Train Wrecks and Other News from Omaha

Injury couldn't keep Johnny Ristine away from Indoor Nationals for long. The morning after his crash, he was back at Civic Auditorium, wearing a cast and coaching his team from a wheelchair. He said he had been diagnosed with a fracture of the fibula (the smaller outside bone in the lower leg) below the boot line. He was told he would need surgery on his return to Philadelphia. But due to the injury, he was "grounded" from flying until at least Monday.

Mary Allmond was a bit luckier. She suffered a concussion and some internal bruising and also needed a few stitches to close a tear. When she arrived at the auditorium, she looked pale and was walking slowly. But the next thing I knew, she was out there on the floor warming up for a division final.

I approached her, somewhat dumbfounded, to ask her what she was doing.

She said she “needed" to skate the race for the points. To win her division, she needed to win the race. ... And she did! She started slower than usual. But once she got up to speed, she was like a locomotive and reeled in the skaters that had beaten her off the line. She took the lead, but on the last of seven laps, Kathy Ream from Team Extreme (WA) passed her. However, Mary fought back to take the win with Kathy a close second. And that's how the ladies finished overall: Mary, first; Kathy, second. (That's Mary with husband Buggy at the Send the Best dinner two days later.)

Relays

Of all the various relays, one would stand out in my mind: the Master Two-Lady relay. Susie Jackson and Mechele Busby from Triad Racing (my team) were in the relay. Susie fell twice during the event. Both times she got back up and kept skating. But the second time, the skater who fell along with her, Jennifer Simmons (co-owner of Simmons Racing Boots), did not get back up. As the women came back around the floor, Jennifer was still lying there and we could hear her cries, even through the intense yelling of the crowd.

Finally, the referees blew their whistles to stop the race, and sports-medical trainer Lori Brandon flew across the floor to check on Jennifer. We weren't able to figure out what happened until we reviewed the race photos by Mark Virtue, a professional photographer from Washington, and the video my husband, Pete, shot. (It was Mark's photos that helped us piece together how my son, Joshua Wood, dislocated his shoulder at last year's Outdoor Nationals. See photo below.)

(Those of you with weak stomachs may want to skip ahead to the next paragraph.) ... Mark's photos showed Jennifer leading the pack with another skater close behind her. The next shot shows Susie Jackson right behind Jennifer in the second position. The third photo shows Jennifer alone. (Susie had already fallen by this point.) Jennifer was standing on her right foot with her left leg off the ground. Her hip was forward, her thigh was forward, her knee was forward, but her skate was pointed nearly 180 degrees around (the front of her skate was pointing backward). This meant that something below the knee had broken. After reviewing Pete's video, we pieced together the following sequence of events: Jennifer was leading. Susie made a late pass into second place, very close to Jennifer (so close that she was coasting). Jennifer stepped onto her left foot pushing with her right foot. As Jennifer crossed her right foot over (we can see the start of the left push), the skater in third rolled right into the line of Jennifer and Susie’s feet. It appears that Jennifer must have pushed back into Susie’s left foot which caused Susie to fall. Then Jennifer fell to the ground and slid into the wall. She did not appear to hit the wall with her left foot, ankle or leg.

(Welcome back to some of you) … As the ambulance attendants wheeled Jennifer out, a young skater standing near the action fainted. Instantly Lori Brandon was back on duty. Rumors started circulating immediately that the young skater had fallen from the balcony above. But that was untrue. Skaters just have overactive imaginations!

My team went on to win the Master 2-Lady relay, I couldn’t tell you who got 2nd or 3rd or if it was even a record breaking event. My thoughts were with Jennifer. Last I heard, she was having a rod and pins placed in her leg to mend a broken tibia and fibula. (This is secondhand information.)

We wish Jennifer a speedy recovery and our thoughts and prayers are with her and Dave, her husband. Knowing Jennifer, she will be back next season if her leg will allow it! Either way we will continue to see Jennifer side-by-side with her husband running Simmons Boots.

All in all there were many records broken at this national championships. The floor got faster each day and the wheel of choice for the meet was Matter. There were many vendors, some new, some old; one was returning for their 37th year.

The second-annual Send the Best dinner attracted 300 guests. Like last year, guest speaker, Olympic Gold Medalist, Derek Parra, reminded us how it takes a whole skating community to create a champion. He also advised the young (and old) skaters to follow their dreams, no matter where they take you.

Ross Creveling, the DJ at the dinner, had things hopping with “Dance with a World Team Member” and had us laughing with those brave enough to do Karaoke (watch for my YouTube of Senior Word Team member, Justin Stelly singing “On the Bayou”). And this year there was plenty of food.

Finally, a very, very special thank you goes out to Martha and Steve Polston of New Jersey (Frenchtown Speed Club) for EVERYTHING. Without the two of them, Send the Best would not exist!

Continue to watch for stories, pictures and video on individual skaters. As always, thanks for reading. Linda Wood