I have to see what it feels like to get back on my bike, mentally and physically." MacLeod is keeping her options open but she knows that downhill mountain biking is risky and will not make a decision on her future in the sport until she has made a full recovery, and considered all the medical advice carefully. "But as an experienced downhill mountain biker I know that the nature of the sport is quite extreme, so I probably look at risk in a different way to the average person," MacLeod said. "But I realise how lucky I am and how devastating this could have been so I am having a serious think about things. "I like challenges but downhill mountain bike racing is not the be- and end-all for me," MacLeod said. "There are plenty of other challenges in life." MacLeod has been working hard at the Rata South rehabilitation clinic with physiotherapist Mark Shirley and is working on her aerobic fitness and muscle strength. "I have made huge gains since February and am confident I will keep improving with this support." -- I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8 years fighting auto dependence and road construction.) Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of! http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande |
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