INJURY FORCES TAYLOR OUT OF NATIONAL CHAMPS
Olympic silver medallist Leon Taylor has been forced to pull
out of the British Diving Championships after suffering a
sports hernia injury.
Taylor (City of Sheffield) underwent fitness tests but results
left him with no option but to withdraw from the competition
this weekend.
"The decision to pull out of nationals was made just
before Christmas. I had meetings with the English Institute
of Sport (EIS) and British Diving medical staff and we knew
that if I continued it would get worse.
"I have my surgery planned for 15th January. I am seeing
a specialist in Munich and will be travelling over in the
next couple of weeks. The positive is that it will only take
about two weeks to recover after the surgery."
It's a real blow for Taylor who spent last year undergoing
surgery to a long term shoulder injury which required months
of recuperation and rebuilding.
"I am incredibly disappointed to pull out of the nationals
but the injury I have needs surgery," he said. "Unfortunately
with a hernia you can't rest it and recover. I competed in
Canada with this injury and I couldn't get to the level I
wanted to. It felt like I had weights connected to my ankles
and my movement was really restricted.
World medallist Taylor is planning to be back in the water
in February and still has his sights set on success in Beijing.
"My plan for the coming year is to have surgery and
start to train again, I then have the Grand Prix to take part
in to improve my competition fitness. Then I will set my sights
on Olympic Trials in June. If we can qualify a place for Great
Britain at the World Cup then I will be looking to qualify
for the Olympics there."
The FINA Diving World Cup takes place in February and is
the last chance for the British team to qualify their places
for the Beijing Olympics. The men's 10m is the only synchro
event yet to have been decided and if 13-year-old Thomas Daley
and his partner Blake Aldridge win this weekend they look
set to compete at the vital international event.
|
