Photo: Courtesy of the USOC
::InTheClub
The Unkindest Cut
Speedskater J.R. Celski suffered a devastating laceration on his leg just fivemonths before the Winter Games. No problem. He won two medals in Vancouver. BY CHRISMANN
It happened in an instant, like most catastrophic injuries. American speed- skater J.R. Celski was rounding a turn during the short track Olympic trials inMarquette,Mich., when he slipped. His legs became tangled, and his razor- sharp skate blade ripped into his left leg. The resulting wound was six inches wide and two inches deep, and required 60 stitches to close up. Making the problem worse was that
it was September 12—only five short months before the Winter Games in Vancouver. Celski’s Olympic dreams appeared to be over, at least until 2014. Celski had other ideas. Since he had
already qualified, the 19-year-old tapped into that eternal Olympic spirit and never gave up.Working with Eric Heiden,MD, the Olympic speedskating legend and current orthopedic surgeon of the U.S. Olympic skating team, Celski persevered. He healed in time to not only compete in the Games, but to take two bronze medals. Nowpreparing to enter the University
of California at Berkeley, Celski is hoping to continue his speedskating, perhaps for as long as his Olympic role model, Apolo Ohno. In the meantime, Celski keeps a photo of his grisly skat- ing wound on his iPhone, if only to remind himself how far he’s traveled to get to the podium.
Get Active: What went through your mind when you cut your leg?
J.R. Celski: My first reaction was, I’m done.My career’s over. Then I heardmy momscreamup in the stands. The whole rink was silent. I was like, Oh,
God, I just did this right in front ofmy
whole family. It was kind of four things
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