Monique (Pua) Sawicki rescues Georgia Gould

[Koke]

From Pua's website:

"Written by: Ron @ 1:01 pm
First I want to let everyone know Pua did not want me to write this but I feel so proud of her and so glad she was in the right place and looked the right way at the right time to help make this a past race a better one.
This Saturday was the Santa Ynez National XC races near Santa Barbara, CA. The temperature was over 100 degrees and many riders would find it a struggle just to survive the race in such bad conditions. Pua being from Hawaii felt good about the heat but both her and I started to come down with something the day before the race which made us somewhat nervous.
At race start the scene appeared to be normal, Georgia Gould darted out front and Pua was just behind in the chase group. After one lap Georgia had a nice gap of just over 2 minutes but Pua had fallen back to around 11th position. After the race she told me at that she felt sick, dizzy and body aches so her focus was just to survive the race and move on. Half way through the final lap Georgia appeared focused and on track to take the win although her lead had shrunk slightly she showed no appearance of any problems.
We have not yet been able to find out what Georgia remembers but something bad happened on the way to the last climb. Pua had dropped back to around 15th position and was climbing the final ascent when something blue in the brush caught the corner of her eye. She turned to find Georgia down well off the trail, dehydrated, overcome by the heat and unable to stand. Pua told her she would get help and road up the hill only to find nobody in sight. She went back down to Georgia and began to try and help her alone. Georgia had no liquids at all with her and luckily Pua had grabbed extra water at the final feed station. She attempted to move Georgia to a better location but it was to difficult since Georgia could not even stand on her own. Pua called out to another racer (Heather Ronoa) and asked her to go back down the hill for help. Heather did find help and soon returned to assist Pua in moving Georgia to a better location. The two women were able to nurse her back and by the time the medics came life was back in Georgia eyes and she asked Pua what happened. A little while later the ambulance showed up and they were able to get her out of the heat and to the nearest hospital. We have since learned that she is ok and was let out later that evening. I am very proud of Pua for sticking with her and also proud of Heather for stopping to help, you are both heros. We are also very glad Georgia is ok, she is an inspiration to us and many, many people who ride and we are just very happy it turned out this way.

Ron Sawicki"

From VeloNews:

"Gould built a two-minute advantage on the rest of the women’s field. But up the final climb of the day, roughly 15 minutes from the starting line, Gould dismounted her bicycle suffering from heat stroke and dehydration. The 2006 national champion was taken in an ambulance to a nearby hospital where she spent four hours being hydrated with an IV."

[Dino Brown]

[CPATCRASH]

Pua rocks! Glad to hear all are OK.

[Impy]

It is always nice to know that our cycling heroes also have hearts of gold! Way to go Pua, and glad georgia is ok! Heat stroke is no joke.

[CC]

Originally Posted by CPATCRASH

Pua rocks! Glad to hear all are OK.

+1

[Koke]

VeloNews update:

A conversation with Georgia Gould

"The longest winning streak in NORBA/NMBS cross-country history came to a close this past weekend as Georgia Gould (Luna) recorded a DNF at the third round of 2008, held in 100-degree heat in Santa Ynez, California. Kelli Emmett (Giant) crossed the finish line first to take her first-ever NMBS cross-country win.

For Gould, who took eight straight NMBS wins from 2007-08, the rare abandonment came after a frightening bout with heat stroke and severe dehydration.

The 28-year-old owned a two-minute advantage heading into the last 10 minutes of the sun-baked race when she lost the ability to steer her bicycle in a straight line. She stepped off her rig and sat down by the side of the trail to rest, and passed out. The next half hour, Gould admits, was a bit hazy. Eventually she was rushed to a nearby hospital.

“I must have passed out. It’s definitely the craziest thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” she said.

VeloNews caught up with Gould to find out what she remembers from that hot day in Santa Barbara County.

VeloNews: Well first off, how are you feeling now?

Georgia Gould: I’m ok; I’m feeling things out. I’ve been laying low and hydrating and just playing it by ear. It’s not like I have any lingering pain other than the soreness from racing. It’s definitely one of those courses where you are sore afterward from all of the climbing.

VN: So what’s the last thing you remember?

GG: Once I was in the hospital and starting to come back to life I started to remember the last things before I went out. I was riding up the last climb, like 10 minutes from the finish, I can’t believe I was that close. It’s ridiculous I was that close. The last climb was this sort of double-track trail mowed through the weeds going up a switchback to a ridgeline, and then you just drop down to the finish. Anyway I remember riding through these big weeds and I just couldn’t stay on the trail. I was riding into the weeds and then I’d over-correct and ride into the other weeds. Then I stopped being able to stay on my bike and I kept tipping over, so I decided to get off my bike and walk. But I couldn’t even push my bike. The last thing I remember was sitting there wanting to find a tree to crawl under, but there was nothing. It was just this hot open hillside.

VN: Yikes, what happened next?

GG: Well afterward people told me that while I was sitting there I kept telling people I was ok when they rode past. Lea [Davison] said I cheered for her as she went by. I was like “really?” I guess I was just wandering around in the weeds. I do remember vaguely that Monique Sawicki and Heather Ranoa stopped. I think they were both riding in the top 10, and it was really selfless what they did. They stayed with me and waited for help to come. I can remember them looking at me and I couldn’t understand what they were saying. People started asking me questions like what month it was, and I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know. Simple questions, and I’d be like “Give me a few minutes, I’ll come up with the answer!” They asked me if I knew where I was, I said no. I had to think about it, and I kept thinking I was at Sea Otter.

VN: Was that the hottest temperatures you had raced in?

GG: Honestly it didn’t feel hotter than [the NMBS in] Phoenix last year. It was hot, but I thought, “Aw just suck it up, it’s hot for everyone, go faster!” I was really going hard, as hard as I could, just trying to put the heat out of my head and not focus on it. I remember rolling through the feed zone on the last lap and taking off my gloves because my hands were so hot. When they found me on the hillside they said I was bone dry, not even sweating any more. You know when even I look paler than usual something is wrong.

VN: Do you remember how you coped with feeling your body shut down? Did you feel frustrated?

GG: It’s difficult to explain. I just felt like a different person. I told myself to get back on the bike, but my body said, “No, you have no balance.” So I was like well, push the bike up the hill, and my body said, “No you have to sit down. You are done!” I’ve never had that happen to me. And then I just couldn’t communicate or process information. That was scary because no one knew what had happened, they thought I had crashed. Then I got worried and was like, “Oh god did I crash? Am I ok?” From about 10 minutes on after Monique stopped I just don’t remember a thing.

VN: Well it must be frustrating to have your NMBS winning streak end this way.

GG: Ha, well if you’re not going to win you might as well go out with heat stroke and on a stretcher! It’s fine; it’s really no big deal. Yeah, it was scary as all hell, but you can’t win every race. I’m just sorry that my drama had to take away from Kelli [Emmett]’s victory. She rode really strong all day, and I’m stoked for her.

VN: You seem to have found away to keep good humor about the situation.

GG: Well, I can now. I’m OK, I feel normal again. But it was pretty scary. I was lucky [husband] Dusty [Labarr] was there. You know when you’re really hurt and people keep saying, “You’re going to be fine!” Well he’s always honest with me but he told me I was going to be OK."

[Burdman]

Awesome Pua!! You rock girl!!
Ron....I'm stocked you decided to do this write up and let everyone know what happened; it's a great example of Pua's phenominal character, professionalism, selflessness, respect & etc, as well as many of these other great professional athletes.
Scott

[aukmal]

I just finished reading a story in Sports Illustrated about a private school in Hawaii (Punahou) that was rated as the top sports program in the US by SI. One quote stood out, "The most important thing...to get out of this program is how to LOSE WITH GRACE and WIN WITH HUMILITY."

I've had the chance to talk with Monique a few times and from what I know and see in her is that, she embodies this spirit...maybe it's a Hawaiian thing.

How many of us lack this understanding (...lose with grace and win with humility). Whether it be in sports, forum banter, relationships, business, or otherwise.

shaka

[KeepsWhatHappens]

Rock On Monique!!!

Way to go and major props to you to realizing when helping a fellow human is more important than ANY race.

I wish you and Ron continued success in your endeavors!!

The Warriors miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John

[shudder]

I know of no other sport where competitors stop competing to care for one another. That is the most impressive thing to me -- knowing that winning is why they are out there, but that safety of self and others prevails over everything, always.

I have seen Pua do this before, and was amazed and humbled by her willingness to help someone in need. In that case, during the Jan 07 12 Hours of Temecula race, she pulled my son Willie out of the bushes where he'd fallen and gotten stuck (couldn't unclip), hiked his bike up a hill, made sure he was okay, then got on with her race -- and she still readily handed everyone their asses to boot, winning the race with 11 laps in 10:55. Unbelievable.

Way to go, Pua! You're the best!!

shud