After I suffered a labral tear in my hip while playing soccer, I realized that many sports-related injuries can be prevented and I dedicated myself to helping young athletes learn more about injury prevention.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
As a player, I was fortunate to work with coaching and medical staffs that underscored the importance of utilizing injury prevention exercises, which contributed to my healthy and long playing career.
I used to keep injuries to myself. It would just make it worse and worse. Now I'm having none of that.
I try to encourage all my teammates, and I sure hope that some day all athletes - my kids, high school kids - get the same level of care I get. Because you can play for a long period of time without having knee replacements, without having all the major head trauma that people are dealing with.
As an athlete, I understood the value of my health insurance. I knew that in my profession, injuries were common and could happen at any time.
I damaged my hamstring at the London Olympics and had to stop training for five months. At times, I thought my career was over.
As an athlete, my health has always been important to me.
Up until the age of 16, I was very focused on sport - I played a lot of football. Then I tore my ACL and had to stop playing.
Injuries is a part of a sportsmen life; you have to live with it. You can't be down with that; it is not gonna help you.
My good health, coupled with joy of tobogganing and my desire to be the best, has helped me stay in professional sport for so long.
I never had a serious injury that kept me out of a big competition. Now everyone has injuries - to their feet or their knees or their backs.