8 months after the tragedy that changed his life, elite Belizean cyclist Marlon Castillo is making progress on a reset, as an amputee adapting to and overcoming his adversities. And getting back on a bicycle again! Today we found out how Castillo's recovery is coming along. Jomarie Lanza reports:
In December of 2022 Belizean cyclist Marlon Castillo's cycling career crashed after a tragic mishap inside his meat shop, when his right hand got caught in a grinder. Castillo lost his right arm below the elbow, and prior to the accident, the cycling icon was on the brink of preparing for the 2023 cycling season.
Fast forward almost a year later and we today learned that Castillo's recovery has met great success after he was fitted for a prosthetic arm and has made several attempts to get back on his bike and out on the road in the US.
Andrew Ordonez, Owner, Ordonez Bike shop
"Well in any case like this it's something strange for him. He's coping well and he's in the rehabilitation process of, you know, trying to get accustomed to riding his bike with his new arm that has been fitted to his hand so he can ride his bike."
"I saw him briefly in New York and like I said this is just the baby steps he went for a short ride and so I don't really have all the details but he will definitely be back in Belize and will share all that information but he's very happy to be back on his bike. He gained some weight because you know he's not riding or exercising. Riding is his thing and being off the bike with his condition was tough on him but it's a light at the end of the tunnel as people would say and so Marlon is definitely looking forward to riding much more and being back on his bicycle."
And as for Castillo's future in racing Ordóñez says that he is hopeful that his fellow cyclist will still be able to compete in Belize despite his amputation. He says for certain races they might be able to bend the rules a bit for Marlon.
Andrew Ordonez, Owner, Ordonez Bike shop
"So normally maybe in Belize he will be able to ride with the group of riders here but once he have to leave the country he will have to represent Belize in the they call it the para Olympics so that's the people who lose arms or other parts of their body so I'm not sure about the cross country I'm not sure of the big races but it's up in the air so we will see how will he adapt to that condition because I have some friends that rode in Salvador and they met a guy with one hand he didn't even have a hand just one hand and he rode amongst the fleet but once it's in a race that's tied to the UCI they don't allow it but here in Belize he might be able to get away with it so hopefully he adapts well and is able to take part in some of the races."
At the time of his meat shop accident, the 36 year old Castillo was coming off his best cross country finish in the 2022 race when he finished fourth.
