Australia's top trampolinist Blake Rutherford found out he had a spot on the Olympic team just days after breaking his neck at training. He's drawing inspiration from his hometown sporting hero Anna Meares.
When Anna Meares completed one of the greatest comebacks in Australian Olympic history at Beijing in 2008, an aspiring young athlete from her hometown was watching in awe.
"The injury meant there was a risk of compromising the spinal column, so I was operated on to remove the bulging disc and replace it with a cage," he said.Rutherford received news he had earned a spot on the Australian Olympic team just days after the accident."I started this sport when I was just two years old growing up in Rockhampton, and I knew at 13 that I wanted to make the Olympic Games.
"There's been people in multiple sports with injuries that have come back from injury to produce amazing results," he said. "But to be able to produce Australia the spot at the Olympic Games for trampoline, and to be able to say that's on the back of my hard work and my dedication … I can hold my head high."Injured equestrian determined to recover for Paris Olympics after horrific fall
Olympic Games Paris 2024 Trampoline Trampolining Gymnastics Anna Meares Paris Olympics Blake Rutherford
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