0:00 Dehydration day
0:40 Weigh In snack pack
01:23 Espresso in Italy
1:45 Fight Day
2:21 Fight 1
2:44 Hamstring rupture 1
3:56 After Fight 1 Routine
5:02 Fight 2
5:11 Hamstring rupture number 2
7:42 Fight 3
10:00 What happened
11:43 Let's have a chat
13:08 Home time
13:25 Back in Manchester
15:10 MRI Scan
16:49 Recovery
17:42 BBQ
Rome Grand Prix is my favourite Taekwondo competition! I loved fighting in front of a huge crowd in Italy, and enjoyed putting in a good performance. The atmosphere was insane, I was smiling and enjoying myself the whole day. That was honestly the best I have felt for a long time. The crowd got behind me when they saw I was down, and for that I am so grateful. It was an amazing experience!! Thank you for making it a special one!
Unfortunately in my first fight I ruptured my hamstring tendon quite high up, I insisted I carried on and got through as many fights as I could, with the bare minimum. I knew the damage was done, I have a strangely good understanding of my body, and good intuition. I knew what I did right away. I have had a laughable amount of injuries in my time, so I'm fortunate enough to have an idea of what I have done when a new one pops up... relatively quickly. The chances are, I've done it before or something similar. I was having way too much fun that day so for me it was a no brainer, I was going to carry on until I couldn't anymore.
In my second fight I felt it again but further down. I felt an overwhelming burning feeling shoot down my leg. My knee was unstable and felt I had no control. So I resort to moving and punching.. I turned to my coach mid round and said its completely gone.. "but I'm fine" i'll just punch 😂👊🏼
After scans a couple of days later, I found out I have completely snapped my Semimembranosus tendon in my hamstring. I managed to pick up an injury that I have recently had surgery on (next video)
I have smiled and laughed the whole way through this process and I intend on keeping this energy. I love a challenge. I have accepted my injuries and excited to see what path I take now. I am looking forward to how much this will mature me as an athlete and give me a chance to improve even more. Each time I have had an injury I have always come back to the mat with a new perspective, a fresh motivation and drive to win. I know I will come back stronger, it's not cliche, it's speaking from experience. It's exciting to see what tools I will add to my box throughout this rehab block.
I will be back for Paris Stronger than ever. 😁👊🏼
See you in the next one 👊🏼😁
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