Swimmer Zac Stubblety-Cook reveals broken back injury before 2024 Paris Olympics silver medal

Zac Stubblety-Cook values his Paris Olympic silver medal more than his Tokyo gold because of everything he conquered just to get it. The swim star reveals all about his difficult journey.

Olympic silver medallist Zac Stubblety-Cook has revealed he competed in Paris just six months after a freak training accident left him with a broken back.

Stubblety-Cook came into Paris as the defending champion and to walk away with a silver medal was a phenomenal achievement given his wretched run into the Games.

He suffered a ‘clay-shovelers’ fracture in his back last December while training in the gym, keeping him out of the pool for three weeks at the most crucial phase of his preparation.

Zac Stubblety-Cook claimed silver in the 200m breaststroke at the Paris La Defense Arena. Picture: Adam Head

The injury, which often impacts the C7 and T1 vertebrae, is a result of high energy and repetitive pulling mechanisms such as shovelling or digging, hence the name.

He then had to overcome being diagnosed with Covid three days before his event started in Paris, recovering just enough to swim his way to silver behind French hero Leon Marchand.

“It felt more emotional than Tokyo, if I’m being honest,” Stubblety-Cook told this masthead at a Speedo event in Saint Michel.

“I broke my neck which wasn’t ideal and had a little bit of time out of the pool, and that caused a little ripple six months out (from the Games).

“They call it a clay-shoveler’s fracture, which is a really old school fracture. It’s not a normal thing.

“But we got back in the pool quite quickly and got back to good loads and less pain.

“Then we had covid and illness, everything in between. It’s just been a much tougher, different prep coming into this Olympics.”

Zac Stubblety-Cook values his Paris silver more than his Tokyo gold. Picture: Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Stubblety-Cook said the mental challenge of even reaching Paris was extreme as he battled injury at the same time as launching his own coffee business.

“There’s times where you think you’re probably never even going to make the Games,” he said.

“You struggle, you go through ebbs and flows of being like, am I going to get back to where I was?

“(The coffee business) is moving slow, but it’s getting there. We’re really just proud that we’ve started and just got it off the ground.

“If it all falls to shit, it’s an expensive exercise, but I’ve learned so much already.”

The next six months Stubblety-Cook plans to throw himself fully at his business.

He will swim socially with friends but the prospect of launching into another Olympic campaign is the furthest thing from his mind.

Zac Stubblety-Cook with his silver medal. Picture: Michael Klein

Not even the prospect of joining Kyle Chalmers as a three-time Olympic medallist in the same event will be enough to entice him into another four-year cycle for Los Angeles in 2028.

He wants his impact on swimming to be measured out of the pool.

“My (swimming) legacy is probably more about becoming a leader on the team. That’s been more of a mark I want to leave, rather than the medals,” Stubblety-Cook said.

“A medal is unpredictable whereas I know I can give back to the culture and help curate and harvest that culture with the younger team and the team development.”

Originally published as Swimmer Zac Stubblety-Cook reveals broken back injury before 2024 Paris Olympics silver medal