Sam Laidlow has revealed he hopes to avoid surgery as investigations continue into the problem that forced him out of last month’s IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.
The French former world champion had said immediately after the race that he planned to undergo an operation, having struggled with a lack of blood flow to his left leg before withdrawing early in the marathon.
But following a series of examinations in Australia, Laidlow says there is now hope he can address the issue without surgery – at least this year.
“Still slowly crossing off some things”
Laidlow reached T2 in second place in Kona, but his hopes of challenging for another world title ended barely 5km into the run.
In his latest video update on Instagram, he explained that the search for answers is continuing during his off-season.
“Hey everyone, I just thought I owed you a little update on my current situation since Kona. I haven’t really been very good at posting stuff recently,” he said.
“Yeah, just off-season and trying to sort out this lack of blood flow or nerve issue that I had in Kona, which forced me to stop the race.”
Laidlow has undergone a range of tests, but his latest comments suggest the precise cause remains under investigation.
“So basically it’s still ongoing. I’ve had lots of different exams, MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds after cycling, et cetera, et cetera, all here in Australia.
“And yeah, we’re still kind of slowly crossing off some things and it looks like hopefully I won’t need an operation, or at least not this year.
“I think there’s things we can put in place in the near future to hopefully be back and running.”
A change from his post-Kona plans
That offers a more hopeful outlook than immediately after Kona, when Laidlow said he intended to return to France for surgery.
At the time, he identified iliac artery endofibrosis as the issue behind his restricted blood flow. In this latest update, however, he refers to a possible blood-flow or nerve problem as investigations continue.
His ability to reach the front of the race in Hawaii had masked the difficulties he was experiencing, with Laidlow explaining afterwards that he had relied heavily on his right leg during the bike.
He then struggled with numbness on the run and was unable to continue.
There is no firm timetable for a return in his latest update, but the possibility of avoiding an operation is an encouraging development as he looks to resolve the problem.
“Woke up and had to change the bio”
Away from his own recovery, Laidlow also found time to salute a remarkable performance from Magnus Ditlev at IRONMAN Florida last weekend.
The Dane clocked 7:19:17 in Panama City Beach, taking 1:47 off the fastest full-distance time of 7:21:04 Laidlow had set at Challenge Roth in July.
And Laidlow took the loss of that benchmark in good humour, sharing a congratulatory message on Instagram.
“Woke up and had to change the bio :(” he wrote.
“Congrats big dog @magnuselbaekditlev, savagery!”
