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Henshaw decides against knee surgery
Time, money and patience are usually high on the catalogue of requirements for parents of gifted young athletes.
For Steve Henshaw, father of Australian Winter Olympic medal hopeful Russ, you can add a hamstring to that list.
When the slopestyle skier from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains tore his ACL in 2011, there was the option of a traditional recovery or an expedited one if his dad donated part of his hamstring. Steve Henshaw was quick to make a decision.
"He had absolutely no worries at all about doing it," said Russ. "As soon as he heard it was an option itwas like `yep, yep we'll do that'".
Fast forward almost two years and Henshaw finds himself in a similar boat. Preparing for last January's X Games in Aspen, Henshaw injured the same knee but instead of more surgery has opted to just build up his leg strength and go without an ACL.
It's a calculated risk - he was able to compete towards the end of the northern hemisphere season but knows if the knee goes again there'll be no time for surgery before the Sochi Winter Olympics in February.
"I'm kind of running out of time," he admitted on Thursday at an assembly meeting of likely AustralianWinter Olympians and fringe athletes in Sydney. "I either have to make the decision that I am going to run with it or I am going to have surgery. I have kind of made the decision that I am going to go without."
Henshaw, 22, is regarded as one of the world's premier exponents of the new Games sport of slopestyle- which sees skiers perform tricks off jumps, rails and boxes in a purpose-built terrain park. He finished the international season ranked second overall on the professional tour despite the injury and is amongst Australia's top half-dozen medal hopes for the Winter Games.
The former national junior alpine champion says he will spend plenty of time building up his leg over the Australian winter and will only compete in one or two local events before making an assault on the northern hemisphere circuit starting in December.
Source: olympics.com.au
For Steve Henshaw, father of Australian Winter Olympic medal hopeful Russ, you can add a hamstring to that list.
When the slopestyle skier from Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains tore his ACL in 2011, there was the option of a traditional recovery or an expedited one if his dad donated part of his hamstring. Steve Henshaw was quick to make a decision.
"He had absolutely no worries at all about doing it," said Russ. "As soon as he heard it was an option itwas like `yep, yep we'll do that'".
Fast forward almost two years and Henshaw finds himself in a similar boat. Preparing for last January's X Games in Aspen, Henshaw injured the same knee but instead of more surgery has opted to just build up his leg strength and go without an ACL.
It's a calculated risk - he was able to compete towards the end of the northern hemisphere season but knows if the knee goes again there'll be no time for surgery before the Sochi Winter Olympics in February.
"I'm kind of running out of time," he admitted on Thursday at an assembly meeting of likely AustralianWinter Olympians and fringe athletes in Sydney. "I either have to make the decision that I am going to run with it or I am going to have surgery. I have kind of made the decision that I am going to go without."
Henshaw, 22, is regarded as one of the world's premier exponents of the new Games sport of slopestyle- which sees skiers perform tricks off jumps, rails and boxes in a purpose-built terrain park. He finished the international season ranked second overall on the professional tour despite the injury and is amongst Australia's top half-dozen medal hopes for the Winter Games.
The former national junior alpine champion says he will spend plenty of time building up his leg over the Australian winter and will only compete in one or two local events before making an assault on the northern hemisphere circuit starting in December.
Source: olympics.com.au
