04/20/24
December 04, 2003
"It is a remarkable comeback for the man who begged doctors not to amputate his leg after the accident 28 months ago, when only a small bit of skin and muscle remained connected.": Does it get any tougher than Hermann Maier? The former bricklayer damned near loses a leg after a motorcycle accident, and now here he is winning World Cup downhill races. What other return-from-injuries match this one? (please include a link if possible)
The former bricklayer damned near loses a leg after a motorcycle accident, and now here he is winning World Cup downhill races. Actually -- and not to detract from his considerable accomplishment -- he won a , not a downhill. You may be thinking of his "win" of the Birds of Prey training run, which I guess he can call a win if it makes him feel good...but if so, it's awfully damn ironic considering the way that the entire psychodramatic Austrian team whined about the FIS rules that made training runs "count" toward start position last season. If we're talking about actual races, Maier's best result in downhill since his return from injury was a 6th place finish in last year's Hahnenkamm. Afterwards, he did a little trash-talking of race winner Daron Rahlves of the USA, saying that it wasn't a real Hahnenkamm and that if the course was longer, he would have won. "But it wasn't," Austrian teammate Stephan Eberharter interjected, "And you didn't." Maier has done a lot with his limitations, but they are limitations, and he's started to admit that. He has some serious issues with his leg that don't show signs of going away. He's got nerve damage, problems with swelling, loss of flexibility in his ankle, etc. -- and he's getting long in the tooth, too. He's a conditioning machine, but there are limits. As long as he can continue to keep his health issues under control, he'll probably continue to do well in speed events, probably pick up a few podiums. Tech events? Nuh-uh. He said himself after the season opener at Solden that he just can't make them little turns real fast no more. I doubt he'll ever reach the podium in a tech event again, and that means no overall World Cup. The Herminator is still made of flesh and blood.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:45 PM on December 04, 2003
It's not an injury, but I think losing a nut to ball cancer counts. At the very least, it's got to pose some balance issues. But seriously, I'm talking about Lance Armstrong, of course.
posted by worldcup2002 at 06:57 PM on December 04, 2003
Ooops...first line was supposed to say "he won a super G, not a downhill. You may be thinking of his "win" of the Birds of Prey training run..." There, that fixes the links.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:15 PM on December 04, 2003
Alan Stubbs of Everton and Neil Harris of Millwall have also successfully overcome testicular cancer. What's more Harris has also helped raise thousands of pounds for a cancer research charity.
posted by squealy at 04:08 AM on December 05, 2003
Mustn't forget the awesome Barry Sheene. Sadly, he recently succumbed to cancer, though his attitude on being diagnosed with the disease just about sums up the man: "Although this is a complete pain in the arse, it happens to a lot of people and a lot of people get over it." I'm not much of a one for heroes, but Sheene is mine.
posted by squealy at 04:23 AM on December 05, 2003
World Series champ Mike Lowell also had testicular cancer, at the ripe old age of 24. Of course Alonzo should also get an honorable mention even though he did retire. Lil Brown Bat thanks for the clarification on Maier. Is he not liked by his own countrymen?
posted by vito90 at 08:14 AM on December 05, 2003
speaking of baseball and cancer...Eric Davis
posted by goddam at 09:25 AM on December 05, 2003
Being another member of the "Tilting Slightly Left" club, I admire Kruk the most. Probably because he's also a slick-fielding and rotund singles hitter. Don't forget about Robert Edwards. For a guy who was supposed to either lose his leg or walk with a cane to make it back to the NFL is pretty special.
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:22 PM on December 05, 2003
I also think we need to follow up on the guy who amputated his own arm after a rock fell on it. Don't ask. Just read.
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:46 PM on December 05, 2003
Here's the follow-up on Aron Ralston, self-amputee. He's now a motivational speaker, David Letterman Show guest, subject of a GQ article and is writing a book. "He's mountain climbing, biking, kayaking, distance running and he can't wait for winter to really settle in so he can get to skiing and ice climbing." Also, he's got a "pirate costume for life." Well, at least he has a sense of humor.
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:54 PM on December 05, 2003
And how about Bethany Hamilton, the girl surfer whose arm was bitten off by a shark? Predictably, the media sharks are trying to take their bites:
"What I'm trying to do is make this 15 minutes of fame into Brand Bethany Hamilton," Hofstetter said." ... ... "These stories are like buses," [CBS's "48 Hours Investigates" executive producer, Susan Zirinsky] told the New York Post. "You try to catch them, and if one passes you by and you don't make it, there's always another." ... ..."In our wired world, tragedy is like cereal or deodorant," [Simon Moore, communications professor at Bentley College outside Boston] said. "The media is aware that tragedy sells, so naturally we get a lot of them. Who remembers all the tragedies that have come our way this year? This month?"
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:03 PM on December 05, 2003
Oh, and as for Hermann Maier, I guess I was just a week ahead of myself.
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:57 PM on December 06, 2003
Neil Parry came back from amputation of a foot required by an amazingly bad broken bone during a football game (he attends San Jose State) in his freshman year. He played on special teams, punt returns mainly, for them this year.