1st Episode Of Special Series: Comeback Kid: Tracking Diego Van Looy's Progress
After a Near-Death Accident, Diego Van Looy's Steadfast Return to Competition.
Tracking Diego's Progress Back to World Triathlete Champion.
Every 8-Weeks We Will Update You On Diego's Progress.

This is the first episode in a series called The Comeback Kid: Diego Van Looy's journey back to professional sports competition. This is a combination of physical toughness and mental grit with this amazing triathlete. We're talking about the rebuilding of a champion and we will track his progress in the coming months. It's an inspirational story of a 31-year-old professional athlete whose goal is to get back to competition and stand on the podium following a horrible accident. Meet Diego Van Looy from Belgium. In 2019, Diego won the majority of all the big races in the triathlon world. He had a reputation around the world as a rising star and then a tragedy hit in August of 2021. While training in Spain for a race, Diego was hit by a truck. After months in the hospital, Diego is back at the training to compete again. Just swimming and running proved to be very challenging with all the hardware in his body from multiple surgeries. We will track Diego's progress every 8-weeks between now and September when he hopes to compete for the first time since his accident. Join me for this inspiring story; it's the best eleven minutes you'll spend today.
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Transcript Reading Time: 4 minutes

In this episode, we cover:

• A natural athlete, in 2019 Diego won the majority of all the big races in the triathlon world.
• He won Embrunman 2018, Lanzarote Marathon in 2019. I had several championships with my name. His goal was to achieve the top five in the world championships Ironman in Kona, Hawaii.
• In August 2021, Diego was hit by a truck while training for a competition.
• He broke bones in his neck where they inserted a long screw. His back where he broke T7 to T10 and his ribs.
• Diego trains now for his return to competition.
• A problem now is that he lost his funding from the Belgium government as a result of the accident. It's quite difficult for an athlete to train without funding. But with a 2nd job, Diego is digging in to compete again.
• Everything is more difficult for Diego. Swimming is impossible at the moment due to the screws in his back.
• This resilient champion doesn't quit. Ever.
• Finding Inspiration will shadow Diego until he gets to his first competition in September 2022.

Resources from This Episode:

• https://www.facebook.com/protriathleteDiego.Van.Looy
• @diegocomesbackstronger
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/diego-van-looy-b01a99154/
• https://www.compressport.com/inter/en/community/diego-van-looy-pro-triathlete-n255
• https://www.triathlon.org/athletes/profile/93822/diego_van_looy
• https://powerman.org/en/powerman-world-series/news/interview-with-duathlon-world-champion-diego-van-looy-5388146103872538986