FasterSkier

Tag: fibula

  • Hoffman as ‘Curious as Everyone Else’ with Return to the World Stage

    Hoffman as ‘Curious as Everyone Else’ with Return to the World Stage

    Noah Hoffman on his way to winning his first SuperTour Finals race in two years. He did not compete in Truckee, Calif., last season. (Photo: Rob Whitney)
    Noah Hoffman was down after breaking his fibula in November, but he certainly wasn’t out. He now returns to the world stage to complete in the upcoming Wold Championships in Falun, Sweden. However, the Colorado native is just as “curious as everyone else” to see how he measures up to the rest of the competition. Hoffman is pictured her competing in the 2014 SuperTour Finals in Anchorage, Alaska (Photo: Rob Whitney)

    When Noah Hoffman broke his fibula in November there was much uncertainty surrounding his return – his coaches, loved ones, and fans wondered whether he could overcome the injury’s serious consequences to race in the year’s World Championships, let alone the 2015 season. However, one person was certain America’s leading distance skier would be back at a start line by mid-February: Hoffman himself.

    “Things were looking really good all along and I always was really convinced that I was going to be here and ready to go,” Hoffman said in a phone interview from Östersund, Sweden, where he is preparing for Sunday’s World Cup 15 k freestyle.

    Hoffman’s certainty of return stemmed from a variety of factors that aided his speedy recovery, including his medical care. The Colorado native credited much his quick return to skiing to Dr. Thomas Clanton of the Steadman Clinic in Vail, who had Hoffman in surgery within four days of the fracture.

    Noah Hoffman at the Ruka clinic in Kuusamo, Finland, on Sunday after breaking his fibula in the 15 k classic. He and physical therapist Peter Dickinson had to wait in the clinic while waiting for an ambulance to take them to a nearby medical center for X-rays. "We were only going half a kilometer and I thought the ambulance was overkill," Hoffman wrote on his blog. (Photo: Peter Dickinson via NoahHoffman.com)
    Noah Hoffman at the Ruka clinic in Kuusamo, Finland after breaking his fibula in the 15 k classic.  (Photo: Peter Dickinson via NoahHoffman.com)

    “The medical team I worked with was world class. Dr. Thomas Clanton is maybe the best ankle guy in the world, certainly one of the best in the U.S.,” Hoffman said. “Within four days he was operating on me. The timeline of that was crucial.”

    Hoffman explained he had no idea what to expect when he flew back to the U.S. following the accident, but that once he was examined, Clanton gave him hope for the year ahead. After studying the year’s World Cup schedule Clanton said there was a chance Hoffman could race at the Östersund World Cup and the following week’s World Championships in Falun, Sweden.

    Hoffman originally explored returning to the World Cup by late January and was ready to obtain his Russian visa, even if there was a “two-percent chance” he would be able to compete. In the end, however, Clanton told Hoffman to focus on returning in time for competition in Sweden.

    “He said ‘I think we can get you back to World Championships and Östersund,’ and here I am,” Hoffman said of his doctor. “He knew what he was talking about. He set the timeline and I did everything to make that happen.”

    Hoffman said that one he heard Clanton’s plan, he never questioned whether he’d go to Sweden despite the doctor’s warnings it was a “remote possibility.”

    Hoffman also credited much of his recovery to the work of physical therapist Ana Jeronimus-Robinson, a foot and ankle specialist who has worked with the U.S. Ski Team in the past and will be in Falun, Sweden for Worlds.

    To maintain his fitness, Hoffman spent many long hours on the hand bike, skierg, and in the pool, which he described as being “like torture.” He slowly introduced skiing – only double-poling at first and then progressing to striding and skating.

    Hoffman said that the most challenging part of his recovery wasn’t the primary effects of the injury, but rather the hectic lifestyle in the U.S. Between physical therapy, training, leading community ski clinics, and working with local juniors Hoffman was wary of his energy levels.

    “It was just a lot to manage,” Hoffman explained of the recovery process. “That was the most challenging part – managing my time, trying to keep good energy without overdoing it.”

    Noah Hoffman (U.S. Ski Team) racing to 35th in the 30 k skiathlon at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
    Noah Hoffman (U.S. Ski Team) racing to 35th in the 30 k skiathlon at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

    Heading into Sunday’s 15 k freestyle in Östersund, Hoffman said he doesn’t know what to expect. He explained that his main objective will be to execute a well planned-race, including relaxed skiing and smart pacing. With no result-based goals for the World Cup or World Championships, his focus will be on skiing to the best of his abilities – whatever they may be.

    “There’s no real reason to think that I won’t be good, but there’s no real reason to think I will be good, having not finished a World Cup since last March. I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I’m looking forward to racing and just going out there to ski the way I know I need to ski. I’m as curious as everyone else is.”

    For now, Hoffman is taking it “day by day” and is focusing on the Östersund 15 k before shifting his attention to Worlds. He said that he hopes to see improvement in each of his races, so that his best skiing comes by the last World Cup the season March 14 – the 50 k freestyle in Oslo, Norway.

    The Östersund World Cup begins Saturday with a classic sprint and concludes with Sunday’s 15 k freestyle. The 2015 World Championships begin in Falun, Sweden Feb. 18 and continue until March 1.

    For a detailed account of Hoffman’s recovery, visit his blog.

  • Hoffman Checks in En Route to Denver, Blogs About Broken Fibula

    Hoffman Checks in En Route to Denver, Blogs About Broken Fibula

    Noah Hoffman at the Ruka clinic in Kuusamo, Finland, on Sunday after breaking his fibula in the 15 k classic. He and physical therapist Peter Dickinson had to wait in the clinic while waiting for an ambulance to take them to a nearby medical center for X-rays. "We were only going half a kilometer and I thought the ambulance was overkill," Hoffman wrote on his blog. (Photo: NoahHoffman.com)
    Noah Hoffman on Sunday at the Ruka clinic in Kuusamo, Finland, after breaking his fibula in the 15 k classic. He and physical therapist Peter Dickinson waited in the clinic for an ambulance to take them to a nearby medical center for X-rays. “We were only going half a kilometer and I thought the ambulance was overkill,” Hoffman wrote on his blog. (Photo: Peter Dickinson via NoahHoffman.com)

    Never fail, on Monday afternoon during a flight from Frankfurt to Denver, Noah Hoffman blogged. And not just any quick update, almost a whopping 2,000 words.

    The U.S. Ski Team’s top male distance skier emerged from a one-day online hiatus to explain exactly what happened Sunday in Kuusamo, Finland, where he fell hard with slightly less than 2 kilometers left and did not finish a World Cup race for the first time in his career.

    Hoffman explained he aimed to start the 15 k classic — the first distance race of the season — conservatively, and he settled after the first kilometer. Waiting patiently to get a ride, he saw his opportunity with Norway’s Pål Golberg, who went on to place ninth, after the first lap around 5 k. As Hoffman accelerated to catch him up the big climb and did so about halfway up, he found shortly after that the effort was too much, too soon.

    “For several kilometers I had to focus on being smooth and recovering. I lost a ton of time,” Hoffman wrote on his blog on Monday.

    At the end of the second lap, Finland’s eventual third-place finisher Sami Jauhojärvi caught Hoffman. He saw that as another opportunity and stayed with Jauhojärvi around the stadium and up the big climb, but “just like the lap before, the effort was too much for me. He dropped me and I was blown,” Hoffman wrote. “I was suffering for the rest of the race. I was not skiing fast. At the 13.1 kilometer split station, which was right before I crashed, I was in 52nd place, not where I want to be.”

    Hoffman went down on a sharp-righthand corner at the bottom of a fast downhill. He expected it to be icy and wasn’t intimidated by it and didn’t think it would be a problem. When he crashed on his third lap, no one was near him and he explained he wasn’t trying to be aggressive. If anything, he wondered if he should have tried to carry more speed through the turn.

    “I’m not sure exactly what happened. I slid on the ice, went into the snowy berm, lost control and slammed into the fence,” he wrote.

    What he thought was his right ski snapped in half as it hit the solid paper or plastic lining the bottom half of the fence. The top part was made of alpine netting. His other leg punched through the solid material and was tweaked with his left ski still in the fence. He kept sliding and injured his knee and ankle.

    “I knew almost immediately that I was hurt,” Hoffman recalled. “I got up and glided about a hundred meters down the trail. I needed to get out of the way of other racers and I needed to get to some people who could help me.

    “I couldn’t put any weight on my left leg,” he continued. “I knew I couldn’t finish the race, which is significant because I’ve never previously dropped out of a race. I’m bummed that I had to end that streak yesterday.”

    A photo of Hoffman's X-ray taken by Peter Dickinson. "It didn’t turn out super well but you can see the fracture in the fibula behind the tibia, at least that’s what I’m told," Hoffman wrote on his blog. (Photo: Peter Dickinson via NoahHoffman.com)
    A photo of Hoffman’s X-ray taken by Peter Dickinson. “It didn’t turn out super well but you can see the fracture in the fibula behind the tibia, at least that’s what I’m told,” Hoffman wrote on his blog. (Photo: Peter Dickinson via NoahHoffman.com)

    Hoffman’s blog post was titled, “Broken Fibula,” and he included an X-ray taken at a medical center near Ruka venue, which showed a fracture in his fibula behind the tibia (shin bone), “at least that’s what I’m told,” he wrote.

    “The plan then immediately became for me to get back to the U.S. as fast as possible,” he continued. “There wasn’t really any discussion about it, and I didn’t have any say in the matter. They put me in a hard cast for the travel.”

    Hoffman and the U.S. team’s physical therapist, Peter Dickinson, who accompanied him to the clinic, took a taxi 300 meters to their condo “because Pete wouldn’t let me crutch down the icy stairs and hill,” he explained.

    “Things happened really fast once I got back to the condo. I got on the phone with the U.S. Ski Team travel agent to try to re-book my ticket,” he wrote.

    Hoffman getting a hard cast on his left leg for travel. (Photo: NoahHoffman.com)
    Hoffman getting a hard cast on his left leg for travel. (Photo: NoahHoffman.com)

    His previously scheduled return was after the Tour de Ski in early January, departing from Munich and arriving in Hartford, Conn. Last night, he wanted to leave northern Finland for Denver on the earliest flight. Unable to re-book, he found the cheapest option was buying a new ticket for $1,000 dollars. But there weren’t any seats available in most of the airports near Kuusamo.

    “When we kept striking out I started doing some research on my own and amazingly found an award ticket option through United but on partner airlines out of Lulea, Sweden,” Hoffman wrote. “The only ticket available was in business class for 70,000 miles. Luckily I had that many miles available and it sounded better to me to spend them than paying $1,000, so I purchased it at 6 O’clock last night. The flight was at 6:20 this morning. Lulea is 5 hours from Kuusamo.”

    From there, two of the team’s wax techs JP Laurin and Oleg Ragilo drove him to Luleå. They were headed there anyway with a cargo van full of skis en route to Lillehammer before next weekend’s World Cup. Hoffman squeezed up front with them in the three-person bench seat.

    “Oleg and Jp were ready to depart before I even booked the flight and I hadn’t packed, eaten dinner or showered. Also, my leg was quite painful,” he wrote. “Luckily I have incredible teammates. They did everything for me. I took a washcloth bath while Simi and Ida packed my duffel bag and Liz made me four peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. I got out of the condo in less than 15 minutes.

    “As we took off on the long drive I had to make a ton of phone calls, organizing things at home. I talked to my coaches and parents, started the process of setting up doctor’s appointments and organized transport with [my girlfriend] Emilia for when I land in Denver,” he added. “The drive was long and monotonous on snow covered roads.”

    But they got to Luleå at midnight, 1 a.m. Kuusamo time. Hoffman wrote he slept fairly well despite keeping his leg elevated.

    “I made it to the airport without issue, although crutching while rolling a duffel is a challenge,” he wrote.

    At the airport, Scandinavian Airlines couldn’t find his ticket number. Hoffman spent a half hour on the phone with United sorting it out and almost missed his flight.

    “Since then the travel has gone very smoothly,” he added. “I’m ashamed to say I’ve been getting pushed around airports in a wheelchair.”

    Once airborne, he enjoyed business class and his first time with internet access in a trans-Atlantic flight.

    Hoffman is currently on blood thinners and Aspirin to reduce the risk of a blood clot. After flying into Denver, he was headed to Breckenridge, Colo., Monday evening and hoped to see a specialist at The Steadman Clinic in Vail on Tuesday.

    “Then I can start making plans for my recovery and my return to racing,” he wrote.

    “Because I haven’t posted anything, I didn’t know anybody knew about my crash yesterday,” Hoffman noted. “Apparently I was wrong. I just turned on my computer for the first time, and I’m overwhelmed by the number of get well messages. I feel incredibly lucky to have so much support! Thank you all.”