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Madison Wiltrout Returns To Javelin - DyeStat Feature - Mary Albl

Published by
DyeStat.com   May 3rd 2016, 3:05pm
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Wiltrout learns patience on road to recovery

 

By Mary Albl for DyeStat

 

Madison Wiltrout admits she can never go fishing. The waiting takes too long. 

“It drives me nuts. I'm not a very patient kind of person,” the high school junior from Connellsville, Pa. said. 

Last summer when she underwent surgery on her right elbow, Wiltrout said she wasn't fully prepared for the long drawn-out process that followed. Months of recuperation dragged on slowly. 

“Mentally...it was pretty tough. Every little thing I was impatient with,” she said. 

After taking high school track and field by storm last spring with a national record throw in the javelin, Wiltrout had to learn how to be patient. 

“It's not as perfect as it could be,” she said of this new skill. “But now I can be calm and keep relaxed.” 

On April 15, Wiltrout made her season debut at the Lady Spartan Invitational (Latrobe, Pa.), competing in her first track meet since May of 2015. 

She threw 148-feet, 5 inches. The throw, about 37 feet short of her national record, was merely a first step -- the first of many she expects to make this spring and summer. 

“That was a really good confidence booster,” Wiltrout said. “My progress right now is really good for me. Some might say she hasn't thrown 185 yet, but I've got time.”

 

A new routine 

Last May, Wiltrout became the best female javelin thrower in high school history when she threw a national record 185-8 at the WPIAL qualifier. A few weeks later at the PIAA Class AAA Championships, where she took first place, she suffered a tear in her ulnar collateral ligament. Late June she had surgery. 

“The first month or two I was pretty much stuck to doing nothing,” Wiltrout explained. “I couldn’t run; I wasn’t lifting a pound.”

For someone who grew up playing baseball, not having a dominant throwing arm wasn't an easy reality to embrace. 

Wiltrout said her arm was bound in a brace and sling for about five months. 

“I love to throw stuff,” Wiltrout said. “Not being able to throw anything for that long, that was the hardest part.” 

With a summer schedule that was originally planned around the javelin, Wiltrout had to find a new routine. She kept busy with friends and family and focused on her road to recovery. 

“I became closer with everybody, that was a positive thing. You learn what really matters,” she said.

While it was a slower process than she expected, Wiltrout used the time to build up other parts of her body and retrain her muscle memory. 

“I never really realized how much of your body was (involved),” she said. “Your feet, running, it all counts in the javelin. I feel like I'm a better thrower in all other parts of me.”

Guided by her throwing coach Bill Schmidt, a former Olympian, Wiltrout was able to integrate workouts and drills into her schedule. 

“He went through basically the same injury when he was a javelin thrower,” Wiltrout. “He gave me all the drills from bottom up and what to do.”

 

A new perspective 

Wiltrout doesn't remember the exact day, but it was sometime in February when she threw the javelin for the first time. The rush, she explained, came flooding back. 

“You feel like you’ve lost something for so long and then you finally feel it again, and everything comes back,” she said. “So it was like a flashback to all the fun times.” 

During the 10-month absence from the sport she loves, Wiltrout said there were points of doubt and fear. What got her through was the memory of her national record throw and personal belief. 

“To think it’s all worth it and it pays off even when you're doubting,” Wiltrout explained. “Faith got me through as well. That was a big aspect. I believed I could do it.” 

Wiltrout said when she stepped onto the runway April 15,, javelin in hand, a crowd of people gathered around, the nerves set in. 

“It was a lot to take in at first,” she said. “But you kind of go back like, 'Man I missed this.’ All the times I took it for granted. It was a huge feeling, I’m finally out here, I finally got a number; once I stepped in there I let everything go.” 

 

A new definition of patience 

There are days in math class when Wiltrout can’t focus. Her mind will wander to the Olympics. Last Wednesday marked 100 days from the 2016 Games in Rio. 

“I saw that on Instagram, and it was pretty cool,” she said. 

The Olympics, or at least The Trials, are still very much on her radar. She’s already thrown the qualifying standard (177-2) for the U.S. Trials in July. 

“I’d love to make it,” she admits. “I’d be honored to make it, but if I don’t I’m not going to be upset. I understand the situation and I have time.”

Wiltrout is taking her time and building on the progress of each new day. She opted out of last weekend's Penn Relays to focus on the bigger picture and to make sure she’s ready for a return to the PIAA championships. 

“I’m staying patient, and everyday to train is another day that helps,” she said. “I have complete confidence in myself and if it's not meant to happen, it's not going to. I basically take it one day at a time. It’s a build up.” 



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