Olympic High Jumper Jamie Nieto Recovering After Paralyzing Injury, Hopes to Walk Down Aisle At His Summer Wedding

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times wrote a feature about the recovery of two-time Olympic high jumper Jamie Nieto.

In April 2016, Nieto was performing a backflip at the end of a practice he was coaching at Azusa Pacific University when something went horribly wrong. His foot slipped and he landed on his neck, paralyzing him.

Backflips were nothing new for the 39-year old who ended each competition with a backflip. Although he retired in 2013, finishing his career with two top-six finishes at the 2004 and 2012 Olympics and a personal best of 7-8 (2.34m). Even at 39, with no training and a short approach, Nieto could clear 6-10.

Nieto was rushed to the hospital. He could not move his arms or legs and he could barely breathe. Doctors at LAC+USC Medical Center operated on Nieto for five hours, removing a disc from his neck and fusing the C3 and C4 vertebrae together.

No one was sure Nieto would be able to walk again.

Now more than a year later, Nieto is making great strides in his recovery. Early on he was forced to communicate with blinking his eyes while a tube in his throat helped him to breathe. Now he is able to move around with the help of a walker and other devices.

Not that a 100 percent return is in the near future for Nieto. He still goes through two hours of physical therapy four days per week and additional session at his home in South Pasadena.

Three weeks after the surgery, Nieto twitched his finger. By the end of the day he had moved seven fingers and all of his toes. It was the first sign of progress.

The first time Nieto made his way from the car to the room he completes his physical therapy it took 45 minutes. He has worked that time down to seven minutes.

"Every step is getting quicker," Nieto said.

Nieto has also begun work toward unassisted walking. The first time he made it three steps before having to stop from fatigue. Now he is up to 80 steps.

In addition to Nieto's recovery, he also is thinking about his upcoming wedding. He proposed to his girlfriend, two-time Olympic hurdler, from Jamaica, Shevon Stoddart last October.

The wedding is scheduled in July at a church in San Diego. It is 150 steps down the aisle and back up again. Nieto plans to walk all of them.