Tragic injury ends Paris 2024 dream for Alberta volleyball player

BANFF – Watching the Summer Olympics on TV from home wasn’t supposed to be part of Pearce Eshenko’s plans this year.

Coming off a strong professional season, the national team volleyball player was closing in on becoming a first-time Olympian, a titanic goal he’s been chasing for a while.

But a broken leg has thrown out the script, which is the result of a tragic injury during tryouts less than six weeks from Paris 2024. There isn’t much else the 26-year-old middle blocker can do now except support his Canadian teammates from afar.

“When your dreams are as big as the Olympics, obviously they have a way of becoming part of you and to have that just taken away in a flash is truly heartbreaking,” said Eshenko. 

“But at the same time, I know whether or not I made that roster, I was still performing and presenting myself in a way I can be proud of as an athlete and a person and even though this bone is broken, it doesn’t change the way I approached the seasons leading up to that moment.”

On June 18 in the Philippines, during a Volleyball Nations League indoor game against Japan, Eshenko’s season ended on a routine play that he’s done hundreds of times this season.

With a lot on the line for a guy like Eshenko, who was one of 18 Canadians fighting for a spot on the 12-man Olympic roster, the Banff native was playing injured.

The most discomfort was in his left ankle.

“I had quite a bit of Ibuprofen in me and the ankle was taped and I was really pushing through pain the entire game,” said Eshenko.

During the incident, Eshenko jumped up to block a spike at the net and landed awkwardly, sending the six-foot-nine middle blocker to the ground immediately.

“I just fully landed on my left leg, the leg that is injured, and the only difference is my body knew it didn’t want to go into that ankle flexion position,” he said. “Because of that, your ankle flexion absorbs a lot of force when you land, and … the force went into the tibia and it broke.”

Eshenko tried to stay on the court and in the game, but he said he knew it was bad.

“I couldn’t really walk without a limp as soon as it happened so I knew something pretty serious was going on,” he said. “I had to sub-out because I couldn’t perform anymore. I couldn’t play.”

Eshenko suffered a non-displaced fracture on the bottom of his tibia, meaning the bones have remained aligned and he doesn’t need surgery. The timeline for the bone to heal is about four to six weeks – when the Summer Olympics (July 26 to Aug. 11) will have started.

Dr. Michaela Kopka, an orthopaedic surgeon at Banff Sport Medicine, works with athletes and said Eshenko’s injury is common and he’s in a good situation for full recovery.

“Younger people, especially when it comes to bone and soft tissue injuries, do generally heal faster so that’s one thing going for him … but if he was much older then he might be slower to heal,” said Kopka.

On Monday (July 8), Volleyball Canada announced its 12-man roster going to Paris 2024.

“To choose the Olympic team is not simple and I want to thank all the players who have worked so hard for this dream to be in the Olympics, including those who are not on the roster,” said Tuomas Sammelvuo, Volleyball Canada’s men’s head coach, in a media release. 

Eshenko, a member of the S.L Benfica men’s volleyball team in Portugal which recently won the Portuguese Championship, said there are takeaways from this experience for him, but the sooner he can lace up and move forward, the better.

“I have a lot of friends on the [national] team, guys I really care about and guys I know really care about me so I’ll still try to support them in whatever way I can,” he said.

Canada's first game is July 28 at 1 p.m. MST against Slovenia.