Podcasts Sports Running Ali on the Run Show 415. Aisha Praught Leer, Two-Time Olympian for Team Jamaica

415. Aisha Praught Leer, Two-Time Olympian for Team Jamaica

Published: Aug. 25, 2021, 9 a.m.

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\\u201cI couldn\\u2019t hear. I couldn\\u2019t think. He was very matter of fact. He said, \\u2018You have a complete medial meniscus root tear. That means your meniscus tore off the bone. You need surgery \\u2014 not today, but in the next couple days. Tokyo isn\\u2019t an option.\\u2019\\u201d

Professional Puma-sponsored runner Aisha Praught Leer was living every athlete\'s dream this summer. She\'d secured her spot on Jamaica\'s Olympic team, and was training in St. Moritz with her Team Boss teammates Emma Coburn and Cory McGee. She was feeling fit. Fast. Ready to race the 1500 in Tokyo. But then, just a few days before boarding the plane to Japan, Aisha was warming up before a track workout when she felt a pop in her knee. That pop turned out to be a torn meniscus. ("Like meniscus fully dangling off the bone," Aisha explains.) In this conversation, Aisha reflects on that day at the track in Chiavenna, and talks about what it\'s like when all of your dreams are ripped away from you in an instant. She talks about her decision to race anyway, and talks about what she says was the hardest part of this injury. (It wasn\'t the race. It was calling her loved ones.) Plus, Aisha \\u2014 who is now two weeks post-op \\u2014 discusses her surgery, her recovery, and her big dreams for what\'s next.

SPONSOR:\\xa0Oiselle\\xa0\\u2014\\xa0Use code ONTHERUN for 15% off.

What you\\u2019ll get on this episode:

  • How Aisha made Jamaica\\u2019s Olympic team this year (11:40)
  • How Aisha\\u2019s training was going leading up to the Olympics (19:30)
  • The day Aisha heard that \\u201cpop\\u201d at practice, and the aftermath (22:30)
  • The journey to Tokyo, and what Aisha says was the hardest part of the injury (49:00)
  • What it was like racing the 1500 on a torn meniscus in Tokyo (1:05:20)
  • Aisha\\u2019s goals for the future (1:17:45)
  • What Aisha\\u2019s watching right now (1:19:00)

What we mention on this episode:

Aisha Praught & Will Leer on Episode 204 of the Ali on the Run Show

Aisha Praught Leer on Episode 197 of the Ali on the Run Show

Follow Aisha:

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Listen & Subscribe:

SUPPORT the Ali on the Run Show!\\xa0If you\\u2019re enjoying the show, please\\xa0subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Spread the run love. And if you liked this episode, share it with your friends!

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