Walcott hopeful of Paris return

DOUBLE Olympic javelin medallist Keshorn Walcott is staying optimistic as he recovers from an Achilles tendon rupture, sustained during his warm-up routine at the World Athletics Championships, in Budapest, Hungary in August.

Despite his positive rehabilitation since surgery in late August, the recovery is estimated at six to eight months, or even longer, to comfortably allow high-impact activities like running, jumping and throwing the javelin.

This means, Walcott, 30, may not be back to full fitness and will not feature competitively until May/June next year; mere weeks before the Paris Olympic Games gets under way from July 26 to August 11.

The decorated Trinidad and Tobago athlete said, “Normally, we start throwing the javelin in December, so I don’t know what the possibility (of me competing) would be, because this injury is normally four to five months without any running or jumping.

“As we gradually go along I would know more about the feeling and state of my foot. Maybe I can start doing some walking throws in December and then maybe, in January, I can start doing some more movement with the javelin,” he said.

Currently, he does minimal exercises on the injured left foot and has changed his training regimen to facilitate recovery. What’s key for him right now is adapting and framing his training sessions around the injury. Therapy also plays a major role towards his restoration.

On his Instagram page, Walcott has been posting videos of him doing a number of upper-body strength work.

He said, “You can’t really stop training, you have to adapt to your situation. These things make you think and refocus. I started training like this for the past six weeks. You have to be on top of things.”

Even though the injury quelled all hopes of him capturing a first-ever World Championships medal – after five attempts – Walcott sees his current downtime as both a blessing and a curse.

“I’m doing a lot more than I expected. It’s still pretty good training for me at this time. The only thing missing is running and jumping, but we’re still able to lift, to do some general exercises, a lot of ball throws, which will come in very handy and help build my endurance.

“It’s been going well. It’s kind of a new injury and nothing I’m used to. I don’t really know what to expect but I think based on the progress I’ve been making. I just need to be a little more patient. Other than that, it’s good.”

“Once I keep a steady pace, in particular, for the next four months, the time after should be a bit easier and more manageable.”

Walcott has suffered injuries before but this Achilles rupture is his most serious. The only other time he was competitively inactive for a longer period was during the pandemic where most major sporting events were cancelled.

It’s mentally-taxing sometimes, Walcott said. but he has come to accept his temporary limitations.

“Some days are harder than some because you have to remember to be patient, and that you can’t always do what you want to. I still am very optimistic about the season next year. That has been driving me to stay positive.

“What motivates me is the challenge. I always live for the challenge and feel like this is one of my biggest so far. It’s pushing to a direction where I need to push myself to the limit. That has been a driving force throughout this injury."

At the back of his mind, he keeps telling himself, "Let me see how best I can come back after this and how much I can push myself to get the best outcome.”

Walcott remains optimistic about Paris. He believes if his recovery continues in good stride, he should be able to compete prior to the games and make what might be his final appearance on the Olympic stage.

“If there is a possibility for me to do three or four competitions before Olympics that would be good for me, because normally I don’t need much. Then again, I don’t know how the training is going to unfold over the next couple months, it’s kind of difficult to project.

“I still feel like next year I can throw over 85 metres, despite the type of training that’s happening right now.”

The Toco native still believes he can add a World Championships medal to his cabinet. “At the end of the day, I still have goals in sport. Let’s see how best we can do in 2024. My goals are still the same, I still want to get that medal at Worlds. I’m still optimistic.

"I feel like the injury is giving me a lot of perspective where I can actually slow down and do some of things I wasn’t able to do before in training, because of time.

“If I just put my mind to a couple things and focus entirely on those things, and get them right, when I start to compete I wouldn’t be in a bad place. It doesn’t take a lot to contribute to good throws but sometimes we get flustered and we’re all over the place.

"I just want to focus on a couple things and hopefully it comes together the way I have it in my mind for it to work out.”

Walcott can take heart from the recovery of NBA superstar Kevin Durant who ruptured his Achilles during the 2019 NBA Finals in June. Durant returned to the NBA court in December 2020.

After Walcott sustained the injury in Hungary, he travelled to Finland and had his surgery done by Dr Lasse Lempainen, who specialises in lower extremity surgeries. It was done at the Pihlajalinna Hospital. Since then, he’s returned home and is training his body and mind for further success.