What's worse than losing a hard-fought wrestling match on a tough pin? Losing a hard-fought wrestling match via debilitating injury … suffered on a hard pin.
Beware: If you're squeamish you might not want to click play on the video below.
According to Off the Bench blogger Ben Chew, the accident above came during the 2011 season in a match at Henrico (Va.) Hermitage High, where a teenager was taken down and suffered a horrifying ankle and leg break in the process.
While the identities of both wrestlers remain anonymous, the bout was between two members of the 275-pound weight class (those are heavyweights, folks) and ended when one Virginia competitor essentially bent his opponent's leg over backwards after his knees gave out on a takedown. Given the size and sheer force of both athletes, perhaps it's no big surprise that the takedown had the dramatic, unintended consequences that it did.
Further contact with Hermitage co-head coach Dalton Head confirmed that the injury suffered by the wrestler, whose identity is being protected, was as nasty and severe as it appeared on film, though he now appears to be making strides toward a recovery after multiple surgeries.
"In the injury he actually tore all three ligaments in his knee as well as his meniscus, I believe he also had some blood clot issues due to the violent twisting of his leg," Head told Prep Rally in an email. "As of right now, after a few surgeries they have fixed the blood clots, but I'm not sure if they will ever be able to replace the ligaments in his knee due to the blood clot issues.
"He is a great kid, and has remained positive throughout this entire setback."
To call the injury brutal is an understatement. Hopefully, calling it career ending would be an overstatement, though that's hard to tell from initial viewing. With the sudden snap back of that motion, one can only hope that the wrestler who came up on the short end will be able to continue in the sport at some point in the future.
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