Desi Davila is absolutely one of my favorite runners in the world. This video is the first time she has spoken publicly since dropping out of the 2012 London Olympic marathon after only a couple of miles. At the time of the marathon, she was dealing with an undiagnosed upper-leg injury, which was later discovered to be a femoral (femur) stress fracture. This is the same injury that I’ve now experienced twice over the past seven months, and seeing this video gets me fired up about getting back on the road. I know she hasn’t announced any future races other than the 2016 Olympics, but I’m kid of hoping she decides to make her comeback at the New York City Marathon this November. Would be cool to have both of our comebacks at the same race!
Here’s the description of the video from the Flo Track website:
She’s back. In her first interview since the London Olympics, Desi Davila opens up about the highs and lows of the Games. Leading up to the Olympic Marathon, Davila knew something was wrong, but hadn’t found a firm diagnosis. After 2.2 miles, she was forced to step off the course left wondering “what could have been.”
It wasn’t tendonitis or some mystery injury. After another MRI, doctors found a stress fracture at the top of her right femoral shaft. She’s fully recovered, but how long will it take her to regain her Olympic form?
Not too long.