Gardner is helping May to blossom
JONNY MAY thought his dream of being the world’s quickest winger had been ended by a career-threatening knee injury in 2015 and rehab he described as “torture” – but he is now on the road to his goal after picking the brains of an American sprinter.
May ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament playing for Gloucester against Harlequins that December and sat out the start of England’s revival under Eddie Jones, when they won a Grand Slam.
Since then, May has been a regular visitor to the Michael Johnson Performance Centre in Texas, which was set up by the four-time Olympic gold medallist.
This summer, following England’s tour to South Africa and a golfing holiday in Spain with England fly-half George Ford, May set off for the States, paying for his own accommodation, for another two-week stint.
And on his most recent trip he bumped into English Gardner, an American Olympic champion, who suffered a similar injury to May’s before winning 4x100 metres relay gold in Rio.
Gardner, 26, has also won two silvers at World Championships after being told she would never sprint again.
In a similar redemptive tale, May has played 18 of 22 Tests since returning to the England fold in November 2016, scoring 11 tries and showing scorching pace.
May says Gardner’s story has inspired him ahead of next year’s World Cup in Japan. “It was awesome for me to meet her because, when I did my knee, the surgeon said it was touch and go whether I’d come back at the same speed,” said May.
“People say you lose five per cent after an ACL and I was trawling though the internet to find people who have had the same injury.
“English Gardner blew her knee out just before she went to college. She had all her scholarships taken away and then, within 13 months, ran a personal record. Now she’s one of the fastest women in the world and is a champion – she definitely inspired me.” May is used to state-of-theart facilities, with England training mostly at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, where the RFU built a performance centre.
But he has been “blown away” by the set-up in Texas.
The centre includes an indoor track, a 6,000 square foot indoor pitch, a Nike Sports research lab, recovery suite, underwater treadmills and has experts on hand to help out athletes.
“America doesn’t mess around with sports,” said May.
“You go out there and the professional facilities I’ve seen blow you away. Like Pennyhill you go there and think, ‘Wow, that’s amazing’ – but over there it goes even further.
“It’s awesome training and I always learn something new. I want to get quicker and smarter as a rugby player as well. That’s pretty much my plan.”