BMX star Sam Willoughby now able to stand, crawl, pedal his bike and dreams of watching Adelaide Crows grand final
EXCLUSIVE: SA’s BMX Olympian Sam Willoughby is now able to crawl, stand and pedal a bike — and has a miracle double dream, to walk for his NYE wedding and come back to Adelaide for a Crows grand final.
- Explained: How the NDIS works
- Sam Willoughby, and his goal to walk on his wedding day
- Sam’s fightback: ‘I see myself riding’
- BMX star Sam Willoughby breaks his neck in training accident
SAM Willoughby’s dream is to walk at his wedding on New Year’s Eve but he also dreams of seeing his beloved Crows win the premiership and will seriously consider flying home if Adelaide makes the AFL grand final.
The injured BMX racer is a Crows ambassador and remains in the US where he is recovering from a broken neck he suffered in a training crash last September.
He is making significant progress in his rehabilitation and can now stand for three minutes, pedal a bike for 30 minutes and is crawling with weights around his ankles.
‘I’D COME HOME FOR A CROWS GRAND FINAL’
The 25-year-old has not been back in Adelaide since his crash which left him with two fractured vertebrae and a severely compressed spinal cord at Chula Vista on September 10.
But that may all change if Adelaide, which is currently six points clear on top of the ladder, makes the grand final at the MCG on September 30.
“If the Crows get in the grand final I might come home,” the 2012 Olympic silver medallist told The Advertiser.
“I’d consider it for sure, I’ve travelled quite a bit in the US now and domestic is a bit different to international.
“But I would definitely consider it, it would be pretty cool and I was actually at the grand final in 1997 so it would be cool to go back.
“I went with mum and dad and my brother that year and we watched the 1998 one at home.
“I haven’t been able to watch too many games (this season) because they’re in the middle of the night or don’t get televised over here.
“But I’m keeping up with the scores and they’re doing pretty well.
“I get a few messages, Rory (Sloane) and Tex (Taylor Walker) have been good at reaching out through this whole process which has been nice.”
‘I’M CRAWLING LIKE A BABY’
Willoughby is in San Diego where he continues intensive daily rehabilitation and is seeing signs of progress.
“It’s still obviously a long process but all the activities I do I’m constantly getting better at,” he said.
“I can ride the bike pretty easily now and am doing quite a bit of crawling, that’s my main exercise.
“I crawl around on my hands and knees like a baby, and I’ve progressed to using ankle weights when I do that now to try to strengthen up whatever function I’ve got in my hips.
“When I’m (standing) on the vibration plate which is a little more fatiguing because it sends a bunch of signals through your whole body.
“The vibration runs on a setting for three minutes. Previously I could only get about 30 seconds but now I get to three minutes most times and when I just stand regularly it changes depending on whether my hips are tight or there are spasms.
“I haven’t ever timed my freestanding because if I’m standing good then I’ll take a hand off (a support) or he’ll (physio) hold my hips and I’ll take both hands off.
“We haven’t gone for a record so to speak but I’ve definitely improved a lot.
“They are pretty big progressions I would say but probably to the average person watching they don’t seem like much, but they’ve definitely improved quite a bit.”
‘DON’T LEAVE ME WAITING AT THE ALTAR’
His major goal is to walk or stand for his wedding with US fiancee and BMX star Alise Post on December 31, and he has told her not to be late and leave him for too long at the altar.
“Alise is late to everything, so I won’t be standing until I see her,” he laughed.
“It’s (wedding) going to be here before we know it, the goal is still to keep chipping away and be as best I can for that day.”
‘HAVE A PLAN AND FIND YOUR ANCHOR’
On Thursday Willoughby will come face-to-face with most of the Australian BMX team for the first time when he speaks to them before the world championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
A total of 274 riders — including 16 from SA and nine from his local club at Happy Valley — will attend a Q&A with the former world champ which will also be streamed live on Facebook.
“Obviously I’m friends with pretty much everyone at BMX Australia and all the coaches, and the person who runs the academy for 14 to 17-year-olds coming through the ranks asked if I’d be willing to speak to them,” Willoughby said.
“Just about my injury and more so world championships, how to approach the day and somewhat of a rev up for them.
“At first I thought it would be just for a group of kids and then they put a thing on Facebook so it will be a bit bigger now and I’m excited, I haven’t really spoken face-to-face with anyone like that especially from Australia so it will be nice to share my story and reflect on experiences of the world championships.”
Willoughby was world champion in 2012 and 2014 so knows what it takes.
“The most important thing is having a plan, a simple plan and I was always a big fan of having two processes — one technically and one mentally,” he said.
“It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by distractions there and want them to go away, and my advice would be to embrace them and have a coping mechanism.
“I always called it an anchor, when you catch yourself drifting to bring yourself back, whether it’s music or for me it was looking off into the horizon and for some reason that brought a bit of clarity.”
‘I STILL FEEL PART OF THE TEAM’
He will then watch the week’s racing but doesn’t expect to become frustrated or emotional seeing his rivals and teammates in action.
“It might be a bit tough in the finals, I love the nerves and adrenaline you got at that time,” he said.
“But regardless I’m going to feel like I’m a part of it anyway because of the guys I’m helping and Alise, I want to be the best I can be.
“I’m pretty at ease with racing being over for me, obviously I didn’t want it to end this way but it puts things into perspective.
“Being able to race again is the least of my concerns at this point.”
Riding to success
2012 (May ) – At just 20 years of age, Sam Willoughby wins his first senior elite BMX world title in the final at Birmingham, UK.
2012 (August) – Wins a silver medal on Olympic debut in the final in London after finishing second behind Latvian Maris Strombergs.
2014 (July) – Wins both the race and time trial world championships with a flawless display of racing in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
2015 (December) – Becomes engaged to fellow BMX star Alise Post after proposing in the US.
2016 (August) – Makes the Olympic final in Rio where he misses the medals and finishes sixth behind American Connor Fields, and later reveals he rode with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a knee. Fiancee Alise Post wins a silver medal in the women’s final.
2016 (September 10) – Is airlifted to hospital with a fractured C6 and C7 vertebrae and a severely compressed spinal cord requiring surgery after a training crash at Chula Vista, US. Is left without movement from his chest down.
2017 (January) – Released from a specialist rehabilitation hospital in Colorado to return home and continue treatment in San Diego.
2017 (April) – Releases a video on Instagram of him pedalling a stationary bike as he continues his rehabilitation in a bid to one day walk again.
2 017 (December) – Is set to marry Alise on New Year’s Eve.