Keith Gater had an horrific accident that would end most careers; but he’s coming back
By Brian Canty
A little over 16 months ago, Keith Gater’s career looked over because if the tractor and wall he ploughed into wouldn’t kill him, the sight of his mangled limb surely would.
Coming screaming down a sharp descent on a regular training route on roads he knew so well, he has vague memories of the collision, but the agony he endured will never leave him.
“It’s all a bit of a blur, to be honest,” explains Gater.
“But from what I gather, I ended up hitting a low wall with my right leg with enough force that I landed 30 feet past the wall. It was the initial impact that did the damage - breaks in the ankle and the shin right up to just under my knee. I’m told it was about 45 minutes before an ambulance got there and about another 45 minutes or so before I made it to the hospital. I exhausted the ambulances supply of painkilling gas.”
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“A few locals came by to help and my club-mates stayed with me until the ambulance arrived. They also looked after my bike which was broken into several pieces - not all of it was found in the end.”
Four operations and several months of gruelling rehab later and his leg began to resemble what it looked like previously.
“I had the first of four operations in Waterford Regional Hospital later that evening where they built a frame around whatever was left of my leg to hold it together. I still have some titanium in my leg, so airport security scanners will be a problem in the future,” he said jokingly.
Gater had been enjoying the bike that year – work commitments kept him out of the Rás but he notched a top 10 in the Shay Elliott and 13th in the National Championships. A year previous he did better again with two wins in Fermoy and a solid second showing in the Rás.
But the accident changed everything and he decided it wasn’t worth the risk. He packed it in.
“I quit the sport - I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks after the crash but as soon as I got out, I sold all but one of my bikes and most of my gear.”
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However, that didn’t last too long and when Waterford Racing Club was set up last year his competitive juices flowed again.
“Over the Christmas break I decided to get involved in the club again from an organisational and coaching perspective; planning for a Criterium series that we held and which was a great success last summer at Waterford Airport.”
“Then, at the end of January, about five months after the crash, I did my first ride on the one last old bike I’d held onto. It lasted only a few minutes, just a slow lap around the block but when I got off the bike I knew that I wanted to come back. It took until late March before I could do a 90 minute ride without much leg pain and at that point I started training properly again.”
“By April I was riding with Waterford Racing Club’s ‘newbies’ and leisure section where I struggled to keep up initially, especially on the hills because I had put on nearly three stone from being confined to bed or on crutches for half a year.”
“At this stage I was enjoying the spins and also enjoying doing team manager in a few races. Later in the summer I did a few local league races in the A4 group which helped bring me on another bit. Truth be told, it’s really only in the last couple of months that I’m starting to feel recovered and more like my old self.”
Word quickly spread and when the Cork-based Aquablue team was set up over the last couple of months and began looking for riders, he got involved.
“One of my training partners - Robin Kelly - was talking with them and mentioned that I was on the comeback trail and starting to come around in training. I would also know Timmy Barry and the team from racing with them over the years. I was probably a thorn in their side at times in previous seasons but also an occasional ally.”
“It was a tough decision to take a hiatus from Waterford Racing Club but the club are very supportive of the move. WRC is a long term project and the club are taking the long term view that the experience of riding with as professional a set-up as Team Aquablue will be invaluable in the future to develop some local riders.”
“Myself and Robin will continue to train with them throughout the season but Team Aquablue really is a unique opportunity to ride with what will be the best team in the country next season. It’ll be quite a departure for me, I haven’t ridden in that sort of setup before but I get on very well with the guys involved so I am really looking forward to it.”
And because he was out of the racing scene, he said goals are very limited for now.
“I have no specific goals as of yet. I just want to get to the start line of the first race of the season in as good condition as I can. Hopefully I can pick up a few decent placings in the first few months and do my bit for the team and at that point my comeback would be considered a success. After that we’ll see what happens in the latter part of the season.”
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