CrossFit Laval Loses Its Right Hand

May 15, 2014

Chris Cooper

CrossFit Laval team member, Isabelle Tardif, broke her right hand Tuesday. But the team will compete this weekend at the Canada East Regional.

CrossFit Laval team member, Isabelle Tardif, broke her right hand Tuesday. But the team will compete this weekend at the Canada East Regional.

Photo / Rose Gradito
 

Isabelle Tardif broke her right hand on Tuesday, as she was practicing the handstand walk—a skill she’s had since she was a child.

“My ring finger went under my hand,” Tardif said. “It broke the fourth metacarpal bone.”

A former gymnast, Tardif said handstand walking is usually “pretty easy.” But not on Tuesday night.

“Everyone in the gym heard the crack,” said teammate and coach Matthieu Dubreucq. “She could still move her hand, so we thought it was just a bad sprain. The team kept training, and Isa had our team chiropractor check it out.”

Two hours later, X-ray in hand, Tardif could feel the Canada East Regional slipping through her fingers. Years of preparation—Tardif finished third as an individual in 2013 and sixth in 2012—had led not to a golden ticket, but to a cast. Worse, the whole CrossFit Laval team seemed to be handicapped by one of the smallest bones in their smallest teammate.

Tardif can’t wash her hair easily. But she can still compete tomorrow.

“I can’t use my right arm at all,” she said. “I’ve been practicing one-arm snatches, clean and jerk, and thrusters with my left arm.”

Dubreucq knows the risks, and won’t let Tardif do anything that puts her long-term health at risk.

“She’s 30. She has her whole career ahead of her,” he said. “We’re not going to let her jeopardize her future for one weekend of competition.”

The team’s decision to continue meant a re-evaluation of their priorities for the weekend.

A Level 1 Seminar Staff member and mentor to many Canada East coaches, Dubreucq’s goal at regionals is to give his team the best experience possible.

“We’re still going to compete,” he said. “We know Isa can’t do the minimum requirements in every (event). We’ll put on a good show anyway, and support our second team. We want to see our friends, support the event. We don’t want to sit at home and be sad watching the live stream all weekend.”

This is the first year Dubreucq has competed on his affiliate’s team—he finished fifth among individual men in the 2013 Regional—and the first year CrossFit Laval has qualified a second team.

Tardif’s decision to continue isn’t the reckless overreaction of an immature athlete. At 30, she’s been competing for more than two decades, and carries the right perspective

“When it happens, it can be hurtful, of course,” she said. “I went through very angry, sad and frustrated, ‘Why is it happening to me?’ All of it. Then you remember why you do this: for the fun and love of the sport. And I decided to keep going.”

Due for a surgery consultation next week, Tardif is unsure how long she’ll be away from training. Her spirits are high, buoyed by the support of her team. CrossFit Laval is highly regarded as a fun-loving group, fiercely passionate about CrossFit.

The only thing bothering Tardif, she said, is the attitude of her doctors.

“Through the full process, all the doctors and every specialist kept saying I got injured because CrossFit is dangerous,” she said. “But I got injured because of bad luck. It’s something I know how to do. I’ve been doing it my whole life before CrossFit.”

CrossFit Laval’s team may be battered, but its character remains unblemished. They’ll take the floor at the Canada East Regional with 11 strong arms and six heads held high.