Silken Laumann - Unsinkable!
The Canadian rower who defied a horrific injury to win an Olympic medal in 1992
Sporting Witness · BBC World Service
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Show Notes
Just ten weeks before the Barcelona Olympics Silken Laumann, a Canadian rower, suffered a horrific leg injury.
After six weeks she got back on the water. "Here I was still using a wheelchair, a massive skin graft on my leg. I could not walk without pain. I got into that boat with some help, there were a few adjustments to take some of the strain off my broken ankle."
After four operations, she managed to make it to the final and win a bronze medal, becoming a national hero in Canada.
This programme was first broadcast in March 2014.
Picture: Silken Laumann, Credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Sport.