Nearly exactly two years from when 3-time British Olympian Hannah Miley underwent ankle surgery, the 31-year-old was back ‘under the knife’ to repair a nagging shoulder injury.
As she revealed on Instagram late last week, Miley said that “I recently found out I’ve been racing and training over the last couple of years with a rotator cuff tear.”
She continued, “Relieved to finally have an answer to what I thought was a weak left arm. But now more than ever I need to listen to my body (and the physio!) to get back on track. I’m looking forward to finally being able to swim pain-free.”
Miley concluded her post, which you can see at the bottom of this article, with the statement, “The goals haven’t changed just the journey on how to get there.”
Speaking with SwimSwam about her shoulder situation, Miley told me regarding the surgery decision, “I wasn’t given much choice between surgery now or surgery later. I have the best chance if I want to be at peak performance to have it now.
“I had a scan in 2018 and was told all was fine. However, since my [rotator cuff tear] diagnosis, that scan was relooked at and they found out the tear was there but it was small and easily missed. So, it’s gotten worse over the years.
“I want my shoulder to be healthy in the long run. I want to be able to still enjoy swimming and other sporting activities when I do eventually decide to hang up the goggles.”
Her sentiment carries extra weight in light of the fact that multi-Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin of the United States recently said she can now barely swim in her retirement due to shoulder pain. These ladies’ situations are not identical, but Franklin’s sorrow ripples through swimmers everywhere as a reminder to invest and listen to your bodies.
Miley says she’ll be documenting some of her recovery via social media in the hopes of encouraging athletes to not be afraid to show their ‘vulnerable’ sides. “I want to show those who do get injured that it doesn’t mean it’s the end. just makes the journey a wee bit different.”
In terms of what her journey will exactly look like, the versatile IMer said she’s waiting for her wounds to heal before she can get back into the water, but is maintaining cardio fitness through static bike work and other activities.
“It’ll be a long process but I couldn’t carry on the way I was before. I was stuck with pain and knew I couldn’t progress and hit the level I wanted to hit.
“Now I have an opportunity to work up to that point and go beyond now the muscle tear has been repaired.”
Miley, who represents Scotland home nation-wise, has experienced a prolific career, one that includes 7 World Championships medals, 14 European Championships medals, 4 Commonwealth Games medals and 4 individual Olympic final appearances.
At the Olympic Games in Rio, Miley finished a painstaking 4th place in her signature event, the women’s 400m IM, falling short of the podium by just .15. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Miley did get on the podium in the 400m IM, earning silver behind England’s Aimee Willmott by just .26.
Good luck to her. Hoping for a medal in Tokyo. It’s not out of the question in the 4IM and next years ISL could be a good option as well.