The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang have been a welcome reminder of what affect sport can have on people’s lives. Whilst a lot of the focus from an English perspective has been on Lizzie Yarnold, there have been a few real feel good stories that have come from this year’s competition. In this morning’s events we saw two team USA athletes with extraordinary backgrounds.
Bryan Fletcher, a participant in the Nordic combined, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of three before his mother introduced him to the world of ski jumping as a way of distracting him from his chemotherapy.
By the age of 8, Fletcher had battled cancer, overcoming a stroke as a result of an allergic reaction to his extensive bout of chemo and was in remission. He credits skiing and ski jumping as the major factor that saved his life and despite finishing 17th in Pyeongchang, it is a remarkable turnaround for somebody who endured such a difficult start to life.
This is Fletchers second Winter Olympic games, participating alongside younger brother Taylor on Team USA, and his continued work with young cancer survivors is a credit to his character.
Another of America’s athletes, Torin Yater-Wallace, has had a torrid few years through injury and still aged just 22, the halfpipe skier regards himself as lucky to just be able to walk. Initially, he was sidelined in late 2013 when his lung collapsed after being accidentally punctured by a physical therapist. After undergoing surgery to drain his lung, the skier was released from the hospital on his 18th birthday and attempted to return to competition less than two weeks later, only to re-collapse his lung and break several ribs in a training crash. Still, he made it to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi after getting a discretionary spot onto the team. He finished near the bottom of the pack in 26th in the inaugural Olympic halfpipe skiing event.
Another setback came late 2015, when he came down with a mysterious illness that multiple doctors diagnosed as being only a common cold. When his health didn’t improve, he made a third visit to the emergency room, checking himself into the hospital and then waking up 10 days later after doctors had put him in a medically induced coma. He was diagnosed with streptococcus anginus, a rare bacterial infection that caused an abscess to form on his liver and his lungs to fill up with fluid.
The infection nearly killed Yater-Wallace, he dropped 25lbs in bodyweight and needed three months to recover. His main concern at that point was being able to stand up and support his own weight. Once he could walk again, he started thinking about returning to the halfpipe and remarkably just two months after being released from the hospital, Yater-Wallace won gold at the Oslo X Games.
Competing at his second Olympic games, similarly to Fletcher, Yater-Wallace finished outside of the medals. He qualified for the final of his event in third, finishing 9th overall. It’s testament to his journey and we can expect bigger and better things from the young American in the near future.
Many athletes competing in Pyeongchang have had to overcome adversity in their battle to become Olympic athletes and the mind set and strength of character will no doubt filter through to the watching public. With North and South Korea combining and so many inspiring athletes, a whole heap of inspirational and incredible moments, including the heroics of Lizzie Yarnold, we could be witnessing an Olympic Games that will leave the greatest of legacy.
