Australian surf life saving titles 2023: Georgia Miller’s hiccup in battle back from injury

There’s one thing ironwoman gun Georgia Miller has never been able to master and it’s the one thing she needs to be a champion at if she’s to return to top of the game after a freak accident.

Georgia Miller with just some of her silverware. Picture: Harvpix

Ironwoman Georgia Miller knows she needs to learn a new skill if she is to return to her past form after a horrific accident left her with a broken back and punctured spleen.

Miller is in Perth at the Australian surf life saving championships but instead of competing for a fourth consecutive Australian iron crown she will be quietly watching from the sidelines.

The most arduous thing she is allowed to do in Perth is to cheer for new fiance and Australian kayak team Riley Fitzsimmons as he chases medal success in a variety of single, double and mixed ski events.

Miller was to have taken on a role as commentator at the event but found after one day in the job it was “a bit much” on her back as she recovers from potentially career ending injuries sustained during a training accident on the Gold Coast last month.

Georgia Miller on her way to hospital. Picture: Instagram

Ironwoman champion Georgia Miller being attended to on the beach. Picture: Instagram

Miller hit a wave and was back shot off her ski, flying backwards onto the nose of training partner Harriet Brown’s ski, sustaining shocking injuries which saw her rescued by her teammates, put on a spinal board and rushed to hospital.

“I ended up fracturing my spine in two places and also lacerating my spleen,” Miller said.

“Anything to do with your spine is very serious but at this stage I don’t need surgery.

“It could have been a lot worse. It just needs rest, like any bone in your body, to mend.

“I’m not very good at rest. It’s been tough but I just have to try and do it now.

“I did a bit too much here. I think I was a little too ambitious and I have to stop.”

Northcliffe ironwoman Georgia Miller.

Miller said she will know more about her recovery from the injury after a scan six weeks after the accident.

Miller, who grew up and raced on the northern beaches before relocating to the Gold Coast to compete for the powerhouse Northcliffe club, confirmed she still plans to return to racing if given the go-ahead by her medical team.

“The plan is to come back. This won’t be forever,” she said.

But she said she was finding it difficult to watch her friends and rivals racing at the Aussies.

“I started going to watch the girls (at training) but it made it harder,’’ she said.

“|So I’ve been staying clear a little bit. It will be hard to watch them this weekend.’’

The ironwoman final will be raced on Sunday and is one of the blue riband events of the Australian surf lifesaving championships.

Miller traditionally does an enormous program of events, enjoying both the individual racing and the teams events.

She’s also one of just two women to have won three Australian ironwoman championships.

Miller said she doesn’t want to “jinx’’ anyone by naming them as favourites for the ironwoman win but believes a good start and getting out ahead of the pack early will be crucial to their success.

“There are no waves, so there’s no help out there. So you have to be at the front early” she said.

Paddler Pierre van den Westhuyzen who is also a surf life saver.

OLYMPIC PADDLER OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE

Of the 5000 plus surf life savers at the Aussies in Perth this week there’s probably only one praying there’s no surf.

Paris Olympic paddling hopeful Pierre van der Westhuyzen is a recent recruit to the surf club scene and about to compete at his first Australian championships in Perth when the open competitions kicks off on Wednesday.

But while ace in the flat water, the former South African and brother of Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Jean van der Westhuyzen is still learning how to deal with the surf.

“I’m crossing my fingers for it to be flat,” said van der Westhuyzen who has joined the Mermaid club on the Gold Coast so he can train and race with many of his kayaking mates.

“The bigger the surf, the harder it will get for me.

“The biggest thing for me is getting on the ski. The jump start takes a bit of time for me.”

Among the paddlers he will be racing at Aussies is his regular K2 partner Noah Havard, who has relocated from Bondi to train on the Gold Coast with the Australian team.

Paddlers Pierre van der Westhuyzen and Noah Havard.

While the majority of the Australian Canoe kayak sprint team will be competing at the Australian championships - including Aly Bull, Natalia Drobot, Tokyo, Olympian Riley Fitzsimmons and rising star Noah Havard, van der Westhuyzen‘s brother Jean and crew mate Tom Green, who won gold at the last Olympics, have opted to bypassed the event to concentrate on an upcoming European campaign.

Lachlan Tame, Riley Fitzsimmons, Murray Stewart and Jordan Wood at the Tokyo Olympics. Fitzsimmons is the only member of the K4 still competing and will also race at Aussies.

Van der Westhuyzen believes the sport is a great crossover for kayakers, helping his fitness and providing him with a mental break from the sport.

“I saw a lot of the guys really enjoy it and there’s a really good vibe at the surf club and a good community,” he said,

“I wanted to change things up a bit, wanted to give it a crack. It’s pretty different to kayaks but I have been loving it.’’

“I'm including the single ski, double ski, ski repay and the mixed with Tash (Richardson, his girlfriend) so it should be heaps of fun.’’

Australian paddling greats Clint Robinson and Ken Wallace both came from surf life saving backgrounds as do the majority of paddlers in both the open, under 23 and junior Australian teams.

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