Canadian heptathlon star Georgia Ellenwood will require surgery after apparently re-injuring her Achilles tendon at the Pan Am games in Chile.
It happened while Ellenwood was making her approach to the high jump on Thursday, Nov. 2.
A video shows she suddenly pulled up and began limping, yelled in pain, said “no, no, no,” and fell to the ground, punching the track in frustration.
In response to a Langley Advance Times query, Ellenwood issued a brief statement on Monday, Nov. 6.
“I’m really appreciative of the medical and support staff in Chile, thank you to everyone who helped,” Ellenwood said.
“I’m happy to be back and have surgery booked this week,” she added.
Ellenwood said she was “looking forward to getting started” on her recovery.
READ ALSO: Langley’s Georgia Ellenwood suffers catastrophic injury at qualifying meet for world championships
It’s been less than two years since she ruptured her right Achilles tendon during a high jump attempt.
Ellenwood had just posted a personal best in the hurdles at a qualifying meet for the world indoor track and field championships on Feb. 15, 2022 when it happened.
At the time, she called it a “nightmare.”
After surgery, while she was recovering, Ellenwood had to sit out the 2022 Bell Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, what would have been an opportunity to have a hometown crowd cheering her on.
Out for the entire season, Ellenwood turned her talents to commenting, lending an insider’s perspective to interviews with top competitors at the meet.
That wasn’t her first serious injury of her career.
In 2017, she missed the entire 2017 outdoor season because of breaking her foot on her jumping leg.
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.
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.
READ ALSO: A gritty performance by Langley’s Georgia Ellenwood at the Tokyo Olympics
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, 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.
