Return after his injury

“I’ve been on a bike for most of my life,” Brook Macdonald explains. “I had a friend who played rugby a lot when I was 11 or 12 years old. He showed me mountain biking. We were on bikes every day.”

After some time he had to choose. Should he dedicate himself to rugby or mountain biking? At some point it became clear: It is the bike that demands all of its dedication.

In his first major competition, the 2009 Junior World Championship in Canberra (Australia), MacDonald showed that he had made the right decision. He won a gold medal.

It developed rapidly, podium placements among seniors were the logical result. Then the first World Cup victory at the 2012 Mercedes-Benz UCI Downhill World Cup – an almost perfect drive, with which he won at Val d’Ire (France).

Barring a few minor injuries, he did not lose momentum until the 2019 World Championships in Mont-Santé-Anne (Canada).

Macdonald was three-quarters of the way in when he hit a root that threw him off his line. He flew off the bike and broke two vertebrae. He had to wait for five hours to evacuate the helicopter while he was in excruciating pain.

He was fortunate in misfortune – surgeons were able to repair his broken bones. Still, back in the game, Chloé alone was not guaranteed to be able to walk again. Everything was in balance.

Back in New Zealand, months of uplift were on the agenda. Today MacDonald is back on the bike and is feeling as comfortable as before. In the new documentary from Red Bull TV, “The Road Back: Brooke Macdonald”, you get information about the return after this accident.

After arriving at the hospital in Canada, Macdonald was operated on for six hours. Although the operation was successful, the surgeon did not tell him that he might not be able to walk again. Macdonald says he was not aware of this, helping him set his goal without any mental blockage.

“They never told me that I could no longer walk, which was an important step because I think if I became aware of that, it would be more difficult to revive.” “The surgeon just informed my partner and he didn’t tell me, which was good.”

So McDonald aimed to get himself back on the bike instead of worrying about his career. In the following year he wanted to be able to compete again. Two days later he was able to move his toes and after five weeks he was riding his bike again.

Although he has been running his entire life, Macdonald became more conscious of his body. As a downhill racer, he was not used to taking it slow. That his body was telling him that it was too much and how fast he had to go was a valuable lesson for him.

“Each person’s body works in a different way. With this kind of injury, you have to listen to your body. I think it took two or three months for my back to get inflamed. The body is massive at this time. But goes through trauma. “

After two weeks in a Canadian hospital, he went to New Zealand, where he spent four weeks with a specialist. The way back was tough, her natural mental attitude helped her move her body through the regeneration program.

“I am very impatient, so I found it difficult to take small steps. When I was given the task of walking 50 meters, I would walk 100 meters. I was lucky that the weather was at its peak and I got the necessary fitness.” I think it had a huge impact on my uplift. It also showed me that I had a goal in mind. “

Leaving the hospital in Canada after two weeks was a major success for Macdonald. But this was only the beginning of his regeneration process. According to Macdonald, working with experts in New Zealand was “very intense”.

Rebuilding motor skills was particularly difficult – those subtle mental varieties that help the body move more efficiently. As an athlete, these motor skills are central to a career and have not focused on MacDonald yet. After the accident, he pays special attention to the interaction between mind and body.

“You lose so much. Running through the cones in slalom, moving from left to right, it’s such a huge process because you lost your ability.”

Such as learning to ride a bike from scratch, iterating it and dedicating too much. Most attempts end in failures. However, McDonald’s learned to move his body forward, where he initially thought possible, by completely dedicating himself to it.

“For the first week, I only did one session a day because my body was reacting violently. I exercised one day and had serious problems. The next day I tried again and I was successful. It was crazy that I How fast it was. Rekindle my mind and work the nervous system. I was not thinking, मैं I will forget all this. ‘Once I understood, it has taken more time that has made all the difference. Is. Every day was a dead end for me. “

Five weeks after the accident, Macdonald was back on his bike, part of his physiotherapist, himself a passionate mountain biker.

“I was lucky to have someone who knew about my sport and what my goals were. Getting back on the bike was a dream come true. I used to run better than I could. It seemed so natural. Before that That I was a little afraid. Would not, but it was great!

A little over a year later, Macdonald contested his first competition since regeneration: first in early October at Crankworks Innsbruck, then the 2020 World Cup in Leogang and the World Cup in Maryborough.

The chance that McDonald’s career would be good by this accident, and it would reverse his whole life. In action sports, there is no guarantee that such an accident will not occur again. This idea might slow down an athlete, but not Macdonald: he knew he would have to leave the accident behind and look ahead. Ultimately, there is no place to show your veins in their game.

“If I were nervous, I wouldn’t stand here today,” he explains. “I think excitement when I’m on the bike.”

Naturally, this experience has had a broad impact on his outlook on life:

“The accident changed the way I look at my life. Everyone assumes that they can walk, but when I was in bed I realized it wasn’t. It opened my eyes. The reactions of the other riders. Was great. And a real help. It’s great to share this process with others and to point out that you can’t lose hope of going back to where you left off. “