Ironman Matt Poole overcomes injury to push for second Molokai paddleboard title

IRONMAN Matt Poole is set to put injury behind him and push for a second Molokai to Oahu paddleboard title after overcoming a severe knee inflammation.

Matt Poole is set to line up in the Molokai to Oahu paddleboard race on Monday morning (Australian time) bidding to win his second title.

IRONMAN Matt Poole is set to put injury behind him and push for a second Molokai to Oahu paddleboard title after overcoming a severe knee inflammation.

Poole left for Hawaii last week not knowing if he would be able to compete in the iconic race given a severe case of bursitis that almost ruined his title challenge.

After battling a staph infection, Poole picked up bursitis after attempting to train through the pain, with the condition so bad it almost ruined his Molokai bid.

“Originally I picked up a staph infection in the Seaway that weakened my immune system and created troubles in my knee and I tried to train through that,” he said.

“It developed then into bursitis … and the more I tried to push through it, the worse it got to the point that I could barely bend my knee.”

After two trips to hospital and a bone infection scare, severe bursitis was diagnosed but with his flights and accommodation booked, Poole decided to continue his Molokai campaign.

His first challenge was to nurse his knee through the flight before attempting to pick a training load that would allow him to know whether he would get through the race while not overloading his knees and causing them to flare again.

“If I get to two or three days out and I literally can’t stay on my board for more than an hour, there’s no way I’ll be able to push my body through that sort of pain,” he said.

Poole has overcome his woes however, posting videos to Instagram of training sessions in Maui this week ahead of the weekend race.

After winning the title in 2014, Poole was forced to watch from the sidelines last year after breaking his leg.

Poole’s Kurrawa clubmate Matt Bevilacqua took the title and the two are set to wage an enthralling battle in the 52km race between Molokai and Oahu on Monday morning (Australian time).

The pair have been completing gruelling training runs between Coolangatta and the Seaway, usually with a southerly wind behind them, something Bevilacqua hopes will be the case on Monday morning.

“The prevailing winds in Hawaii really should carry you across the channel reasonably quickly,” Bevilacqua told ABC radio.

“It didn’t happen last year … the race normally should take under five hours – 4hr 50min is an average and you should win it in 4:40 – but last year it took 5:20 on my first year.

“Hopefully, this year we can get across nice and quick.”