Having already battled back from one major injury this season, luckless triathlete Justin Riele is battling to do it all again after suffering a second devastating setback in his debut campaign as a full-time professional.
His cruel run of misfortune began just days after deciding to ‘go all-in’ on his sporting career – leaving his corporate role in the tech industry to focus solely on triathlon.
However, his first race as a full-time professional athlete did not go to plan when he crashed out of IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside during the bike section and was rushed to hospital by ambulance.
Hopes shattered with second bike crash
Surgery on a broken right clavicle and scapula was followed by an intensive rehabilitation programme, allowing the determined Riele to recover ahead of schedule and take his place on the start line at T100 San Francisco just 70 days later.
However, his hopes for a smooth second half of the season were shattered a few weeks ago when he crashed again while out on a training ride, this time breaking the same two bones… but on the left-hand side of his body.
After admitting that he initially struggled mentally with the fresh setback, Riele is now very much back on his feet and making remarkable progress, even though he only removed his protective sling earlier this week.
Choosing against surgery this time, he and his medical team opted to allow the fractures to heal naturally. Even while wearing the sling, he has continued riding and running one-handed with his injured arm strapped securely to his chest.
Focus is on being fit for Welsh return
And, just as he did in San Francisco, this true battler of an athlete is targeting another incredible comeback, with his sights firmly set on IRONMAN Wales on September 13.
Sharing an update on Instagram this week, the American revealed he was already back in the aero position on his time trial bike and had even managed his first swim since the latest crash.
“Into the aero bars we go! “Goodbye, sling,” he wrote. “4 weeks since the crash and 5 weeks to race day. Ahead of schedule. I did my first swim today, almost 2 weeks earlier than planned.
“Honestly, I’ve done some of my best training in the sling these last 2 weeks, hitting full bike and run volume and intensity. I am not out of the woods yet, but I feel like I’ve overcome the toughest part.
“It’s been a mental battle at times, but it’s been fairly easy to nail the training with all the support I’ve felt from the triathlon community. Dreaming of the fairytale comeback story at Ironman Wales on the other side of this.”
Second crash was mentally tough
The upbeat message was in stark contrast to the post announcing his latest injury, written while he was still trying to come to terms with the cruel twist of fate that had left him with the mirror image of the injuries suffered just over three months earlier.
“It’s been a very hard week. 5 days ago, I was in the best shape of my life,” he wrote. “After months of rebuilding from breaking my right clavicle and scapula, everything had finally come together. I had my highest bike power ever in back-to-back races, my fastest half marathon off the bike, and my first breakthrough swim since the crash.
“Then later that day, I broke my left clavicle and scapula. The mirror image of the injuries that sidelined me just 100 days ago. I’ll be honest, I feel bitter and incredibly unlucky.
“I’ve done absolutely everything I could to prevent another injury. No group rides; hard sessions only on the trainer, capping run workouts. Then some unswept loose gravel in the middle of the road changed everything in a split second. I lost it and cried out at the sky for 20 minutes, wondering why this happened to me.”
Lessons can be learned
And for someone who had only weeks before decided to go full-time, he admits there will need to be some lessons learned as he battles back for a second time and bids to make it onto another start line.
“I’ve poured everything into this dream only to feel like I haven’t even had the chance to truly experience it yet,” he said. “I don’t know if there’s a lesson to be learned or some reason this keeps happening. Maybe there isn’t. But I hope that if this setback does anything, it’s that it inspires someone else to keep going when life doesn’t go to plan. To rebuild and believe.”
