Olympic triathlon supestar Hayden Wilde has started running again as he continues to make a remarkable recovery from the horror bike crash which almost ended his career.
The 27-year-old New Zealander, silver medallist behind Alex Yee at Paris 2024, took another huge stride in his fight for fitness as he was put through his paces on a state-of-the-art AlterG Anti-Gravity treadmill at the Red Bull Performance Centre in Austria.
Two weeks on from the traumatic incident in Japan which left him with a punctured lung, six broken ribs, and a smashed scapula, ‘The Falcon’ is already riding a bike and with his return to the treadmill secured, he cannot wait to once again jump in the pool.
Documenting his recovery journey on a series of YouTube VLOGs, the latest episode (which is embedded at the bottom of this article) follows him on a day at the Red Bull centre in Thalgau, just outside Salzburg.
In one single day, he undergoes a series of medical tests, blood checks, heart-rate and lung checks as well as physio sessions, meetings with doctors and a whole host of gym work – with all of the specialists delighted and somewhat surprised by the speed of his progress.
Wilde reveals Japan crash details
Talking on the video, Wilde explains how he has not experienced any pain since immediately after the operation and that all he is experiencing now is a degree of stiffness in the scapula that was broken when he hit a truck.
Indeed, he is heard explaining for the first time exactly what happened on that fateful day in Tokyo, when he tells one of the staff: “I looked up because I wasn’t really expecting a truck to be parked on the side of the road and I looked up… and I was like, ‘Oh, s**t’. I swerved and then took full impact. I hooked the bike and completely missed it, but full impact on the scapula which, yeah. A lot of fun.”
Seen also being administered some electric therapy to reduce the swelling around the scapula, and laser therapy to help with the recovery of his hip, it is the prospect of being able to run again, and possibly swim soon, which really excites him.
The film ends with him completing successful sessions on both the bike and on the specialist treadmill which, by reducing gravitational forces on athletes by as much as 80%, help relieve pressure on injured limbs.
Hayden is running again
Talking before taking to the treadmill, he said: “Getting on the AlterG for the first time will either be a successful stepping stone or an absolute disaster. It will be nice to start running again. It’s been, what, nearly two weeks. It’s good fun. But, it’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna hurt. We will see how the fitness is. I have been doing a lot of walking, so let’s see if the walks have been looking after me.
“In two days, the stitches will come out, which will be ideal and I can get into the pool and start doing some aqua jogging. I can start getting the rhythm of the running in and then, moving forward from there, possibly do some sculling. Just to kind of get the feel of the movement again. If I can kick and I make my kick real strong and keep my hips up, I don’t need to use my arms, so happy days.”
The full recovery programme is expected to take 15 weeks, with the New Zealander setting himself the goal of returning to competition by the end of 2025.
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