Georgia Ellenwood had just posted a personal best in the hurdles at a qualifying pentathlon meet for the world indoor track and field championships when it happened.
The Langley, B.C. native’s bid for a spot at the Belgrade, Serbia, event ended suddenly on Friday, Feb. 25, when she ruptured her Achilles tendon during a high jump attempt.
Ellenwood put up a picture online of her wrapped-up injured leg, with a crutch on one side.
“I really don’t want to be posting this and I wish I could wake up from this nightmare, but I have to find a way to accept my reality and move forward in the best way possible,” Ellenwood said.
“All I could say when it happened was ‘no, please, no, no, no’ … because I knew exactly what this meant.”
— Georgia Ellenwood (@george_ahhh) February 26, 2022
“I trust my body. I trust my toughness. I know I will persevere,” Ellenwood added.
‘“But damn it, I need to fight the rage and absolute frustration that I’m feeling right now. In the peak of my career, I get thrown a curveball.”
I can cry now but I will fight with everything I have in me to be a better athlete than I ever was. It might be a long journey, but I’m more than willing to take it on.”
Ellenwood is a Langley Secondary School graduate who collected many medals and top honours as a student athlete, including the 2010 B.C. Summer Games held in the Township, where she won four gold medals, and was presented with the W.R. Bennett Award for Athletic Excellence, as the top performer at the Games.
She followed up in 2011 with another four gold medals, when Ellenwood was named the most outstanding female performer at the B.C. high school track and field championships.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Langley’s Georgia Ellenwood takes gold at Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Ellenwood went on to become an eight-time NCAA All-American (six First Team, two Second Team) at the University of Wisconsin.
She had a memorable 2018 season when she won the heptathlon at the NCAA Championships, the Pan American Combined Events Cup, and the Canadian Championships.
That was after she missed the entire 2017 outdoor season because of breaking her foot on her jumping leg.
READ ALSO: A gritty performance by Langley’s Georgia Ellenwood at the Tokyo Olympics
At the Tokyo Olympics last year , Ellenwood managed to set a new personal best in the high jump despite extreme heat and humidity that had her battling her nausea, fatigue and dizziness.
Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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