Canadian Olympic champion rowers go inside seeking success on world stage

Kasia Gruchalla-Wesierski had a steel plate and 10 screws removed from her right collarbone two months ago, the final reminder of her road bike accident in 2021, six weeks before the Tokyo Olympics where she was to compete with Canada's women's eight rowing crew.

"[The plate] didn't affect my rowing but did when weight-lifting or sleeping," Gruchalla-Wesierski said. "Quality of life stuff I wasn't willing to compromise if I was going to continue training to compete [at the 2024 Olympics] in Paris."

Gruchalla-Wesierski also bruised her hip in the crash and needed 56 stitches to close lacerations all over her body. Lying in a hospital bed, she had flashbacks of breaking her leg 15 years ago in a career-ending ski racing accident.

"I was like, 'Not again, not this time,'" the 31-year-old told CBC Sports while preparing for her world rowing indoor championships debut this weekend in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, Ont. "I'm so close to my Olympic dream. Within 10 minutes, I was trying to find a way to make it happen."

Gruchalla-Wesierski had collarbone surgery three days after the crash and two weeks later was on an Ergometer, a machine used to simulate rowing without an actual boat. She was on water in Japan three weeks after an orthopedic surgeon told the Calgary native her season was over.

"Truthfully, I don't know if I would have made it through that injury without going through several injuries prior," said Gruchalla-Wesierski. "I'm quite stubborn and this is one of the times it paid off for me.

"Luckily, I had a team of doctors, physiotherapists and others who were looking for an alternative solution and that's when surgery came into the picture. It was the only way to make it [to the Olympics]."

The Montreal-born