The Road Ahead | Genevieve Gregson

If a ruptured Achilles tendon was an exam, then Genevieve Gregson is the classmate you envy.

She possesses a calmness that makes you panic; an air of confidence that her knowledge and drive is greater than any question that can be asked of her. In fact, most would laugh at the extent of her preparedness – why would anyone study material beyond the textbook?

The reality is that there is never a good time to rupture your Achilles tendon, but with 150-metres to go in the Olympic 3000m steeplechase final on her 32^nd birthday – that is exactly what happened to Gen Gregson.  

Australia had its latest hero, as though Gregson’s blown Achilles was a war wound that proved that her mind had forced her body beyond its limits for her team and country. And it had, but a wave of tributes and character references hardly seemed a fair trade for what would have been her career-best result to date.

“Is this it? Is this what my career has come to, falling on a barrier at the Olympic Games?” she recalls asking herself.

Three months on from that fateful night in Tokyo and that is a question pondered only by those outside of the Gregson camp, with the Australian record holder invested in a carefully constructed rehabilitation program at the Queensland Academy of Sport.

“I am there from Monday to Friday for three or four hours per day and I just get everything done – from swimming and biking, to my strength and conditioning, and even physio and massage,” she said.

“It’s the biggest challenge I have ever had to face. There will be people thinking how on Earth is she going to be able to run competitively again, but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives now, and I think less and less about what happened.”

Working with Athletics Australia Chief Medical Officer Dr. Paul Blackman and former Melbourne Football Club strength and conditioning coach David Watts, Gregson has progressed from a wheelchair to walking up stairs and bearing greater weights in the gym – just weeks away from running on the AlterG treadmill.

“We are not in a rush, but we are pushing it. We are doing something every day to keep me moving forward,” she said.

Radiating genuine optimism when she speaks of her progress and future, Gregson concedes the initial stages of her recovery saw her battle with her identity as an athlete – forced to rest as her muscles depleted and withered away.

“Even four weeks after surgery I wasn’t allowed to do anything. I found that the hardest part because you don’t even feel like an athlete, you just feel like a blob. You’re not making any progress towards your ultimate goal of being healed, training, and racing,” she said.

“The minute they gave me the all-clear to do aerobic work I started to feel like myself again.”

Gregson is obsessed with progress, it’s one of her greatest assets. An injury-plagued history has transformed her into the ultimate professional all the way down to the finest details. But going from above and beyond to a forced state of stagnation had her searching for outlets, with friends and family in Queensland providing a lifeline.

“My Melbourne life is associated with being an athlete. I don’t really have friends there that aren’t runners, and I don’t have family there at all. It would have been really difficult time,” she said.

Taking the time to heal both physically and emotionally, Gregson’s Queensland venture has been a blessing. The mix of world-class rehabilitation facilities and family time has provided her with great positivity as she approaches the next phase of her career, which is set to be run on the roads.

“My future will be on the roads from here on. I’m not saying I will never run on the track again, but the intensity was probably what tipped me over the edge in the end. There’s no reason why I can’t get back to my physical fitness of a few months ago,” she said.

“My shortest-term goal is to do the road season next year. I’m not aiming to win the races, but I want to be on the start line.”

Involved in that process is attending to the Haglund’s deformity impacting her other Achilles, which will involve surgeons shaving bone off her heel in early 2022 – a procedure Gregson has reached out to fellow Australian Olympians Jeff Riseley and Jye Edwards about after they both made successful returns.

Weighing up the heartache of Tokyo and the long road ahead of her, a resolute Gregson puts her future ambitions simply:

“I adore running, I love everything about it and there is so much more I want to achieve.”

A three-time finalist at the Olympic Games and two-time finalist at the World Athletics Championships, Gregson will leave no stone unturned in her quest to don the green and gold again.  

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 10/11/2021