SPEEDY RECOVERY

Karo Van Tonder suffered a serious shoulder injury at 2018’s Lüderitz Speed Challenge that required surgery. Far from setting her back however, she set her sights on entering the 2019 Lüderitz Speed Challenge! Karo tells us more about her accident and inspiring comeback journey.

- Karo Van Tonder

PAIN Lying in hospital with excruciating pain after my shoulder operation, I had zero mobility in my shoulder. The dislocation happened as result of a freak accident the previous year at Lüderitz. I was standing in the stop area, absolutely exhausted from the physical input it required to break my African record during my last run. As I was holding tight onto my gear, a monster gust ripped my sail from under my arm with great force, causing it to fly miles away and left me with a severely dislocated shoulder. Due to the impact, my entire labrum was torn off, ligaments ripped and bone damaged. Fortunately my dad is a doctor and he was able to pull my shoulder back in place within 15 minutes after the accident – those were the most painful moments of my life. At first we decided to let it heal by itself, but due to the high level of instability, it dislocated again while doing normal daily life activities and I had to get it operated on.REHAB