University of Minnesota Athletics
Resilient Thorpe Cannot Be Stopped
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
By Lexi Diederich, Athletic Communications Student Intern
MINNEAPOLIS - With the 2015 track & field season on the horizon, Gophers junior thrower Lyndsey Thorpe can look back on her 2014 season feeling proud and pain-free. However, based on her success last season, one would never know what she overcame to achieve it.
The Friday before spring break is an exciting time for college students. Trips home and vacations with friends are on everyone's minds. Last year that day was memorable for Thorpe for a different reason, however. That day marked the first gall bladder attack that landed her in the emergency room, and it would not be the last.
During the 2014 outdoor track & field season, Thorpe constantly battled with her gall bladder. It never hurt explicitly while she was competing, but after many attacks at home and on the road, the pain did not go unnoticed.
"I would be sore the next day, and maybe my practice wouldn't be as good," Thorpe said. "If it was a really bad attack, it would feel like I did a really intense ab workout the day before."
A trip to the doctor told Thorpe that she needed to have her gall bladder removed. Thorpe would have accepted this under normal circumstances, but she had other goals on her mind. A surgery would need to wait if she wanted to remain competitive during the outdoor season.
"I didn't want to do that in the middle of the season and be held back," Thorpe said.
In order to be successful for the remainder of the season, Thorpe had to make some changes. She had to maintain strict dietary habits and change her throwing technique. Minnesota's throwing coach Peter Miller made sure that there were meal options available for Thorpe when the team was on the road.
"I just felt really bad for her because it was a battle that nobody else had to go through or even understood," Miller said.
With a third place finish in the hammer throw at the Big Ten Championships, Thorpe qualified for the NCAA West Prelim. The time between Big Tens and NCAAs was brutal, however, because Thorpe spent 48 hours in the emergency room due to another attack. Taking only 14 throws before competing, she came in ranked 42nd at the meet, and walked out 13th - just shy of qualifying for finals.
"It speaks to her toughness and ability to focus on the goal at hand," Miller said of Thorpe's late-season success. "It was a great lesson for her, because it showed that she can make all of these changes and still be successful."
Looking back, Thorpe learned to be thankful for every opportunity that is given to her.
"I was living more in the moment because I didn't know if one attack would be the one that would put me back," Thorpe said. "Every throw mattered. Every trip mattered."
Now, with successful gall bladder surgery behind her, Thorpe is back to a normal diet and feeling well. With two seasons left as a Golden Gopher, she's not done yet and knows the national meet is within her reach. Miller knows Thorpe will build off the success she achieved last season.
"It'll be different for her to come into the meets now with people knowing who she is," Miller said. "Now, she's in the big time."
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