Athletics: British stars rally round Shalders

Jul 14 2007 by Bob Cypher, South Wales Echo

BRITISH athletes have sent messages of support to Welsh triple jumper record holder Steve Shalders following his horrific injury in Norway last month.

Cardiff AAC’s Shalders suffered a compound dislocation of his tibia while competing at a meeting in Stavanger and since then the club has posted good luck messages from athletes and administrators on their website.

Fellow Commonwealth Games athlete James Thie – himself no stranger to injury – urged Shalders to be positive and to remember that next year’s Olympics in Beijing are all that counts.

And his British Athletics League team-mate Matt Ledger gave him good advice, saying: “When you’re going through hell, KEEP GOING.”

Another athlete who has had more than his fair share of injuries, Tim Benjamin, reminded Shalders of the Swedish high jumper Kajsa Bergqvist who won the world championships a year after snapping her Achilles tendon.

GB shot putter Emeka Udecheku and 400m specialist Jared Deacon wished him a speedy recovery while Wales’ top female shot and discus thrower, Philippa Roles, sent a similar message on behalf of herself and her sister Rebecca who has now left the sport and “taken up full-time drinking of Stella and smoking of Lambert and Butler!”

Joking apart, Roles added: “You are a fantastic athlete and the best is still to come.”

Wales’ promising young discus thrower Brett Morse was in the small Wales team in Norway and saw the accident.

“Everyone in the stadium feels for you Steve,” he wrote.

“I hope you’re back on your feet soon and I can see the magician of Welsh triple jump jumping again in the future.”

England Athletics lead physiotherapist John Allen sent a message on behalf of Shalders’ triple-jumping rivals, Tosin Oke and Julian Golley, while former Wales Olympic and world championships 400m runner Catherine Murphy, who is now working for London 2012 organisation, said: “I’m sure you have the determination to come back stronger than ever.”

All the messages and more can be read on the Cardiff AAC website at www.cardiffaac.org/news6.html