ATHLETICS NEWS - “Without doubt the biggest low in my career occurred during a lengthy period of injury woe, which sidelined me from long jump competition for four-and-a-half years.
“In 2009 I had triumphed at the European Indoor Championships and the following year I had matched my winning mark in Torino with a 6.87m leap outdoors. Yet in early 2011 I started to encounter some difficulties with my knee. The problem was diagnosed as a bone edema (a condition characterised by the accumulation of excessive fluid in related structures of bone marrow) and it was a very slow recovery process.
“I re-habbed the knee for many hours each day, however, after one year it was decided I would require surgery, which was a real low point for me. In February 2012, I underwent surgery in Finland in which some holes were drilled in the bone and some bone marrow was taken from hip and transplanted into the knee to improve circulation.
“It was a risky procedure and I was told the recovery process would be long and it would require a lot of patience. Which in my case was true as I took my first running steps in September of that year!
“My first proper jumps sessions took place around three years after the injury was first diagnosed and I recall being incredibly nervous to complete three to five jumps – more nervous than for any competition!
