Speedway: 'Miracle Man' Roynon back on right track
Peterborough Panthers's Adam Roynon is back on the right track in a sport that has already taken him to hell and back.
Peterborough Panthers's Adam Roynon is back on the right track in a sport that has already taken him to hell and back.Roynon, who enters the Panthers' lair as a doubling-up reserve next season, could have been forgiven for forgetting how good it feels to sit on a speedway bike after a 19-month injury nightmare. The fact the 21 year-old is even able to do it at all is nothing short of astounding.
Bright British talent Roynon put some troubled times behind him when taking to the track in the Christmas Cracker at Scunthorpe and the New Year Classic at Newport.
The boy from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, hadn't actually raced since the beginning of June 2008 when he broke a leg while riding for Birmingham in a Premier League clash at Rye House.
Related:
Speedway: Swales: Roynon 'will come back a better rider', 7 January 2010.
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That injury ruled him out of the remainder of that campaign, but things were about to get a whole lot worse with the 2009 season just around the corner.
An invitation to a pre-season Team GB practice session at King's Lynn proved to be a date with disaster as Roynon was involved in a freak crash that left him fighting for his life.
Roynon suffered a broken bone in his neck and was left with a blood clot on the brain after his front wheel came loose and hurled him off his machine at the Norfolk Arena.
He was rushed to a specialist neurological unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge where he was treated for more than a fortnight. Luckily, many might say, he has no recollection of the crash or his stay in hospital.
He was released wearing a halo neck brace before requiring further surgery a couple of months later when a screw was inserted into his neck.
Roynon went on to make a successful and speedy recovery, so quick that he was even out practising at his Premier League club Workington before the end of last season.
His plight made front-page news in his local paper, The North-West Evening Mail who dubbed him 'Miracle Man' for surviving his horror smash and then returning to the saddle.
Roynon insists the thought of giving up racing never even crossed his mind. All he wants to do is resume his eye-catching progress in this white-knuckle world.
Roynon said: "I never had a single thought about packing in speedway.
"Although the injury was by far the worst I hope I ever suffer, it was actually quite a good one in that I didn't feel hardly any pain at all. Being stuck in a halo for so long was obviously a bit of a pain though!
"I can't remember the crash or anything that happened for a couple of weeks after. I have no recollection of being in hospital at all when Peter Oakes (Panthers' director of speedway) and plenty of other people visited me.
"What I do remember is getting to King's Lynn on March 6 last year, getting the bikes out of the van, talking to Danny King and doing a track-walk with him.
"Then there is nothing until I got back home and my memories are still a bit sketchy then as well.
"I basically didn't use my neck for four months so the muscle has wasted away just like it would in any other part of the body.
"I'm working hard to build that back up but I am 100 per-cent healthy and ready to go. I've always come back from injuries in the past and improved.
"I have missed out on the 18 months of progress a lot of other riders have made so I am more determined than ever.
"I've had no income for the best part of two years and I want to make up for the time I've had to spend out of the sport."
Roynon has had more than his fair share of bad luck as well as bad injuries.
There's been plenty of pain along the way, now it is all about gain and making an impression at the highest level with Panthers.
"I've broken both my arms and my collarbone as well in my time," he added. "So I think I'm due a good break or two now.
"None of the crashes that have badly injured me have been my fault – they've been down to other riders or mechanical failings.
"Still, some people will no doubt see it as a big risk to sign me after the injuries I've had. But the management have shown me a lot of faith and I fully intend to repay that in points.
"I want 2010 to be my final year in the Premier League before making the full-time step into the Elite League.
"I like big, fast tracks and winding the throttle on so hopefully the Showground will be right up my street. Of course racing in the Elite League is a big challenge, but it is one I am looking forward to.
"It would be awesome to get into the main body of the team and that will be my big aim for the season.
"If that doesn't happen I won't be too disheartened because we have a fantastic team full of great riders.
"What I really want is to do enough to be here full-time in 2011."
Roynon has come through both his recent outings with no ill effects. He did take a couple of tumbles in both meetings but picked himself back up again.
He added: "I've done a fair bit of practising and now had the two meetings.
"They went pretty well and it was good to be back out there in race situations. I came off when I was trying to pass people on the outside and then had a stupid fall at Newport on the last corner of the last lap when I just lost concentration."
And Roynon races on in the sport with the full support of his parents, father Chris and mother Jean.
Chris, a former rider and promoter himself, said: "I'm relieved he's back on his bike because it's what he wants to do and he could have had long-term problems.
"I'm really happy for him. You're bound to be worried the first time he's back on his bike because you never know what could go wrong, but everything was okay.
"Last time was just one of those silly freak accidents that should never have happened. We just want to see him happy and doing what he wants to do."
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Thursday 29 July 2010
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