HOST (Jennifer) (00:02):

Hello, welcome to this podcast called Finding Inspiration. It's a 20 or so minute weekly podcast where we interview someone with an amazing story. After the show, I know you'll feel energized, invigorated, and inspired. I'm Jennifer Weissmann. Welcome to finding inspiration. Hello, this is the first episode of the comeback kid tracking Diego Van Looy. This is a combination of physical toughness and mental grit with this amazing triathlete and his comeback story today, we're talking about the rebuilding of a triathlete champion. It's an inspirational story of a 31-year-old professional athlete whose progress is to get back to the podium. Hello, Diego Van Looy from Belgium. Hi, how are you?

GUEST (Diego) (01:03):

I'm good, actually. And how about you?

HOST (Jennifer)  (01:06):

I'm great. Thanks for asking. In 2019 you were winning the majority of all the big races in the triathlon world. You were building a huge reputation around the world as a triathlete, and then a tragedy hit in August of 2021. You were training in Spain,  and exactly what happened?

GUEST (Diego) (01:27):

I was quite new inside the world of triathlons. But in a few years' time, I became one of the upcoming guys at the top of all triathlons. I started to win the big races. I won Embrunman 2018, Lanzarote Marathon in 2019.  I had several championships with my name. My goal was for 2020 and 2021 was to achieve the top five in the world championships Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. The first time in 2020, we had terrible luck with Corona. Every race I would compete -- mentally, it was a very hard time.

HOST (Jennifer) (02:07):

All of the competitions in 2020 were canceled. And yet you had to train as if they were gonna happen?

GUEST (Diego) (02:14):

Exactly. We kept training hard in case the race would happen. I also train in the winter. One problem in the past was my swimming parts because I don't have a swim background, but in the winter from 2019 to 2020, I made a lot of progress on closing the gap in my swimming. Then Corona came and for 3 months, I had no pool access.   This set my progression in the swim back. But, I never give up.

HOST (Jennifer) (03:09):

You had problems with access to a pool, but that was very small compared to what happened to you in Spain 2021. You were in Mallorca, Spain; you were training. You were hit by a truck speeding along a  narrow road.

GUEST (Diego) (03:26):

In 2021, I went to Mallorca, Spain for five weeks to prepare to qualify for Ironman World Championship held every year in Kona, Hawaii. On the 16th of August, I was on my bike riding on a straight road. A truck came, and he passed me, and then he broke just in front of me. And I hit him on the back when he was breaking. It was a bad accident. I crashed on the ground, but first I hit the sidewall.

HOST (Jennifer) (04:00):

Of his truck?

GUEST (Diego) (04:00):

No, I hit the side of the road.

HOST (Jennifer) (04:03):

Oh, I see.

GUEST (Diego) (04:04):

The road was flat, and I was doing power blocks.   I was going 60 kilometers an hour when I hit the truck.

HOST (Jennifer) (04:24):

He moved into your lane -- is what happened? I know you had broken bones in your ribs, in your neck, and your back.

GUEST (Diego) (04:33):

I broke bones in my neck. They inserted a long screw. I broke my T7 to T10 on my back.

HOST (Jennifer) (04:47):

It's your neck, your back, and your ribs are all broken and you're on the side of the road. What happened after that?

GUEST (Diego) (04:53):

I was a bit in shock, and I was lying on the ground. I couldn't move because if you break your neck, you can't move. Also, I had a puncture in my lung.

HOST (Jennifer) (05:04):

You were flown back to Belgium. You spent about 60 days or so recovering from various surgeries.

GUEST (Diego) (05:11):

I was eight days in a hospital in Mallorca, Spain. I had surgery on my back, and after 61 days, I was discharged from my third hospital but still in a lot of pain.

HOST (Jennifer) (05:23):

Let's go back for a second; in 2016, your goal was to get to Kona, Hawaii?

GUEST (Diego) (05:27):

My first goal was to do an Ironman. The first Triathlon in my life was immediately an Ironman. And then after my first Triathlon with the same bike and run split as the absolute number one in the world – Jan Frodeno. People said: Hey, Diego, you have talent. Since that day I start to swim also before that I had never swum in my life. I focused on getting my fitness to the highest level possible. My other goals came from winning races. And since that day, I was one of the guys to beat. At that time, I was unbeatable  -- for the moment.

HOST (Jennifer) (06:12):

A heartbreaking tragedy for you to end up in the hot hospital for several months. Were you even able to walk at that point?

GUEST (Diego) (06:19):

Three days after my surgery, the neurosurgeon said it was time to walk.   At first, I started with a walk to the toilet. And then I would walk with my family around the hospital. In the beginning, I was white in my face from the pain. Even now, if I'm doing harder training, I'm still white in my face from the pain. 

HOST (Jennifer) (06:49):

You're experiencing a lot of pain at night. You said after you train during the day, your body hurts.

GUEST (Diego) (06:54):

During the training, I can resist the pain. When I stop the training and my body is in recovery mode – it hurts. Around my back, where the plates are, is a huge stiffness.

HOST (Jennifer) (07:10):

It sounds very painful to have plates in your back and screws in your neck.

GUEST (Diego) (07:14):

For the neck is okay, because now I can twist it. In the beginning, it was not possible. So this is okay. But I also go three times a week to the physio for my back. On a mat is impossible for me because when I hit the points where the screws are in my back, and I want to move more with my head on the ground -- the screws push inside my body. 

HOST (Jennifer) (07:42):

Wow, that sounds painful. Do you have a different mindset about life after the accident? It seems like your focus is to get right back on the horse again and start training as hard as possible.

GUEST (Diego) (07:54):

My talent is there. So is my mindset. But I have taken a step back, but I want to get back to where I belong. The problem is now because of my crash; I lost my funding from the Belgium government.   It is pretty difficult for an athlete to train without funding. At the same time, I'm out of the hospital. I cannot yet do a race on a very high level. I need to get my fitness back. 

HOST (Jennifer) (08:32):

So you've lost your funding and your sponsorships as well. How do you support yourself and train? That must be tough to do both.

GUEST (Diego) (08:42):

So I have at the moment, the monthly salary is gone.. They give me extra money to survive, but I need more to get back to the top of my sport.

HOST (Jennifer) (08:57):

Do you have a second job?

GUEST (Diego) (08:58):

Two months ago, I started a coaching business. This is a good combination: to be a professional athlete and help other athletes to achieve a great level. It's nice to be in sports. My swimming is still a challenge. The plate in my back makes my mobility for swimming not ideal. I still need to do my first swim training. I hope I'm able to start swimming in a few weeks. That's my goal for now. 

HOST (Jennifer) (09:25):

Would it be okay if we check in with you every other month and get an update on your progress?

GUEST (Diego) (09:33):

Yeah, sure. I would love that. 

HOST (Jennifer) (09:35):

What is your goal for this year? Do you have a race you're planning on participating in?

GUEST (Diego) (09:39):

First, my goal is 100% mobility. So staying positive and second, I hope the run and the bike training go well. It's cold in Belgium. I have a problem with the cold because my lungs and my ribs are still pretty broken. I feel the cold insides when I breathe.

HOST (Jennifer) (10:07):

Do you need to get to a warm climate?

GUEST (Diego) (10:09):

A the moment, I'm all doing my training inside. But when I start doing outdoor, my bones still need to heal. My goal is at the World Long Distance Duathlon in Zofingen, Switzerland in September. I hope to become one of the guys at the podium later in 2022.  

HOST (Jennifer) (10:32):

Would a duathlon be a bike and a run?

GUEST (Diego) (10:36):

A duathlon is a 10-meter run, a 50K bike, and a 30K rerun. A duathlon is a two-sport race that involves running and cycling in three stages (run-boke-run).   

HOST (Jennifer) (10:41):

We will check in with you in eight weeks and see how you're progressing. Maybe you're back in the pool, and we can start checking in a consistant way until you get to September to compete in the duathlon. Thank you for joining us this week on Finding Inspiration. Hey, I would appreciate it if you click the follow button and share this podcast with a friend. See you next week. I'm Jennifer Weissmann.