Blake Williams learned his lesson the hard way.
Last year, the freestyle motocross rider made the trip to America from Australia for the AST Dew Tour ready for a successful season.
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Instead, he ended up breaking nearly every bone in his legs while doing an extra trick after a run in the season-opening event at Baltimore?s Camden Yards Sports Complex.
“You can make a stupid decision here and there, and it doesn?t ever pay off most of the time,” the rider known as “Bilko” said. “You just got to settle it down and take it easy.”
Following six months of rehabilitation, Williams got back on his bike, and on Sunday, the 23 year old returned to the site of the accident to capture the freestyle motocross competition at the Panasonic Open.
Williams impressed the judges with a 360-degree bike rotation and several flip combinations during his first run to post a score of 90.33, which was just good enough to hold off two-time defending tour champion Nate Adams? 89.33.
But it was even more impressive considering his history at the course.
After his final run in the finals at last year?s competition, Williams decided to try one more flip for the fans. But he over-rotated and landed on his feet, suffering extensive injuries, including two broken legs, a dislocated knee, 10 broken toes and a shattered ankle.
It took four surgeries to repair the damage, and still forces him to walk “like I?m 80.”
After his long recovery, Williams returned to America for his first competition in April and finished a disappointing sixth at the Moto X World Championships in San Diego. Leading up to this year?s Dew Tour, he had been touring Australia with the Crusty Demons Aussie Tour, which he said left him tired throughout the week after flying into Los Angeles on June 15.
But none of his previous competitions provided the mental roadblock he faced Sunday, when according to Adams, one of the hills was placed in nearly the identical spot as it was for Williams? crash.
“To come back and be able to put that out of your head and win, it says a lot about the dude,” said Adams, who nearly missed the competition as he recovered from a dislocated thumb.
Williams said as he prepared for his first run, the accident was in the back of his mind. It probably will be for a while as his top priority for the season is to stay injury free, especially with the X Games coming up next month.
“I held back a little today because I wanted to walk away,” Williams said. “Especially after what happened last year.”
