Story By Athlete - Neva Jansen
Thomas had a fantastic start to 2026 and his indoor season, becoming both the U17 SEAA 1500m and 800m champion. Most recently, securing a silver medal in the U17 800m at Indoor Nationals. However, every success story has a journey, and Thomas's was far from easy. An injury at the end of the 2024 Outdoor season ruled him out of the 2024/25 Indoor season and limited his competition during the 2025 Outdoor Season.
I wanted to interview Thomas about his injury to celebrate his recent achievements and share the story of his hard work. I also wanted to reassure injured athletes that they can come back strong if they work hard and trust the process. His story presents Thomas as a role model for every athlete, thanks to his resilience, hard work, and perseverance.
The Injury and Recovery
Thomas sustained a stress fracture of his 5th metatarsal at the end of the 2024 Outdoor Season, putting him fully out of training for four months and not fully training until three to four months after that. Thomas states that his injury was from "an accumulation of hard training and an increased volume of school sport following a break for the summer holidays, where I was recovering from an Achilles issue."
Initially, he was "very upset because it meant I missed out on all my sport," but eventually he realised he just had to lift his head and commit fully to recovery. Recovery was a slow and gruelling process. He found not only physiotherapy with Victory Johnson extremely helpful, but also that he was "put in a boot to take the pressure off my foot and given exercises to strengthen the muscles in my feet and calves to prevent future injury. Swimming and cycling were also very helpful, as they were forms of exercise that I could do despite being injured."
Returning to Training
His account of the early stages of recovery shows the immense patience needed to start running again. However, when he did get back on track, it was not a straight return. As soon as he got back on the track, "I started with drills to correct bad habits and ensure that when I fully returned to training, I was much more efficient, whilst also reducing my future injury risk. Over time, the volume of training gradually increased; however, this was really challenging because I was a lot slower and much more unfit than I was before."
The Mental Challenge
He was not just rebuilding his fitness. He was also correcting bad habits to reduce the risk of future injury, which shows how demanding this process truly was. During this process, you might wonder how he remained so mentally driven. He replied, "It was very challenging, but it was crucial for me not to focus on or be demoralised by anyone else's times or achievements and only focus on myself. Each training session or race that I improved in motivated me to work even harder."
The Support System
He also mentioned that during this time, the support system around him was what fully helped him overcome the injury. He stated how his "parents were very supportive throughout, while Coach Bjorn and the SpeedPro group were very encouraging and supportive, which enabled me to push through a difficult period."
Stronger Than Before
Thomas's support system and work ethic in recovery ultimately helped him get through the injury and onto the other side. However, it can be quite hard not only to come back from an injury but also to reach where he was, let alone go above and beyond his pre-injury level, which he has done. He commented how the injury "made my mindset stronger, whilst I also have been much more focused on other factors outside of my training that affect performance and reduce injury risk, such as nutrition and sleep," showing how there are loads of different factors athletes have to take into account to ensure a good recovery and rise back to the top.
From every injury and experience, there is something to learn and advice to give. Thomas says he learnt "not to give up and keep working hard, whatever the challenge." His advice to other athletes is, "Do not worry about anyone else and how well they are performing. Just focus on your individual progress and take each session at a time."
Thomas has worked incredibly hard to achieve his recent success. His story of overcoming an injury and returning to the top has reassured the group's athletes facing similar challenges. It has encouraged them to keep working hard and highlighted Thomas's amazing achievements following his injury.
