From Gauze to Gold in Eight Days

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Matthew Fox seemed on top of the world, or at least at the height of the Ohio Valley Conference. The conference's leader in the heptathlon approaching the OVC Indoor Championships, the Little Rock sophomore led the league after setting a Canadian record was ready to claim gold until he severely sprained his ankle just eight days before the championship meet began.

Don't think for a second that stopped him. If that ankle thought it could slow down Fox, it didn't realize how sly its owner was. The multis athlete put all of his energy into rehabilitation and focused on the end goal, which was successful – claiming a gold medal at the conference championships.
 
 
Practicing for the upcoming OVC Indoor Championships, Fox was not given a sweetheart gift on Valentine's Day. Practicing for the pole vault, Fox accidentally landed on the decline part of the mat, causing his ankle to roll. He would not be able to walk it off.
 
"I was put on crutches as I was unable to put any pressure on my foot," recalled Fox. "Initially we weren't sure how long it would take to recover. We just put our focus on conference and doing whatever we could to get me to be able to compete."


 
History was on Fox's side. His right side, that is. Last fall, he sprained his right ankle during training. While this time the injury occurred to his left ankle, he knew what it would take to get back on the track.
 
"Matthew Fox had an amazing mentality after sustaining his ankle injury," said Athletic Trainer Sara Larsen. "He put in hours of rehab multiple times a day in preparation for the indoor conference meet. Even when there was a possibility he may not be able to compete, Matthew was always positive and ready to put in the hard work to recover and get back into practice when he was healthy enough to do so. His dedication and positive outlook had a major impact in getting him back into competition for his first OVC Indoor Conference meet."
 
The best laid plans often go awry but Fox was determined. First, he focused on being able to move his ankle, then on putting pressure on it. On Feb. 20, Fox would barely be able to jog around the track. But he did it, without crutches. That gave him a glimmer of hope.
 
Still, he would board the team bus for Birmingham the following day not knowing if he would be able to represent Little Rock's Team in the championship meet.


 
"On the bus ride to Alabama, I didn't know if I would compete," said Fox. "The night before, I didn't know if I would compete. I woke up the morning of the competition and didn't know if I could compete. I tried to take my mind off the fact that it was a two-day competition with seven different events and just focused on what the next step was in front of me. Being in the moment was the best thing I could have done."
 
Fox's event, the heptathlon, is actually seven different events rolled up into one. Spread over two days, four events take place in the first day of competition with the 60m dash, the long jump, the shot put and the high jump. The second day consists of the 60m hurdles, the pole vault and wraps up with the 1,000m run.
 
With a little help from painkillers and a vigorously taped ankle, Fox withstood the impact of four different events on his injured ankle to take a miniscule 11-point lead into the second day. Hot on Fox's tail was Trojan teammate Ethan Sorrels, followed by the rest of the field. Fox would head to the hotel after the first day of competition to do what he knew best – more rehab and treatment with Larsen. But then came the wakeup call on the second day and painkillers can only do so much.
 
"I woke up in quite a bit of pain and it continued throughout the day," recalled Fox.
 
The first event of the second day – the 60m hurdles – would not make things better. The physical impact of the 60m hurdles would not be kind to Fox's pain tolerance. He didn't let it deter him from his golden goal.


 
After leading field with a 60m hurdles time of 8.62, Fox then cleared a personal-best 14-1.25 (4.30m) in the pole vault to lead the heptathlon field once again. Now all he had to endure was a 1,000m run with a strong enough finish to not allow Sorrels or anyone else to pass him in the heptathlon scoring.
 
Fox ran 2:53.95 to finish third in the field, scoring 725 points. That pushed him to 4,993 points overall and first place finish at the conference championship meet, claiming the gold medal he so earnestly sought after.


 
"To come out on top was definitely a surreal feeling," Fox said. "It goes to show that when you trust your athletic trainers, have a positive mindset and put your faith in God, you can achieve whatever you put your mind to."
 
His efforts didn't go unnoticed. For his grit and determination, Fox was voted the Male Athlete of the Championship by the league's coaches.


 
"Matthew Fox is one of the most driven athletes I have ever worked with," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country and Head Coach J.P. Behnke. "The moment after he sprained his ankle, he looked me square in the eyes and said he'll be ready for conference. His commitment to rehab over the next eight days, then seeing him hobble through a seven-event heptathlon was inspiring to me and all our athletes who witnessing it first-hand. This set the tone for our entire team at the championship meet. We had a lot of our athletes banged up and they all pushed through injuries for the better of the team determined to win the team championship."
 
Now Fox turns his attention to the outdoor season where the heptathlon turns into the decathlon and the number of events moves up from seven to 10. 
 
That outdoor season starts this weekend with the Richard Martin Jr Invitational hosted by Central Arkansas in Conway.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Track & Field, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockTFXC on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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