Dasaolu raises funds for surgery
JAMES DASAOLU will undergo career-saving surgery on his Achilles on Monday after raising the money he needs through crowdfunding.
The London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympian, who missed the 2018 Commonwealth Games with injury, ruptured the tendon in training on Friday.
Dasaolu is the joint second-fastest British 100metres sprinter of all time, but lost his British Athletics funding in 2016 after failing to progress beyond the Olympic 100m semi-finals.
He was aiming to return to racing in the coming months, having taken last year off to support his family after the arrival of their third child, in the hope of reaching Tokyo 2020.
A host of British track athletes, including Adam Gemili, Tiffany Porter, Cindy Ofili, CJ Ujah, Dai Green, Martin Rooney, Daryll Neita, Reece Prescod and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead, are among those to have donated and taken the figure over the £25,000 he needs for the operation and subsequent rehabilitation.
“This is the biggest challenge I’ve faced in my career,” he said. “I have been feeling great and fast, but just felt a ‘pop’ in my heel and it was heart-wrenching to get the diagnosis.”
Rehabilitation for fully ruptured Achilles tendons can take up to two years, but advanced techniques can reduce it to less than 12 months.
“The surgeon has told me that I need a specific type of surgery if I want to have any chance of returning to top-level sprinting,” said Dasaolu. “That needs to happen in the next two weeks.
“When I’m not running, I’m not earning and it’s not easy. But my wife is going to go and work and we have a good family support network.
“I’ve been taken aback and really touched by all of the support from people who are trying to get me back on my feet – it’s remarkable.”