Weird science – Elite Athletes seek unusual remedies
Triathlon Trial Lawyer Doug Landau admits that his ice bath regimen, toe spreaders and reading upside down may be unique, but what some elite athletes do is just plain weird. For example, shortly before the 2003 London Marathon, champion road runner Paula Radcliffe collided with a 13-year-old cyclist and suffered a dislocated jaw, whiplash and cuts and bruises. To hasten the healing, she used an old aboriginal treatment: a balm extracted from the fat of an emu, a speedy, three-toed Australian bird. A month later Radcliffe defended her title at the London Marathon in world-record time, according to the November 30, 2009 Sports Illustrated “Scorecard” column relating some of sports most ridiculous remedies ,
Paula Radcliffe should not be dismissed as some nut case or fad follower. The British racer is a serious athlete and an accomplished competitor. Radcliffe shattered expectations in London with “the most stunning endurance performance in history, male or female,” Doug Gillon wrote for the Glasgow Herald (April 14, 2003). In addition to winning the race, she beat her own world record, shaving nearly two minutes off her time in the 2002 Chicago Marathon. (Marathon organizers had placed eight male pacesetters in the women’s race, thus qualifying the event as a “mixed” field eligible for world-best records.) With a time of 2:15:25, Radcliffe maintained a formidable average pace of five minutes and 10 seconds per mile. Despite her record-breaking showing, she told one reporter for the London Independent (April 14, 2003), “When I run it’s not about the clock, it’s about a battle with myself to see how fast I can go.” Radcliffe’s speed and endurance may have shocked running enthusiasts, but it came as little surprise to those familiar with her training habits. “I have worked with 42 Olympic medalists and I don’t know anyone else who works so hard nor is so dedicated to what they do,” Gerard Hartmann told the Independent. So the emu oil, together with good genes, a life time of smart training and hard work, can yield results.
