Angela Bancroft, Wild Bear Winner

Tri-Maine Athlete Profile: Angela Bancroft

Angela Bancroft was an unlikely winner of the women’s overall at the Wild Bear Sprint Triathlon.

Late last summer, while training for the Lobsterman Triathlon, she fell off her bike while crossing a wet, pot-holed train tracks. She slammed to the ground landing on her shoulder and banging her head. “As soon as I fell, I knew something was really wrong,” recalls Angela. “I pulled myself off the ground and rode home, unable to move my arm. As soon as I got home, I passed out.”

Initially, medical attention focused on the minor concussion she sustained in the fall. The x-ray on her shoulder did not show a break, and she quickly regained some rotation and strength. The problem was that she could not swim. After physical therapy failed to restore function, Angela had an MRI. She was referred to a local surgeon who was pessimistic that Angela – a lifelong swimmer and runner – would be able to resume her pursuit as a triathlete.

“That’s when I started to do some research. I did some digging and found OA,” Angela says, referring to Orthopaedic Associates of Portland, a specialty orthopaedic practice with a focus on sports related injuries. “OA took my desire to get back to competition seriously. They got me in quickly, and gave me a super-thorough evaluation. They respected my goals and aspirations. Dr. Endrizzi was honest with me about what I needed to do, and he was optimistic that I would be able to race again.”

During surgery in early January, OA surgeon Dr. Donald Endrizzi, who specializes in shoulder related injuries, discovered that Angela had a rotator cuff tear that was very difficult to see even using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Surgery was scheduled, and Angela began the long road to rehabilitation and recovery.

“The first six weeks were really hard,” says Angela. “My arm was in a sling. I was not allowed to move it at all. I could not drive. I could not run. Mentally and physically, it was tortuous – there were times when I thought I would never race again.”

Angela took her rehabilitation process seriously. Slowly but surely, she regained her strength. In March she was able to start running again. While her aerobic capacity was greatly diminished from lack of training, her fitness came back quickly. She began to ride the bike again in April, and she returned to the pool in late May.

Responding well to rehabilitation and training, Angela set her sites on the Timberman 70.2 half-iron man on August 19. She did not plan to compete in the Wild Bear in late June, but some of her friends were doing it. She felt good in training, and most importantly, there was an open spot.

“Winning was not an objective for the Wild Bear,” relates Angela. “I was there with a few of my friends to have fun and get back into competition. The swim felt great, and my arm did not hurt at all. I came out of the water first in my wave, thrilled that there was no pain. I transitioned quickly and headed off on the bike. I immediately lost my water bottle, but I kept on going. No other women passed me on the bike leg of the race. I was really excited, and I began to think I might be able to win the race. The run felt good, and I passed a few more women. I had an absolute blast doing the race.”

At the close of the race, just before leaving with her family for Connecticut, Angela checked one last time to see if the results had come out. Angela won the Wild Bear women’s overall with a time of 1:18:20.

“I was overwhelmingly surprised and excited by the win. I could not wait to tell OA and my physical therapists about how much I appreciated what they had done for me.”

Watch out for Angela Bancroft. While she may have been an unlikely winner of Wild Bear, she now is a likely favorite for Timberman and Lobsterman later this summer.