May 9, 2010 – Tara Whitten, who recently won two gold medals at the 2010 Track Worlds in Copenhagen, had to cancel plans to represent Canada at the Pan American Road Track Championships under way in Mexic, due to surgery needed on her elbow following a mountain bike crash in Moab.

“I injured my elbow a month ago while mountain biking in Moab with my family; for those who have been there, I was chasing my dad and my brother, who still have me beat on the technical stuff, down the Amasa Back trail,” Whitten told Pedal Magazine in an email on Sunday May 9th.

Initial x-rays lead to a misdiagnosis of the injury, and Whitten was told to continue training and racing. But things didn’t feel quite right, so last week Whitten went to see Dr. Howard Marans, who treated Travis Smith’s broken pelvis after his crash in the Keirin at the Track Worlds in 2007. A CT scan indicated that a large (1.5cm) chip had been displaced from Whitten’s humerous, requiring surgery. The surgery was a success, and Whitten, minus a piece of her elbow, is on the mend.

“Recovery should be quick,” writes Whitten, “I have the OK from the Doc to start riding on a trainer, and I can start working on my elbow mobility right away. It’s unfortunate that this injury meant I had to pull out of the Pan Am Championships at the last minute, but I am sure the team will do well in my absence.”

We join the cycling community in wishing Whitten a speedy recovery.