INJURY FORCES TAYLOR TO QUIT SEASON
A long-term battle to overcome a shoulder injury has forced
Olympic diving medallist Leon Taylor to cancel his season
as he looks to eradicate the issue once and for all in time
for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Instead of preparing himself for the British Championships
in a little over a week's time, Taylor is trying to remedy
the same problem that left him with no choice but to withdraw
from the Melbourne Commonwealth Games on the eve of competition.
Two months down the line and rehabilitation to Taylor's right
shoulder is far from complete. But in abandoning this season
he plans to emerge from the painful set back with the physical
attributes required to once again compete for the biggest
of prizes.
The Olympic silver and World bronze (10m Synchro) medallist
has had some tough decisions in recent weeks but the 32-year-old
is confident this season's sacrifice will see him return to
his best form.
"My recovery has been much slower than I had hoped for
and expected," explained the Cheltenham-born Taylor who
lives and trains in Sheffield.
"I'm not out of the woods yet and have taken the difficult
decision to cancel any involvement in the rest of the season
to allow the shoulder to heal fully.
"I can't run the risk of competing and damaging it further,
I have to look at the World Championships next year and the
main focus of the Olympics in 2008."
Taylor has been out of the water since the disappointment
of Melbourne and continues to receive the best medical treatment
and advice to ensure a full recovery is made.
"My main focus now is to stabilise the shoulder so there's
no danger of aggravating it the next time I compete,"
explained Taylor.
"The rehabilitation is a long process but I have the
best people in the business working with me. I get plugged
into all kinds of machines that read muscle output and this
tells us which muscles are working too hard and others that
aren't working at all.
"It gives us an indication of how we can address this
imbalance, the route of the problem, and in essence it's like
rewiring my shoulder so that it works in a completely different
way."
An operation last year to put right an earlier injury that
had hindered Taylor in the past looked to have been a success
but while it cured the original problem it created another
by disrupting the way his shoulder should work
"I'm trying to get the shoulder stable but it's proving
to be a huge challenge. There are just so many things that
aren't quite right with it so I'm taking my time to re-educate
the joint to work in a slightly different way," said
Taylor.
"I've been working closely with a medical team at the
English Institute of Sport and we decided that trying to get
back this season could cause the shoulder to go again."
Taylor hopes to be back in action by the end of the year
but will not run the risk of further damage until his shoulder
is ready.
"The plan is to be competitive by December and this
gives me a chance of competing at the Melbourne World Championships
in March," said Taylor. "I'm desperate to make that
event as I missed out on the fun and glory in Melbourne this
year."
He's already working to that aim with a demanding programme
of land-based training as well as strength and conditioning.
"If everything goes according to plan I hope to return
to the water in a few weeks," explained Taylor.
"No one has been more frustrated than me with the time
I've had away from the water. I missed out on successes at
the Commonwealth Games, a British team has just returned from
tough meets in Canada and the U.S. and I'd love to be involved
in the British Championships."
Taylor's absence from the British Championships in Manchester
will certainly open doors for a younger generation coming
through the system while other divers in action will include
his Olympic and World Championship partner Peter Waterfield
of Southampton.
The championships are being held at the Manchester Aquatic
Centre from 26th to 28th May. Britain's brightest hopes for
the future then take centre stage in Sheffield at the Elite
Junior Nationals between 30th May and 2nd June.
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