Rosie MacLennan is a Two-Time Olympic champion. At the last summer games in Rio 2016, she was able to conquer adversity and successfully defend her Olympic gold medal from the London Games in 2012. She created a number of firsts with this most recent win because she was the first trampolinist, male or female to do so. And she was the first individual Canadian to defend her Olympic title.
It was a remarkable achievement for the 3-time Olympian. When I watched her perform I was fascinated. I’d heard that she’d suffered a concussion about two years before the games in Rio. Her performance in the final medal round wasn’t as perfect as the one she had in London, but it was still nearly perfect.
For more than a year recovering from her concussion was one of the most challenging periods of her career. As it turned out, she suffered another head injury in August 2015 on top of the one she already had. Then she was forced to take the time off to deal with the headaches, dizziness and light sensitivity. She was also mixing up words and found it difficult to have conversations.
Talk about overcoming adversity! She persisted. She got the help she needed. She was able to get back in the sport she so loves.
But I also heard that all the while she was at Rio, she was still suffering some Post Concussion symptoms.
Watch this video:
For those who know what it’s like to have those lingering symptoms, it’s not always easy to ignore them and go about your day, especially if you’re trying to be intense and focused. After Rosie MacLennan got her concussion she was ordered to take time off. It would take 5 months off her schedule! This is a very difficult thing to do when you’re usually booked into competitions well ahead of time and making arrangements to travel and compete. Never mind the amount of practice she has to put into it to prepare for the competitions.
Being out of it can quickly put you at a huge disadvantage because it’s not just the physical aspect of competing, it’s also the mental/emotional part. But Rosie MacLennan had her goals. She had the reasons she needed to keep on going. Even through a very difficult time, she was able to keep going.
Rosie MacLennan realized that she could still forge ahead even in such discomfort and face each adversity as it came. Because of that she is a champion!
I’m forging ahead too!
This week, I began teaching Brain Builders, my online Brain Training course specifically designed for people with Post Concussion Syndrome (PCS.) My team is called Brain Builders and they all live with PCS, but that’s about to change. They are rebuilding their brains and they are helping me create the perfect curriculum for the online course. It’s pretty AWESOME! Then we will do the research project!
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD, RAc, P.Eng,”Best Selling Author and founder of Extraordinary Sports Medicine, where we help athletes reverse injury, get back in the game they love and improve their quality of life.” Best selling book at: Heal Your Concussion: How to Quickly and Effectively Get Back in the Game
P.S. Watch Nathan’s Successful Recovery from Post Concussion Syndrome:
