Injured Canadian must watch, wait

Globe and Mail - BEVERLEY SMITH - October 16, 2007
The Canadian short-track speed skating team left for Harbin, China, last Saturday to compete in its first World Cup event of the season. But last year's spectacular rookie, Olivier Jean, was left behind, his left leg in tatters. [...]

Jean fell while doing flying laps - skating all out against the clock - and went feet first into the boards at the Maurice Richard Arena in Montreal. The impact drove the back of his right blade through the Kevlar lining of his boot and into the tendon. Kevlar, a synthetic material considered five times stronger than steel on an equal weight basis, is used in body armour. It didn't help Jean.

"The tendon can be repaired, but it is not always easy," said Yves Hamelin, the national team program director. "It depends on the way the tendon is cut. But with his situation, we do not worry about him for the future."