Like many other youngsters, Harrison Walsh visualised playing rugby for Wales.

But after an horrific injury ended his promising career aged 18, Walsh has his eyes set on representing Great Britain at the Paralympics in Tokyo next year.

Prop Walsh was considered one of the finest prospects of his generation as he prepared to play for Wales Under-20s in 2015 and was just about to start training with the Ospreys first-team squad.

But a career-ending knee injury in January 2015 saw his aspirations vanish. Four years on, Walsh has bounced back from adversity and just set a world shot putt record in his first major international competition.

Career cruelly cut short

In January 2015 ,Walsh's life changed after coming on as a late replacement for Swansea in a Championship match they were easily winning after a team-mate had been red-carded.

"I had just come off the bench in a nothing game and in the last play jarred my knee and it completely collapsed under me," said Walsh.

"Unfortunately, I dislocated my knee, pretty much tore everything you can tear in it and tore my nerve which left me with no ability to move my foot.

"I knew it was something bad because I could not move my foot and my knee was facing the wrong way.

"There was no gas and air so the best way I can describe the pain is jumping into the coldest water you have ever done.

"You get a sharp breath and you can hyper ventilate. It was so odd and an all-over body experience. That was my last game so I did not walk off the field, I was carried off."

For the record, the official diagnosis was a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and lateral collateral ligament (LCL).

He also tore his bicep femoris (hamstring), popliteus, the lateral head of the gastrocnemius and the common peroneal nerve (nerve that controls how you move your foot). Amongst others.

Assessing the damage

"Essentially, I now have no feeling in my right foot, especially on the top where I have no movement in it," said Walsh.

"It is one of the worst knee injuries you can have. Every time I see a physio they are squeamish when I tell them the extent of the damage."

Before undergoing five-hour surgery, Walsh was given the news no promising rugby player wants to hear. Especially aged 18.

"A week after the injury, my surgeon told me I was not going to play rugby again, probably not going to run again and might struggle to walk," said Walsh.

"I was with my Mum, it was pretty emotional and not the nicest day. Playing rugby for Wales was the be all and end all.

"You grow up wanting to wear that red jersey and some of the proudest things I have are my age-grade caps and shirts."

So instead of emulating some of his peers like Adam Beard and Dillon Lewis in playing for Wales, Walsh found himself battling to redefine himself.

"I was in a bit of a hole," said Walsh.

"I went from this big strong Welsh rugby player to this guy who could not move his foot or get out of bed.

"I lost close to 20kg and I was not myself for probably a year. Your sport becomes your identity. I was a rugby player so what am I going to be if I am not one?

"Seeing my team-mates playing, I was just wondering why I was here and why can't I do this? It was hard for me to watch a couple of years ago."

Walsh also admits he struggled to cope with lifestyle changes.

"I have learned how to walk again," said Walsh.

"The biggest thing for me is the way I walk and it's only in the last eight months I am comfortable whether I was wearing a brace or not.

"The first year you think people are watching you and you feel so self-conscious.

"It's funny, one of the things that got me more than anything and what I would get upset about is that I can't wear flip flops.

"I probably shed more tears over that than anything. Flip flops are all rugby players ever wear! It makes me laugh now because I have got my head around it."

Battling back

Walsh admits the physical aspect was easier as he tried to prove the experts wrong by returning to rugby in a two-year battle dominated by extensive physiotherapy.

"I had a brilliant surgeon and Ospreys physios helped me so much," he said.

"I was so lucky to be in that system and I am here walking because of them and I was rehabbing for a couple of years.

"At first it was talking about just learning to walk again and that's all you are going to get.

"Then we were looking at maybe running and even playing again but that didn't happen because of the extent of the injury so I had to officially to retire at 20.

"The physical stuff was fine because I could focus on what I could do. I could still lift weights. I threw myself into it with the same energy I did when I played rugby."

Once any final hope of playing again vanished, Walsh needed a focus.

"I had to do something, if it was going to be water colour painting or colouring, I was going to be the best at that," said Walsh.

"It took that to get me out of bed. Once I saw that improvement with my knee or how I looked it made me feel a whole lot better."

Change in direction

Walsh's journey to a different sport started when he was coaching Ospreys under-16s. A fellow coach and a sport and health manager with the local authority, suggested he try out Para Athletics.

That meeting with Disability Sport Wales changed Walsh's life.

"My old coach asked if I had ever considered myself disabled?" said Walsh.

"I said no. I never said the word disabled to myself but I realised I had an impairment which stopped me doing things.

"I met with Anthony Hughes (DSW national performance manager) and he said they thought I could qualify for this sport and category (Para-athletics).

"I loved it because I was terrible at it. I am less terrible now and I now love the beginner mentality which I struggled with early on.

"I have only ever thrown with my impairment so don't know what it was like able bodied.

"I am rubbish now compared to where I will hopefully be in 10 years time but I have the raw power and experience of how to be professional."

Record breaker

That potential was demonstrated when Walsh has set a new F44 world shot put record of 15.73m at the Para-athletics Grand Prix in Grosseto, Italy.

"I would not believe it people when they told me," said Walsh.

"It was my first major competition so I just wanted to go there and perform.

"I was very happy but there is a lot more to come."

The World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai in November and the Tokyo Paralympics next year are on the agenda.

It is only the discus currently on the timetable for those events with the shot putt not scheduled.

Walsh is being guided by Josh Clark and former world champion Nathan Stephens as he hopes to emulate the success of previous Paralympic gold medallists like Aled Sion Davies.

"I would love to go Tokyo to just compete and look at future Games where hopefully I will be more competitive," said Walsh.

"I am in great hands and you just look at the people they have brought through. There is nowhere like this system anywhere in the world."

Walsh says he has embraced what life has dealt him.

"I am a much better person for it and don't regret what happened," said Walsh.

"You can't help what is going to happen and you have a different outlook on things.

"I have to step back and look at the progress I have made and appreciate the people who have helped me.

"In rugby, everybody wants to play for Wales and the Lions. In athletics, I now have the chance to represent Great Britain in the coming years and maybe Wales at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

"It is not what I dreamed of growing up but I now have now goosebumps thinking of it."

PARIS – Formula E has revealed the tentative schedule for season six of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, featuring new venues in the centre of Seoul and London as part of the longest and most comprehensive calendar to date.

The 2019/20 calendar was ratified following the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris, comprising of 14 races in 12 cities and covering four continents. The busiest season yet of electric racing will get underway with a doubleheader in Ad Diriyah in November, stopping off in the iconic city of Seoul for the first time in May and once again coming to a close in the English capital, using a unique indoor/outdoor track at ExCeL London in July.

Also new to the series in 2019/20 will be the arrival of factory teams fielded by
Mercedes-Benz and Porsche – taking the number of cars to 24 and completing a full grid for the opening rounds in Ad Diriyah on Nov. 22-23.

The ABB FIA Formula E Championship moves from the Middle East and travels onwards to Santiago, Mexico City and Hong Kong, before returning to Rome for the first of the voestalpine European races. The racing picks up again in Paris, with a short stop-over in Seoul soon after, followed by Berlin to round out the European leg. Monaco misses out for a season – rotating on a bi-annual basis as in previous years.

Formula E then crosses the pond to the Big Apple for the penultimate event of the season in New York City, with London re-joining the calendar for the title-decider over the course of two days at ExCeL London on July 25-26, 2020.

In addition to issuing the 2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship calendar, alterations have also been made to the sporting regulations, which are set to be introduced for season six.

New for next season, drivers will have an additional 10kW of power available when using Attack Mode, rising from 225kW to 235kW. Also, drivers won’t be able to activate Attack Mode under Full Course Yellow, or when the safety car is deployed – meaning the drivers will have to go off the racing line to activate Attack Mode under normal race conditions and retain the risk of losing positions.

Furthermore, to enhance the effects of energy management, during safety car periods and under FCY, a fixed quantity of energy – equal to 1kWh per minute for the duration of the caution period – will be subtracted from the total energy remaining in each car.

This measure means that drivers will no longer be able to save energy by driving at lower speeds under caution or behind the safety car, leading to more varied strategies and close racing to the finish line that fans have grown accustomed to seeing in Formula E. Also introduced for next season, the countdown clock will stop if the race is temporarily suspended – remaining at the discretion of the FIA Race Director – with the aim to complete the full amount of time.

The FIA has also released more details on the extended cycle of the Gen2 car, through to the end of season eight. The extension of an additional season was agreed together with manufacturers, taking into account stability of the rules and cost control. However, further updates to car performance and regulation changes can be made during this cycle, including increase of power, improvements to the battery and an evolution of the design and bodywork.

More points will also be on offer in season six, with an additional point handed out to the fastest driver in the qualifying group stages. The driver who secures Julius Baer pole position still picks up three points – as well as one point being awarded to the driver who sets the fastest lap finishing in the top-10 of the final classification.

“Next season promises to be the most exciting and eagerly-anticipated in the short history of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship,” said Alberto Longo, co-founder and deputy CEO of Formula E. “More races and new faces, with the incredible new additions of Seoul and London, as well as the inclusion of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. Looking at the list of cities and capitals backing Formula E and the electric movement, it’s the longest and most comprehensive calendar to date. Alongside the tweaks made to the sporting regulations, the racing has the potential to be even more intense and unpredictable than ever. We have three rounds remaining this season and a title fight that’s wide open, but I already can’t wait to get started again in Ad Diriyah in November.”

2019/20 ABB FIA Formula E Championship Schedule

City – Country – Date(s)

Ad Diriyah – Saudi Arabia – Nov. 22-23, 2019

TBA – TBA – Dec. 14, 2019

Santiago – Chile – Jan. 18, 2020

Mexico City – Mexico – Feb. 15, 2020

Hong Kong – China – March 1, 2020

TBA – China – March 21, 2020

Rome – Italy – April 4, 2020

Paris – France – April 18, 2020

Seoul – South Korea – May 3, 2020

Berlin – Germany – May 30, 2020

New York City – United States – June 20, 2020

London – England – July 25-26, 2020

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – The Speedway Motors EMi Raffle Sprint Car, benefiting the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, will be unveiled on June 29.

The reveal will take place during Cars & Coffee at Speedway Motors, located at 340 Victory Lane, Lincoln, Neb., from 8 a.m. to Noon.

The car will feature an EMi chassis and be powered by a Speedway Motors Racing Engines 410 engine.

The car is the 13th to be raffled off by the non-profit National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.  The bi-annual program includes donations from sprint car builders and manufacturers across the country.  This sprint car will feature the famous Speedway Motors 4X and be shown at several racing events over the next 18 months, and will be given away Friday, Dec. 18, 2020.

“Our raffle car program was started back in 1995, and has been an essential component in maintaining the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum ever since,” says National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Executive Director, Bob Baker.  “We want to sincerely thank Speedway Motors/EMi, and all the sponsors who make it possible to do this. And, of course, most of all, we thank all of those who make donations and buy raffle tickets in an attempt to win a brand new sprint car.”

Additional prizes will also be awarded, including the runner-up award, a Kincrome Chest and Trolley Combo donated by Kincrome.

Raffle tickets can be purchased for $20, or six for $100 starting with the Speedway Motors event June 29.  For more information on the Speedway Motors EMi Raffle Sprint Car, visit www.SprintCarRaffle.net.

Editor’s Note: Jesse Love, 14, is a rookie in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League. From June 13 through June 17, Love will be sharing his experiences with SPEED SPORT subscribers while competing during Illinois Speed Week. 

Love drives the No. 97k Toyota-powered midget for Keith Kunz Motorsports. Below is his second diary entry, recapping Thursday night’s events at Fayette County Speedway in Brownstown, Ill.

BROWNSTOWN, Ill. – Hey guys, Jesse here, and it was definitely an interesting first night for us to open POWRi Illinois Speed Week at Fayette County Speedway.

The best way I can describe how I felt about everything was that we had a decent night at Fayette. I’m definitely not satisfied with the results we had, but I’m glad I learned some good lessons along the way.

We started fourth and finished fourth in a pretty stacked heat. It’s never easy when you have Cannon McIntosh on the pole and my teammate, Logan Seavey, coming from the back of the field at the start. I felt like we were solid, but we just didn’t have quite what we needed to move forward and that hurt us a little bit when it came to passing points.

Based on where we stacked up after heat races, we started on the pole in the semi feature – that’s what some other series call the B main. We knew we had to end up in the top six in that race, and we did what we needed to do to finish second in the semi.

Our semi finish put us starting 18th in the A feature. The tough part about the race was that the track went slick early and was hard to pass on, but it did have a nice curb and was a ton of fun to race on.

We ended up finishing 14th in my third race with the team. As a racer, I’m competitive and I always want more, but I can’t complain too badly about where we’re at right now at all. We lost a lot of track time early this year because of the weather, so really we’re still learning each other as a team and trying to figure out what we need in order to succeed.

Tonight marks the second race out of four this week, and I’m really looking forward to racing again at Jacksonville Speedway! The good news is that I’ve been there before, so I already know some of what to expect and some of how the track races.

We actually finished fifth there in an unsanctioned race we ran at Jacksonville a couple of weeks ago, starting eighth and having a shot for second late in the race. I feel like, if a couple things had gone differently, we might have even been able to fight for the win in that one, but it was still a great learning experience – even if we did flip there in hot laps!

All in all, I think we made a great go of it on Thursday and now we’ve got three more days to build on, so I’m ready to keep after it and I’ll see everyone at the race track!

Read Love’s prior entry at the link below:

Speed Week Diary: Jesse Love Raring To Go!

INDIANAPOLIS – Terry, Austin and Carson McCarl will be competing in the Rayce Rudeen Foundation race, sanctioned by the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions, at 34 Raceway on July 28.

“The McCarls have been so supportive of our Foundation since we introduced it to the sprint car community. They have run our decal on their cars for the last few years, so to now have them competing at this inaugural event means a lot to us,” said Kevin Rudeen.

The McCarls, who grew up racing around Iowa, are looking forward to participating in this event as a family and are excited about the awareness it will bring to the area.

“I grew up watching my Dad race in West Burlington. It’s an incredible facility, a great track with a lot of dedicated sprint car fans,” Terry McCarl stated, “I hope that this event brings more awareness to the topic of addiction. Most of us can say we have been affected by it in some way- addiction don’t discriminate. I think what the Rayce Rudeen Foundation is doing with this race is brave and I admire Kevin for sharing his story in order to help others affected by this.”

The Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers swapped defensemen on Friday, with Matt Niskanen joining Philadelphia and Radko Gudas going to Washington.

Niskanen was part of the Capitals' run to a Stanley Cup title in 2018, but his productivity dipped last season, as he had his fewest points (25) since 2012-13 while his per-game time on ice was his lowest in five seasons in Washington.

"We would like to thank Matt for all of his contributions to our organization for the past five seasons," general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. "Matt is a consummate professional and was a big part of our success. We wish him and his family all the best moving forward."

Gudas reached 20 points for the third time in seven NHL seasons. MacLellan complimented the 29-year-old on his "competitive, physical game."

The trade also gives the Capitals some salary-cap relief. Washington will take on $2.345 million of Gudas' $3.35 million for 2019-20, after which he will be a free agent. Niskanen is under contract for two more seasons at an average annual value of $5.75 million.

The Capitals have a number of free-agent decisions to address this offseason, including winger Brett Connolly.

The New York Islanders have re-signed winger Jordan Eberle to a five-year contract before he could reach free agency next month, the team announced Friday.

Eberle's deal is worth $27.5 million and counts $5.5 million against the salary cap. Unlike former captain John Tavares, who left for Toronto last summer in free agency, Eberle decided to commit long term to the Islanders, much like teammate Brock Nelson did recently.

"I like the direction the Islanders are going," Eberle said. "From day one, my mindset was to try and get a deal done."

After re-signing Eberle and Nelson, general manager Lou Lamoriello still has captain Anders Lee and goaltender Robin Lehner as pending unrestricted free agents. Eberle said he talks to Lee but won't try to launch a full-out campaign for him to stick with New York.

"Ultimately it'll be up to his decision," Eberle said. "Anders is on his own path. No one can really blame him for taking his time or going to free agency. He's earned the right to that."

In 2018-19, Eberle had 19 goals and 18 assists in the final season of a six-year, $36 million contract he signed with the Edmonton Oilers. He added four goals and five assists in the postseason as New York reached the conference semifinals.

Eberle's best offensive season came in his second year in the league, when, as a 21-year-old Oiler, he scored 34 goals and added 42 assists. He hasn't equaled either number since. In his two seasons with the Islanders, he has 44 goals and 52 assists.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara confirmed he suffered multiple fractures to his jaw when he was hit with a puck during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Blues in St. Louis.

Chara, speaking to reporters at the Bruins' end-of-season availability Friday, said his jaw was being held together by two plates, wiring and screws for the last three games of the Final, won the the Blues on Wednesday.

"It's an amazing job on this," Chara said. "They were able to put [it] together quick -- 36 hours from the end of Game 4 to Game 5."

The 42-year-old Chara said the expected recovery time is 5-6 weeks. He also is planning to have an MRI for the lower-body injury that kept him out of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Carolina Hurricanes.