Cheshire dad's kneecaps 'shoot into thighs' during Strongman final
A dad has recounted the traumatic moment his kneecaps relocated to his thighs after he snapped both tendons during the climax of a Strongman contest. Dan Jones was participating in a Southport Strongman event on September 1, progressing triumphantly to the finals, which entailed an 80kg carry over 20 metres towards victory.
Distressing footage captures Dan mere moments from triumph before he crumples, having ruptured his patellar tendons and causing his kneecaps to soar upwards into his quadriceps. The 29 year old senior IT analyst found himself rushed to Leighton Hospital in Crewe, Cheshire, subsequently receiving pain management treatment before facing an intensive five-hour operation to rejoin his torn tendons.
The father, who has spent three arduous weeks in the hospital recovering and is relearning to walk, is hopeful of returning home prior to his imminent 30th birthday celebration next month. The patellar tendon is essential for leg extension, critical for daily actions like stride and stair navigation.
Whether Dan will return to competitive strength athletics remains unknown, but at 5ft 11in, the Weaverham, Northwich, Cheshire resident maintains a defiant spirit, having not ruled out future Strongman events, health permitting. Reflecting on the ordeal, Dan stated: "I was going into the last event in second place."
"If I had won this event there was a chance I could have won my category and if I had come second I would have come second overall out of 16 people. The guy that I was racing against was in first place at the time so I was having to beat him, which is why I was going as fast as I could."
"It was a freak accident, we're still not 100 percent sure how it happened. After slowing down the video with doctors and surgeons, it looks like my right knee patellar tendon snaps out of nowhere, which causes my leg to fold underneath me."
"Then my left knee bends underneath me and this tendon snaps on impact with the ground. I felt like I was on fire, my kneecaps were in my quads because my tendons ruptured. The weirdest thing I remember is silence. The whole crowd was cheering everyone on and then it went deathly silent and I just lay on the floor."
"I was very upset, I had a chance of winning. We were very near to the end with 10 metres to go in the competitions. I only needed three more seconds of running to finish the event."
"In the video it showed that I was slightly in front of him when I went down so I knew if I had finished the event there was a chance I could have won."
Dan took up training for Strongman events in January and clinched the title in the First Time category at Manchester's Strongman contest in July. He dedicated eight hours weekly to his workouts and followed a 4,500-calorie diet rich in protein and carbs, which saw him weigh in at 136kg (21st 4lbs) for the competition.
Post-surgery, Dan had internal braces fitted to aid the healing of his leg tendons and is currently attending daily physiotherapy sessions. He has taken to TikTok to share his recovery progress, providing daily video updates from the hospital.
Regarding his surgery, Dan shared: "During surgery the doctors said they needed to fuse my tendons back together and make sure my ligaments underneath my knee were where they should be. They then needed to put two sutures into my shin and build an internal brace to help my body fuse the tendon back together as best it can."
He expressed his concerns during his recovery, saying: "I was in bed and not able to move my legs, I was worried about everything. [I was thinking' 'Will I be able to walk again? How long will it take? '".
Commenting on what might have caused his injury, Dan speculated: "The best guess is potentially the stress of the day [caused the injury] as there is no real reason why it happened because there were no signs, it was just a freak accident. The doctor said it was very rare to see two patellar tendons go at the same time."
Once Dan is capable of standing on his own and managing his personal care, he will be allowed to leave the hospital; however, he has been informed that walking without support may not happen until at least February of the following year.
Dan harbours aspirations to represent England in the Open Strongman competition within the next five years, but due to his injuries, his surgical team has tempered those expectations, suggesting such ambitions might be unattainable. Nevertheless, Dan remains optimistic about recovering from his accident and returning to both the gym and competitive events if feasible.
Dan remarked: "The surgeon has said it could be the end of all the Strongman competitions but it's a case by case basis. He said it would be very rare that I'd be able to compete at the level I was again, but we don't know until I start healing."
"My biggest goal is to be a dad and be able to chase my daughter around and play with her. I should be able to go to the gym and do aspects of the Strongman things."
"There is a chance I could still do their Strongman but maybe not at the same I was before. I'm not going to give up on it [the dream]. It has been horrendous but I've got little goals to meet such as standing up and moving around and now my next goal is to try and stand unassisted. The only thing that is keeping me going is these little goals."
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