Sam Williamson's Road to Recovery

By Simon Smale

Topic: Swimming

Sam Williamson burst onto the scene at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Sam Williamson apologises as he ducks away for a brief moment.

His six-month-old golden retriever puppy, Alfred, is going berserk.

Some complaining about the 28-year-old's new companion follows upon his swift return.

I read somewhere that a golden retriever's fight or flight response is to try and make friends, he tells ABC Sport.

He's a bundle of joy, Williamson continues.

Just a welcome breath of fresh air and one of the more beautiful things that came out of last year.

Last year describes a time like a weighted blanket thrown over the career trajectory of one of Australia's most impressive swimmers.

Heading into the 2025 World Championship Trials, Williamson was flying high.

Samuel Williamson won the 50m and 100m breaststroke at the 2025 nationals.

He came within 0.02 seconds of his own Australian record to win the 50-metre breaststroke and won the 100m.

Everything seemed to be gearing up for the swimmer to retain the world title he won in Doha in 2024.

Then, disaster.

I was in the gym doing a warm-up that I'd done for the last four years, Williamson recalls.

Just a very, very regular Wednesday afternoon training session.

And unfortunately, just a complete freak accident.

I just put my foot down in the wrong spot before I went to take off for a jump and never left the floor.

The result was devastating.

Am I actually going to be able to do this again?

Sam Williamson was flying high right up until a fateful Wednesday morning a year ago.

Williamson immediately knew that this wasn't a straightforward injury.

I completely ruptured my patella tendon, tore it just from one side to the other of my kneecap.

I was lying on my back clutching at my knee, but my kneecap was about halfway up my thigh.

It certainly wasn't something you want to look down and see.

Williamson is so affable that an ironic comment he made about Alfred earlier comes roaring back into focus.

He's about as athletically gifted on land as I am, I guess.

Yet so horrendous was the injury he suffered on that Wednesday morning, that to joke about it seems crass.

The road to recovery would not have been possible without the VIS.

For me, it would have been a 48-hour period where I was concerned that swimming was completely out of the question.

There was a genuine reality of, am I actually going to be able to do this again, let alone walk again?

Fortunately, Williamson was treated immediately.

He credits the team at the Victorian Institute of Sport with getting him straight onto the path to recovery.

I saw a doctor within 30 minutes of me doing it.

Coming out of surgery Friday morning, to have a surgeon walk in and say something along the lines of, he's been doing this for 25 years now and it was one of the worst he's ever seen.

Just hearing that the surgeon had faith in me, that I'd be able to get back.

I was back in the gym four days out of surgery.

Sam Williamson spent many hours in rehab at the Victorian Institute of Sport.

The VIS continued its support after his surgery, while Williamson's partner Linnea moved over from Sweden.

If it wasn't for those people, I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today.

But it's because of those incredible people around me that I can comfortably say I'm in a better position.

I am mentally and physically stronger than I was when I was injured.

The countdown, the motivation and the pain.

Just days after his surgery, Sam Williamson had a target date for his return to competition staring down at him.

Williamson made his competitive return at the Victorian state titles, swimming a hugely creditable 27.08 for 50 breast.

It's not winning any world titles, but in season it's not an awful time to throw down.

That swim had taken on a disproportionate degree of importance for Williamson.

That provided motivation aplenty.

Every single day, there's someone else out there in the world training right now.

Somewhere there's someone in Australia who's seen me miss out.

There's somebody out there in the world right now saying, Sam's not here to defend his title.

Sam Williamson's return to competitive swimming was a relief full of emotion.

That was what got me out of bed every single morning.

There is no more powerful driver than sitting on the couch watching what should have been you.

That's not to say the process was easy.

Williamson says watching the trials in Adelaide was one of the lowest points he has experienced.

Watching the World Championships in Singapore was even worse.

There were plenty of dark times while Sam Williamson waited to get back to full fitness.

Watching the race at Singapore was one of the many times I was sort of brought to tears.

At that point, I still couldn't do anything unaided.

I was just getting off crutches, I couldn't drive myself anywhere.

And even that, I needed help to get in and out of the shower.

Sitting there and seeing what everybody else was accomplishing at that moment was devastating.

Watching the 2025 World Championships take place without him in Singapore was painful.

That being said, it provided genuine motivation.

It got me off the couch, Williamson says.

If I had been sitting on the couch watching world champs, having swam and missed out.

But to have to sit there and watch, knowing everything I'd done had been right, up until that moment … this just isn't fair, it's devastating.

But you know what, as my hero, Macho Man Randy Savage says, the cream rises to the top.

Sam Williamson was unable to defend the superb gold he won in Doha.

While Williamson is focused on rising back to the top of the pile and winning gold in the pool.

In fact, Williamson's return to competitive action will be greeted as warmly by those looking forward to him swimming.

There's a line out the door, Williamson says when asked if he has been swamped for orders ahead of the Australian Nationals.

I've always loved cooking.

I think cooking is where I am at my most comfortable.

It's where I'm at my happiest and, you know, cooking for the people I love.

I'd like to think I've diversified what I bake a little bit, however, the hot cross buns are one of the things I'm most famous for.

Racing for Australia one of the most beautiful things about the sport.

Sam Williamson won four medals at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

That might be true among the swimming community, but Williamson wants to be known for his swimming first and foremost.

Williamson first announced himself as a genuine star of Australian swimming at the Birmingham 2022 Games.

The proud Victorian notes it's incredibly disappointing that the Games will not be held in his home state.

Being a homegrown athlete at a homegrown Games would have been the best marketing opportunity since the invention of cereal.

The swimmer had been hoping to compete in his own state at the Commonwealth Games.

I'm going to have to wait until Brisbane now to have that opportunity to get a Games on home soil.

I would have loved the idea of having my grandparents and all my family in the stands cheering me on.

But, you know what, now that it's a 24-hour, one-way flight just to get over to the UK, that's not necessarily feasible for everyone in my family.

It is a real shame that it won't be here in Melbourne, but, you know what?

Putting the disappointment of missing out on a home Games and the benefits that would have entailed aside.

Williamson says the Commonwealth Games is hugely important to him, and he is desperate to cap his injury return with a medal haul in Scotland.

Sam Williamson says representing Australia is beautiful.

The Commonwealth Games will always hold a really, really special place in my heart.

Comm Games was the first team I missed out on back in 2018.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games was the first time I had the opportunity to represent Australia.

ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation.

Williamson says there is something beautiful about walking out behind the blocks and seeing the word Australia next to your name.

When you compete domestically, you've got three letters that denote the club you swim for.

In that moment, I realised that I was no longer swimming for myself, but I was swimming for the seven-year-old in me.

I think that was really special, and that's something that will always stick with me.

So coming back four years later and having the chance to hopefully cement myself on that … Commonwealth Games team for a second time.

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