I recently had the opportunity to attend the World Whitewater Championships at nearby Wisp Mountain Resort in Maryland, less than an hour from home. What an amazing event. The course, a manmade cascade of whitewater with an incredibly challenging set of slalom gates, reminiscent of a ski race. The precision and power that this athlete showed as they maneuvered their canoes and kayaks through the course was astounding. Like superior athletes in any discipline they could at times make it look easy, but at other times the slightest error proved unforgiving for even the most accomplished world champions.
The combination of upper body strength and precision combined with core strength and balance was really something to see. Fractions of seconds separated winners and losers. Just watching, and at the venue, we were watching from streamside, gave me great perspective on what many of our whitewater patients get to enjoy on a regular basis on the natural whitewater of our region. What a thrill it must be to skillfully negotiate the wild whitewaters of West Virginia and western Maryland. In these less controlled environments, injuries can be life-threatening. Shoulder injuries, particularly dislocations seem to occur frequently among kayakers whose arms get forced into unnatural positions. Surgical treatment has been necessary for quite a few whitewater athletes in our practice. Their passion for their sport is such that they are eager to rehabilitate and push the limit always in going back on the water.
Fans were onsite from all over the world. Somewhat sadly, it did not seem that there was a very large local crowd. A particular treat at the championships was seeing Jessica Fox (see photo) of Australia make whitewater history by winning the women's kayak and canoe championships, an astounding success. Even without a large American crowd, the international fans certainly came to enjoy themselves and were very boisterous and fun in their cheering. If you ever get the chance to see such an event live-don’t miss it.
