In The News A sampling of recent Achilles tendon news items May 1, 2006 Switch hitting San Diego Padre catcher Josh Bard recovered from his Achilles tendon injury and is now back behind the plate.  Josh Bard is a back-up catcher who started with the Cleveland Indians, then played with the Boston Red Sox and ruptured his right Achilles tendon in 2004.  He was traded to the Padres on May 1, 2006, where is doing a great job catching Chan Ho Park.  Primary sources: http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20060511-9999-1s11padres.html and mlb.com   August 9, 2004 and January 14, 2006 Washington Redskins’ offensive right tackle Jon Jansen recovered from a ruptured right Achilles tendon injury to start all 18 of the Redskin’s 2005 regular season and playoff games.  Jon Jansen ruptured his right Achilles tendon in a 2004 preseason Hall of Fame game.  Prior to the injury Jon “the rock” Jansen had never missed a practice or a game, and had started in 82 consecutive games. His successful return was based on surgery and months of rehabilitation.  Primary sources: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5654335/ and http://www.redskins.com/team/profile.jsp?id=185   December 9-27, 2004 and Feb. 1, 2005 New Jersey Net Vince Carter recovered from his Achilles tendon injury to be named to the NBA All-Star Team for the 6th year in a row.  Carter strained his left Achilles tendon while driving along the baseline for the Toronto Raptors on December 9, 2004, was traded to the New Jersey Nets on December 17, and played his first post rehabilitation game on December 27.  Last season (2003-2004) Carter also struggled with Achilles tendon problems, missing 9 games.  Primary sources: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/basketball/nba/12/09/bc.bkn.raptors.carterin.ap/, http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/nets/story/265655p-227522c.html, and http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/sports-/110723953669810.xml?starledger?spn. January 23, 2005 NFL defensive end comes back strong after Achilles tendon injury.  Philadelphia Eagle Derrick Burgess ruptured his left Achilles tendon during the 2003 NFL preseason, causing him to miss the entire 2003 season. He recovered from the Achilles tendon injury and unrelated injuries suffered in 2004, to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Eagles' Jan. 23, 2005 win over the Atlanta Falcons for the NFC championship. Primary sources: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/10718413.htm and http://www.superbowl.com/news/story/8135982 November 6, 2004 Kostya Tszyu defended and retained his International Boxing Federation Junior Welterweight title15 months after tearing his Achilles tendon. Mr. Tszyu tore his Achilles tendon in August 2003 and defeated Sharmba Mitchell in November 2004.  Primary source:  http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/ESPNSports/story?id=232851 August 23 and 28, 2004 Despite rupturing her Achilles tendon in 1997, middle distance runner Kelly Holmes won two Olympic gold medals in Athens in 2004.  The 34 year old UK runner won the 800m, soaked herself in ice to help recover from the race, and then won the 1500m 5 days later.  The Gold medals had a fairy tale aspect due to her age, down-to-earth personality, and near misses at previous Olympics.  She is one of the nicest people in sports and in December 2004 was honored as the Reuters Sportswoman of the Year and BBC Sportsperson of the Year.  Primary source: http://www.sportinglife.com/fanzine/story_get.dor?STORY_NAME=Sporting_Life/04/11/29/manual_105742.html August 23, 2004 Courtney Kupets wins a bronze medal in gymnastics one year after rupturing her left Achilles tendon. The eighteen year old from Maryland won the bronze medal in the Athens Olympics’ uneven bars. Primary source: http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/gymnastics/articles/2004/08/23/hardware_in_store_for_hatch_kupets/    June 21, 2004 Reporter wears corrective shoes for years and they work fine, then he stops wearing them, which results in an injury to his Achilles tendon. A middle aged New York Times reporter who wore corrective shoes for 40 years stopped wearing them. When he stopped wearing the corrective shoes, his Achilles tendon was injured, and he had to immobilize his foot in a brace for six weeks. Source: Gorman, James (June 21, 2004) ACHES AND PAIN; It Hurt Achilles, and Now It's Hurting Me New York Times, Late Edition - Final, Section F, Page 5, Column 1.   May 13, 2004 Movie star Brad Pitt injured, and recovered from, his Achilles tendon injury while starring as Achilles in the movie Troy. His Achilles injury forced a three-month delay in shooting the final scenes of the movie. When asked if he actually hurt his Achilles tendon, Brad Pitt responded: “It's a true story. It's sad, it's stupid, but it's true. It's so wrong. It's such a bad headline.” Brad Pitt went on to star in many more movies.  Primary sources: http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/05/13/eye.ent.troy/ and http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/interviews/p/pitt_troy_040510/.     Suggested additions to this list are welcome. Please keep in mind that each news item should be interesting to people who have had an Achilles tendon injury and should not cover the same ground as a news story that is already listed. Keeping these guidelines in mind, email your suggested addition and its associated source to: Editor@AchillesTendon.com.

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