Northern European Championships 2011: Irish Gymnast Geoff Rellis attempts comeback but does not win
Geoff Rellis made his comeback in this year’s Northern European Championships, Sweden. Although, this comeback itself was not the most successful attempt by usual standards, the journey to the comeback was definitely commendable.
In August 2010, the gymnast was training for the World Championships, at the Tolworth Gymnastics Club when he met an unfortunate accident.
The handspring double front on vault went off-technique and Rellis landed head-first in the foam safety pit with an ominous cracking sound.
The damaging move involved a handstand, whereby he was to push off the vault and rotate in the air twice. Apparently, as he started to turn mid-air, Rellis accidentally loosened up and lost grip over the tightly curled ball posture that he was supposed to
maintain.
“The last thing I remembered was pushing from the vault, after that it was black. I had no idea what was happening and when I woke up in hospital I was told I had broken my neck,” he said.
X-rays and CT scans were conducted. The fall gave him dislocated vertebrae (C5 from C6), as well as a fractured C5. The fracture was millimetres away from his spinal cord.
Rellis walked out of the hospital with a note of weekly checkups. However, two weeks later, the disc slid down further, and the dislocation had to be operated.
Understandably, he was unable to attend the World Championships staged in Rotterdam that year – ironically, because he was training for them.
The operation lasted four hours. Surgeons had to move his throat to one side to fuse the dislocated vertebrae with a metal frame and a bone taken from his hip.
As Rellis left the hospital the following day, the surgeon advised him to quit gymnastics. For the three-time All-Ireland champion this was not an easily palatable suggestion. After all, he had been training for the Olympics since a young age and had dreams
that were yet to realize.
The following months of recovery were painfully inactive for Rellis, who was used to extensive daily work outs.
“The muscles in my neck had deteriorated so much I had to lift my head with my hands when I was lying down,” Rellis said. “Until December I could not do anything apart from lie in bed at home”.
Once out of his neck brace, he started lifting weights and light cardio training. In December, he started using the ballet bars installed at his home, to regain the lost strength and confidence.
Two months further down the line, Rellis was ready to head to the Northern European Championships, Uppsala, Sweden.
The athlete was unable to secure any top position and came in 21st in the men’s all-round of the Northern European Championships.
Despite this, the comeback was remarkable, given the severity of the injury that could have left the 21-year-old paralyzed. Head and neck injuries have been known to be fatal in many cases.
Although Rellis cannot compete in the London 2012 Olympic Games, the sheer determination and progress he has shown so far is enough to confirm that his dreams of becoming an Olympic champion have only been put on hold.
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