While cycling to meet her friends for a ride on Monday, Singaporean triathlete Choo Ling Er was involved in a traffic accident at about 5.10am along Simei Avenue.
She said in an Instagram story that she got hit by a car from the back, leaving her with a fractured spine.
The toughest part of fracturing her L3 lumbar vertebra is not physical pain though, it is the torment of not being able to carry her 1½-year-old daughter Kira for the next month or two, as she has to avoid lifting heavy loads.
The 36-year-old has also been told by doctors not to swim, cycle or run for at least the next month to try and let the lower back injury heal on its own.
Choo’s husband Alan Soh, 35, said: “It’s very sad because she’s a mother and she can’t carry our daughter now.”
Soh, a former national cyclist, added that it’s a lot for his wife to handle psychologically as “she’s a very competitive, world-class athlete” and it is tough to not be able to carry out her usual training.
He was surprised by the accident, saying that Choo had bright front and rear lights mounted on her bike. He had rushed to the accident scene after receiving a call from Choo, adding that the driver was cooperative and rendered assistance.
Choo, who had been due to travel to Orlando on Dec 28 to participate in the Walt Disney World Marathon, was taken to Changi General Hospital, where she was discharged the following day.
She is still mobile and has been walking around her home since she got back on Dec 26.
In October 2022, Choo won the overall female title at the Ironman 70.3 Langkawi – a half-Ironman race comprising a 1.9km swim, 90.1km cycle and 21.1km run – after completing the race in 4hr 47min 29sec, beating 67 other competitors.
The Straits Times
