It was the resurfacing of an old injury after swimming his first event that accounted for Guyana’s Niall Roberts missing two of his scheduled events at the Pan American Games currently ongoing in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Roberts, along with Britany van Lange, made up the swimming team that represented Guyana at the Pan Am Games, that will end today.
Roberts had been listed to perform in the men’s 100m freestyle, 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly events.
However, the Olympian missed performing in his favored 50m freestyle and the 100m butterfly events after performing in the 100m on October 16.
Roberts yesterday explained that the injury actually originated since last year, during the Goodwill Games held in Suriname. Roberts, who did not participate in the Goodwill Games, but was there to support the other athletes, strained his back while helping an athlete who had fainted. The 20-year-old said that ever since that incident he noticed that he would always have a pain in his back after participating in events but never thought it to be anything serious.
“Last year at Goodwill [Games] in Suriname one of the Suriname girls collapsed after the race and I went to pick her up and I was lifting her with two other persons but they let go of her while I was still holding onto her and I leaned forward with all the weight and it really put a strain on my back. The next day I had a pain in my back and it went on for a while. In December at the ASATT meet it really came on and the orthopedic surgeon said I had a strain and I was doing physiotherapy at the Georgetown [Public] Hospital, but throughout this year the pain would come back,” Roberts recounted
“I went into the clinic before the 100 free (style) like a few days before and they came to the conclusion that I had a slipped disk and they said they needed to align my spine, it was painful but immediately I could begin to feel the relief. Before I was struggling to do things like lifting my leg and so on, because of the pain but afterwards I could do it.”
But it did not end there for Roberts, as he found out in his 100m freestyle where he began to experience complications during the race. Roberts managed to finish the race but ranked 23 out of 24 swimmers after finishing the race in 55.45 seconds.
“In the 100 free(style) by the time I reach like the 75m mark my legs just went, it was like someone turned a switch off in my leg,” Roberts related.
This prompted Roberts second visit to the Games Village clinic, where he was referred to a hospital in the city to have an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) done.
“We went back to the clinic in the village and later on in the week they took me to a hospital for an MRI, and it showed that one of my disk was swollen so I had to receive treatment for that, I had to be putting ice on it and I couldn’t afford to upset it.”
Roberts spoke of his disappointment over having to miss his races particularly the 50m freestyle which he had been looking forward to participating in all year long.
“I wasn’t really too worried or too upset that I missed the 100 fly, but the 50 free was what I looked forward to, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I watched the races but I stayed away for the days that I had my race,” Roberts said.
Roberts and van Lange were accompanied by team coach and manager Stephanie Fraser. Van Lange participated in the women’s 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle events.
The team has since returned to Guyana.
Roberts returned on October 22 while Fraser and van Lange went on to Suriname where van Lange represented Guyana at the Inter-Guiana Games that concluded last weekend in Paramaribo.
Since returning, Roberts said he has been feeling great. He has seen his doctor, Dr. Terrence Joseph, and has been receiving medication as his injury continues to improve. A contented, Roberts gladly announced that he has since resumed training as of Monday last. And while he regrets having missed his opportunity of being in his 50m freestyle events, he is glad that he gained something.
“I basically look at it that I went to Pan Am to get better, and I did health wise. I had this all year and no one knew, so how things went I still gained something,” Roberts concluded.
