Like father, like son: triathlete Murray pushes skills too far

OLYMPIC medal hope Richard Murray’s most painful journey was his 24hour epic from Brisbane, Australia, to Cape Town this week — with a broken collarbone.

The triathlete, who crashed trying to make up time on the lead group in the cycle leg of the World Triathlon Series event in the Gold Coast last Saturday, had to hold his left elbow up so the bone wouldn’t protrude up through the skin.

“I had to hold my left elbow up the whole time,” said Murray, who flew via Perth and Johannesburg.

“Each time I fell asleep the elbow would drop and I’d wake up in pain. It felt like the bone would push through the skin.”

He chose to undergo surgery at home because it was cheaper and he'd have easier access to post-operative care.

“I could feel how sharp it [the bone] was, I could feel the bone. I was begging the air hostesses for pain killers and some people gave me some paracetamol tablets, which I was told wouldn’t really help.”

Murray landed in Cape Town on Monday morning and underwent surgery 12 hours later by the same doctor who had repaired his father’s broken clavicle two months earlier.

Neville Murray had injured himself falling off a motocross bike; Murray junior was on a bicycle going at least 50km/h when he slammed into a heavy metal railing.

Murray, experienced in various forms of biking such as mountain, downhill and road, said he had wanted to launch an attack to catch the lead group.

But he went into a tight corner about 5km/h too fast. “I was pushing the limits. My hands were in the wrong place, they weren’t on the brakes,” he said, adding he couldn’t control his bike. “I just realised I’m running out of road.”

First his left hand bounced along the railing, breaking his fourth and fifth knuckles in the process — “my hands look like bananas” — and then he went over the handle bars and landed on his head and shoulders.

“It was my first crash in six years. My bike-handling skills are actually very good. I guess that’s what happens when you push the skills too far.”

His event at the Rio Olympics is on August 18, and he will take at least six weeks before he can start using his shoulder properly, but he refuses to change his goal for Brazil.

“I’m not changing my ambition at all. I’ve got 14 weeks between now and then. That gives me enough time to do one or two races to see where my body is.”

The biggest blow is that Murray has recently strengthened his swimming, the weakest of his three disciplines.

“I’ve had some of the biggest swims of my career. It’s going to put a dent in my swimming. I would rather have broken my leg,” he added with a laugh.

Murray, who was planning to start light training on a stationary bike, was disappointed to be missing the world triathlon sprint event in Cape Town this weekend.

“I’m still keen to be involved in any way I can,” he insisted. “I’m happy to do commentary for the live streaming, there’s development clinics,” added the sportsman, who also wanted to watch the Durbanville triathlon, one of the first triathlons he ever entered.

He doesn’t want to rush his recovery. “I want to make sure I do things right. I’ve got to think of my career over the next few years to ensure longevity,” said Murray, adding he would reach his peak by the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

What a dress rehearsal Rio will be if he’s in top shape.