A sports athlete, be it from any field, is always carrying some or the other niggle during their career. There is a famous saying that a top athlete carries at least one, if not two, injuries even when performing at full title. However, there comes a time in one’s career when one faces an injury that can threaten to end one’s career, owing to the extent and magnitude of the injury.

That is exactly what happened with an Irish cycling athlete, Mia Griffin. She had a fall during the Paris-Roubaix Classic, a race where she became the first Irish woman to participate. The fall cut her hopes of competing in the Tour de France short after she complained of a concussion. The team management at that point was hopeful of a quick recovery, but things took a turn after the diagnosis revealed that she would need more time to recover.

Mia Griffin makes a smashing return to action

Touted as the next big thing in cycling circles, Griffin was on the sidelines for over half a season after suffering a concussion. Injuries like these may not reveal their true extent at the beginning. In fact, in after the fall during the Roubaix, Griffin went on to complete the race. The 24-year-old, who, when the season started, had an amazing run, helping her squad to three national records and leading them to a fifth-place finish in the European Championships.

?Mia crashed in Roubaix and suffered a concussion, so she?s recovering at the moment, taking her time. Hopefully she?ll be back soon,? a team spokesperson told the media after the race. Little did they know that a few weeks would turn into a few months due to a complicated concussion injury.

At the start of the season, the buoyant performance of the Irish squad led by Griffin had already garnered hopes of qualification for the Olympics next year, but things looked bleak after they were without their top performer.

She made her back to cycling action at the Tour of Guangxi in China two weeks ago and recorded the best-ever result by a female Irish rider in the World Race standings. It was a comeback that any athlete would dream of, as she finished third in the race and gave her team a real shot at the Paris Olympics next year.

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The dream of Paris Olympics 2024

Griffin spoke about how she initially did not anticipate the break to a long sabbatical. What everyone thought would be a mere few weeks turned into a five-month hiatus from cycling for the champion Irish rider.?She tried to return to action two days after the fatal fall at the Ronde de Mouscron, but the injury was too severe for her to continue. ?I felt like something was wrong for sure, but I said that I?d start the race probably half out of stupidity,? the rider admits.?

Determined to get back on the track as soon as possible, Griffin tried to continue her training but suffered recurring symptoms from the concussion, and things continued to get worse from there. Her coach and other riders who suffered a similar fate advised her to take time away from the game, because injuries such as these are unpredictable.

?I could really see how it could affect you for the rest of your life if you don?t rehab it fully.??She admitted that the hardest part of the sabbatical was not the injury, but watching her teammates fight it out on the tracks. A return to cycling action in China after two successful stages wins back home at Ras na Mban. Determined to chalk a path for her team to make into the Paris Olympics, Griffin made a target in her mind, and that helped her tremendously to stay focused.

With the Irish team currently ranked ninth in the standings, a qualification in the Paris Olympics is right within their grasps, but all eyes now are on the race in London. Her turnaround from injury to action is nothing but inspirational and it may be just the push that her team needs to knock the doors of the Paris Olympics, come 2024.

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