Carmel Swim Club was without their star sprinter, Amy Bilquist, this weekend at the Arena Pro Swim Series Meet in Charlotte. The California commit is recovering from multiple stress fractures in her legs and was unable to compete.Â
Bilquist is an American record holder as a member of the 4×50 SCM Freestyle Relay at the 2014 SC World Championships and holds two Junior World Records as a member of Team USA’s 400 Medley and 400 Freestyle Relays at the 2014 Jr Pan Pacs. She has also broken multiple National High School Relay records over the last two years with Carmel High School.
Stress fractures are typically seen in marathon runners and are very uncommon for swimmers. She told us that she has been putting off this injury since December and is using this summer to take a step back and recover.
“I am able to train but I am very restricted on what I am allowed to do. It is likely that I will be out this summer to make sure I completely heal. If I get cleared earlier, it will likely be towards the end of July or the beginning of August.”
As of right now, her goal is to be healthy and able to compete in a championship meet at the end of the summer. When asked if this injury would affect her enrollment at California, she told us she is planning on starting in Berkeley this fall.
“I talked to Teri [McKeever] about my situation and she was nothing short of supportive and understanding. I want to heal up and be ready to represent Cal in the best way I can when I get to campus.”
Amy and her club coach at Carmel Swim Club, Chris Plumb, are very optimistic about her recovery and are choosing to look at the situation as a small blessing in disguise.
“Chris [Plumb] and I are trying to view this not as a set back, but as a perspective change. I can now focus on different parts of my strokes and really focus on my upper body and technique.”
How did this happen??
This sounds like an astronaught returning to earth after a prolonged space stay. The first guys that went to Mir were like this – it took them 8 months to recoverleg strength due to multiple fractures .. Now they understand things better but it is still a problem .
Leg injuries are a bummer but they help you understand what it is like being disabled , elderly or post accident. You never take that pedestrian crossing for granted or that you will get there before the lights switch .
This injury is actually very common in swimmers when they start doing a lot of running or dryland training with impact, and is typically a result of not participating in enough weight bearing activities before introducing these types of exercises/training.
😥
I’ve picked Amy Bilquist to qualify for Rio in the 100 back with Missy Franklin. That’s a bet from my part but I believe a lot in her. Massive talent in my opinion.
Hopefully she can recover fully by the end of the year.
It must be tough to accept that injury the year before the olympic trials.
Great to stay positive and see that blow as a chance to work other things.
Natalie Coughlin has had a big shoulder injury in 1999, took advantage to work a lot her underwaters and then came back much stronger with the greatest underwaters ever done by a woman at that time.
I wish Amy Bilquist… Read more »
With Manuel and Weitzeil , she is going to rock for Team Usa within one year . Take all the time needed Amy , u are fantastic .
English correction. I wish Amy Bilquist the fulliest and quickest possible recovery.
I think that’s better like that. 🙂
Like you wrote in the article, that’s a weird injury… any idea what caused it? Do they do a lot of running, or some kind of unusual exercises? Or is this totally non-swimming related?