My name is Taylor Wilczynski, I live in Tasmania, Australia and I row. I do it a lot and have prioritised it above all else. This is because I want race to on the biggest stage there is in rowing. The Olympic Games.
The following is a brief outline of my rowing career that started in 2003. As you will see it's quite a rollercoaster.
I started rowing in Devonport, Tasmania at age thirteen. Originally we just had fun, because having fun is important, but after becoming successful with a crew of clubmates I was hooked.
After working hard for a few seasons I earned the opportunity to represent my country for the first time as a junior. It was in the men's single scull at the Junior World Rowing Championships in 2007. That regatta was a steep learning curve and I finished tenth overall. The following year, 2008, I was again selected as Australia's junior men's single sculler to take on the world. I had unfinished business and I came home with a bronze medal. My greatest achievement to date.
After my junior years the hurdles started to appear. I started my first season of U/23 rowing with momentum winning the men's single scull at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival and performing well at the Australian Championships. However, an ill timed decision to change coaches resulted in me being off the pace physically and not making the Australian team.
Here come the injuries. In November 2009 I started to get lower back pain. With poor medical advice I pushed through the entire season with pain and even recieved an invitation to the Australian Selection Regatta in 2010 from my performances at the Australian Championships. Of course I didn't make the team but there I recieved the medical advice I needed. Stop rowing.
Later in 2010 after some injections called facet blocks any attempt at rowing was futile. It was painful. The reason? During my late teens my hip joints had developed incorrectly for rowing, I did not have enough hip flexion to row. This meant my lower back bent too much as my knees came up to my chest. This was putting too much pressure on the structures in my back. Something needed to be done.
In December 2010 I underwent my first hip arthroscopy operation. One of the best hip surgeons around shaved away bone to give me the hip joint range of motion I needed. This was on my left hip. It was much worse than my right so my medical team thought we might be able to get away with just doing the one. However, after three months of rehab and a brief return to the boat I underwent hip arthroscopy number two in March 2011. That was the first rowing season I had missed in years.
Now I was essentially rehabbing two hips and a back. My medical team and I wanted to get it right so we took our time and I was back in the boat in very late 2011. I was on a mission, 2012 was my last year in the U/23 category. I performed well for an athlete with only half a seasons worth of training and I recieved another invite to the Australian Selection Regatta. Unfortunately my limited training was my undoing. Another year out of the team.
I trained hard over the Winter of 2012 with a good friend in Launceston. The London Olympics were coming up and the lead up inspires motivation in any athlete. I went to the games as a spectator and there were two things I learned:
1. It's just another regatta.
2. You need a bit of luck for four years of preparation to come together for a one week event.
I returned home and began training with the Olympic fire in my belly. Not long after training began my back pain returned and it wouldn't go away. I missed another rowing season. This was hard to take.
Pain is an interesting beast. When exposed to it for a long time your physiology can change to send pain messages better, quicker and at a lower threshold. This is called pain hypersensitivity. In March 2013 I underwent a back procedure to try and rid me of chronic pain. An L4-L5, L5-S1 bilateral facet denervation. Basically, some of the nerves that supplied my bottom two discs were cauterised via a probe inserted into my back. This was deemed safe long term by my medical team because my MRI scan had not changed and my history indicated pain hypersensitivity. Fortunately, it worked. Unfortunately, the spike in back pain from the procedure was the straw that broke the camels back for my mental health. After so many disappointments, and not a whole heap of achievements in between, I now had to add the 'muscle' between my ears to the rehab list.
I returned to the boat two thirds of the way through 2013 and used the following season to rebuild. My first season as a senior athlete was a big wake up call but it was good to be back and racing again. I continued to keep my head down working hard. As a reward, I planned a ten day holiday in Thailand in June 2014 as my training break for the year. Because I needed another hurdle (joking) I broke my rib on a water slide. Yes, a water slide. Cue another three months rehab, and to make it interesting, hospitalisation for a kidney stone half way through. When it rains, it pours.
During the 2014/2015 season I finally went faster than I ever have before. I became the fittest I have ever been. My racing earned me the opportunity to finally represent my country again. It may not have been at a World Rowing Championships but it was a stepping stone to where I want to go. Most importantly I was pain free...
This is where this story ends and the blog begins. Head to the post 'We Meet Again' to find out what happens next.
