July 16, 2015

Shakira staying positive after injury ends her season

After such a positive start to my Indoor season, things began to take a turn for the worst after the ankle injury I picked up earlier in the year worsened. Travelling and competing with the England team in Slovakia was a brilliant experience and although my injury prevented me from jumping to the best of my ability, I was still able to come 4th alongside international jumpers.

After arriving back in the UK I had to prepare myself for the next upcoming competition which was the British Championships in Sheffield. The competition was tough and whilst I tried my best, unfortunately my injury held me back so I wasn’t able to perform to my highest ability. A recent MRI scan showed that I have completely ruptured my ATFL (anterior talo-fibular ligament) and injured my tibiofibular syndesmosis. Coincidently, this is the same injury that world number one golfer, Rory McIlroy has recently suffered. The only way for me to fully recover, will be to undergo surgery. I am currently ranked within the top 10 women triple jumpers in Great Britain.

Coincidently, this is the same injury that world number one golfer, Rory McIlroy has recently suffered

This wasn’t the news I wanted to hear but after talking with my coach and physio, we have decided that this long term strategy will be the best way forward for me to perform well next year. Unfortunately, this injury has prevented me from finishing my 2015 athletics season. It’s a shame as training had been progressing well, but I’m keeping a positive frame of mind that next year can be a successful year for me. Although I’ve picked up this injury, it doesn’t mean that my training has stopped. I am still training hard and now have more time to focus on improving areas which I may not have had time to work on before.

Although at present I can perform at a certain level, I am not satisfied with jumping mediocre distances and would prefer come back competing at my best.