Toni Piispanen, one of the stars of his sport, has to undergo surgery. The para-athletic world championships are at stake.
The Olympic champion of the T51 category of wheelchair curling Toni Piispanen the steering device of the reeling chair failed during the reeling exercise on Sunday in Espoo.
After the steering device failed, Piispanen crashed into the wall at high speed. He remained in his wheelchair in the situation, but his femur and hip hit the knee support of the chair in the collision.
– Yes, it is very rare for the control device to fail. Very bad luck happened, Piispanen told Urheilu on Wednesday.
Piispanen said that the coach Jari Nordblom didn’t notice Piispanen’s collision at first, because he was clocking at a different part of the track.
– I was able to distract the coach and the training was stopped immediately. At first, it was thought that how could the chair’s settings have failed.
At first, Piispanen thought he was spared with a fright.
– The following hours, and especially the next day, the swelling in the leg was such that it was decided to see a doctor.
After the doctor’s visit, it was known that as a result of the collision, a bone broke in Piispanen’s hip area.
Next up are the para-athletic world championships in Japan in May, where Piispanen has also been selected. However, he is not thinking about future value competitions at the moment.
– Here we just go one day at a time and see how the rehabilitation progresses.
At the turn of August and September, Piispanen should take part in the Paris Paralympics.
– By the time of the Paralympics, I should be fine, Piispanen said In the bulletin of the Finnish Sports Association.
The bishop will be operated on on Thursday. In the operation, the bone is connected with a screw and a support plate is also attached to it.
Piispanen is a two-time Paralympian and World Championship winner in T51 class wheelchair curling, as well as a three-time European Championship winner.