Injury Update: Sam Hill Cleared for 2011 World Championships
Good news from Sam Hill today, who injured his shoulder in late June while training in Australia. Déjà vu anyone?
"So I have been given the green light from my doctor to start riding again. I have been told to try not crash though which I can't promise anything, but I'm stoked to be able to ride my bike. The last two days I have ridden some mellow cross country on my Stumpy. I have been loving it and can't keep the smile off my face. My shoulder is still very weak and I have nearly been over the bars a couple times because I have hit some unexpected bumps and not had much strength there. It will all come back though and I'm hanging to get back out on my Demo 8 soon when my shoulder is a little stronger.
I'm still heading to the World Champs though looking to back up my title." - Sam Hill
- Share
-
- More...
15 comments
turningisfun
8/25/2011 3:01 AM
its sam hill, and it sounds like he wants to win. i reckon he'll win it
iceman2058
8/24/2011 12:15 PM
I can totally relate to "nearly went over the bars hitting a couple of bumps" after a sholder injury. I broke my humerus last year, once I was cleared to start riding again, that is exactly how it felt. No strength in the shoulder at all to push down on the bars with, or to hold on with through bumps...and for sure, it did not take 2 weeks to come back, more like 2 months before I could even contemplate some more aggressive riding. Now 10 months after the injury I'm still far from 100% ROM, and not up to pre-break strength either. Granted, I don't have the kind of personal training/PT/medical assistance that a pro rider has, but still....if that is really how he feels now, he should stay as far away from the Champery track as possible...
BeigeWolf
8/24/2011 10:24 AM
THAT'S COOL HOW YOU ALL HAVE SO MUCH INSIDER KNOWLEDGE ON HOW SAM'S HEALTH IS DOING AND WHAT IS BEST FOR HIM. THANKS FOR SHARING THAT.
Dh Phil Mmkay
8/24/2011 7:06 AM
OR, Sam may be underplaying his fitness. He may come there in good enough shape to give the rest of the field a run for their money. Mind games I tell ya.
quasibinaer
8/24/2011 6:44 AM
Good to hear that he´s on the way back. I guess it´s a tough call to decide if he should heal up completely and miss worlds or go for it and make himself and his sponsors/team/fans happy. Champery is a pretty gnarly and most of all steep bitch of track, going there with a broken shoulder requires serious balls.
erwinmruiz
8/24/2011 12:46 AM
heal up bro
JimEG
8/23/2011 9:58 PM
+2
S127
Mr. P
8/23/2011 9:54 PM
I can hear it now...
"look at the time!...LOOK AT THE TIME!"
A nail biter watching a weak shoulder pinned on a technical track...
Pininator
8/23/2011 8:10 PM
He missed Champery last year, IIRC. As much as I'm dying to see a Gwin/Hill showdown at Worlds, I think he should save it for next season. Of course, not knowing Sam's threshold for pain (pretty good, I'd imagine), it's hard to say if he's got it in him for Worlds. It would be a tragedy to have him completely destroy his shoulder just for the sake of defending his title. If he does line up, I wish him nothing but the best of luck!!
Rob_Stewart
8/23/2011 6:04 PM
@Sharney127 i call that a crazy idea, but i like it! fair play to him if he has, not sure about it though. we'll find out in two weeks time
Scharney127
8/23/2011 5:49 PM
Call me crazy or ridiculous but I think Sam said fuck the World Cup, and has been secretly training for Worlds this whole time, and he's gonna come back and scrape everyone at Champerey like last year...
davikidd
8/23/2011 5:11 PM
Agreed Jimjam, these guys need to stay off the bike during an injury if they want to be competitive the year after.
TSage
8/23/2011 4:57 PM
Oh, so he is back in shape
scriz
8/23/2011 4:35 PM
Yeah, as much as I want to see Sam shred Champery in two weeks, I'd rather see him get fully back to fighting shape before jumping into the ring with Gwinja and those hungry young lions
jimjam
8/23/2011 4:20 PM
Sam needs to rest up, heal up, train up....then come back and hopefully dominate next year. Just like Brendog should have done after wrecking his knee. I don't know if these guys need the money, if they are under contractual obligations, or they're just glory hounds but they need to think about their careers and fitness long term. Coming back from injury too soon won't do them any favours and it's not what fans of the sport want to see.
These guys are the most entertaining riders on the planet - I'm sure I'm not alone when in wanting to see them 100% fit and winning.