From laying on the ground in Lima to running out onto the pitch in Tokyo, Mark Pearson overcame the odds in dramatic return to play
Six minutes into the 2019 Pan American Games Gold Medal match, Mark Pearson fell to the turf in what looked like an innocent play off the ball.
“It honestly wasn’t a lot of pain. It just felt like someone had kicked me in the back of the leg,” Pearson said, reflecting on the moment he went down. “But I’ve coached and played enough hockey to know, those non-contact injuries can be the scariest.”
The whistle blew and his teammates, Scott Tupper and Adam Froese rushed over to him to check on him. Pearson said he had a ‘floppy foot’ and knew immediately that this was a major injury. Not only would this take him out of the gold medal game, but he thought this could also have been his last moment in the national team colours.
Mark Pearson in the Pan American Games finals, moments before he tore his Achilles tendon. (Photo/Yan Huckendubler)
“I pretty much knew right away; ‘Doc’ Prasad put me up on the physio table and confirmed it that it was an Achilles tendon tear,” Pearson said. I knew this Olympic cycle was likely — and is likely — to be my last. So, at that moment there was a lot of emotions. I was laying there, thinking that this could be my last game for Canada.”
Canada lost to Argentina in that gold medal game, meaning they didn’t automatically qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Instead, they had to play a last-chance FIH Olympic Qualifier at home against Ireland scheduled for October 2019. With so much uncertainty, and a torn Achilles tendon, Pearson wasn’t feeling optimistic about what lay ahead for him.
Two weeks after the injury in Lima, Pearson was back in Vancouver and under the knife. He knew the faster he could get the surgery, the faster he could be back in contention for the Tokyo Games, should the team qualify. The surgery was performed by Dr. Dory Boyer. Boyer has worked as Team Canada’s medical doctor at multiple Olympic Games and has a surgical office in New Westminster, B.C. Boyer also performed David Carter’s surgery a few months after Pearson’s.
“We’re really lucky in Vancouver to be surrounded by so many good sport medical doctors. Between ‘Doc’ Prasad and Dr. Boyer, I felt like I was in really good hands,” Pearson said, also noting his support network of teammates and family. “I was really relient on friends and family. I lived with my mom after the surgery. Scott Tupper actually drove me out to my appointments. Being that my right foot was in a boot, I relied on friends and family to drive me around.”
Pearson understands that major injury comes with the territory of being an elite athlete. His career has been bookended by surgeries. When he was 20, he suffered a broken finger that required two surgeries to tidy it up.
“I’ve been lucky to been mostly healthy for my career,” Pearson said. “Just the finger and now this one. If you play sport long enough, these things are going to happen, unfortunately.”
Mark Pearson has now suited up in three Olympic Games (2008, 2016 & 2020). (Photos/Yan Huckendubler)
Pearson has played for the Men’s National Team since he was a teenager. He has logged 282 caps as of the 2-4 Netherlands match in Tokyo, fifth all time in the Canadian cap list. He was the youngest member of the 2008 Olympic team and attended the 2016 Rio Games as well. He admits that directly after his injury, he genuinely wasn’t sure if he was going to make a return to the field, let alone get a chance at another Olympics.
“I think that’s why I was so emotional at the time. I didn’t want to end my career in that fashion. It would have been pretty shitty for my last moment in the Red and White to be hobbling off the field on one foot,” he said.
Even if Pearson was able to get back to full health for the summer of 2020, the team still had to qualify. Pearson was two months post-op, in a walking boot, on crutches on the sideline, while his team the team took on Ireland in back-to-back games at Rutledge Field with a Tokyo bid on the line. He said he was an emotional wreck.
“Oh, it was way more nerve-wracking than playing. I was on my crutches going from D to D. The way I was managing my stress by getting video of the corners, getting different angles; working with the forwards, trying to engage as much as a possibly could. Just seeing if I could help in any way. If I could give that 0.0001 percent of my help, of my coaching, of my cheerleading; that’s what I was going to do.”
Mark Pearson embraces Scott Tupper after Canada’s dramatic victory at Rutledge Field in October 2019. (Photo/Yan Huckendubler)
Canada came storming back in the second game, tying the game late and forcing a sudden death shootout. Froese danced in on net and scored the game winner and Canada had booked their ticket to Tokyo. For the team, it was a jovial, celebratory moment. For Pearson, upon reflection, it was a breath of life.
“It was amazing what we were able to do at Rutledge to get that job done and get ourselves back to the big stage. That’s why I love playing a team sport. These guys are my brothers, and that was an amazing moment for us and for our sport in this country,” Pearson said.
For the team, it was a jovial, celebratory moment. For Pearson, upon reflection, it was a breath of life. He said that in the moment, it was all about the team, but as the dust settled, he started thinking about what that meant for him and his career. Keeping in mind, this is prior to COVID—19 pandemic. Pearson understood he about seven to eight months to get back into full fighting form.
“My medical team of Boyer, Prasad and [FHC alum] Sean Campbell, all said it was possible to get back in time. They said it was going to be tight but doable. The surgery went really well and I trust the medical professionals to support and guide me,” Pearson said. “They told me it was possible, so I said, ‘let’s go do it.’”
The next several months were geared around getting Pearson back on the field in the spring. Then COVID-19 swept the globe and changed everything. The Tokyo Games were postponed for a year, giving Pearson a longer berth for recovery. Suddenly, Pearson had more time to play with. He said, like any recovery path, there are major ups and downs and COVID just heightened that.
“When the pandemic first started, I was cut off from all my medical personnel. So, I was just doing stairs and walking and band exercises at home and other rehab, but there’s no real substitute for seeing the professionals and having them work on you,” Pearson said.
But for every moment of struggle or challenge, there is an opposite moment of joy and celebration. Those moments kept Pearson pushing to return to full health.
“Honestly the biggest one, is when you first get your boot off and walk for the first time. It’s a mental thing. With the Achilles, I was shit-scared and had no idea what was going to happen,” he said. “So, I took my boot off and walked slowly and gingerly from one side of my apartment to the other. It was literal baby steps, but it was a huge moment for me.”
Pearson said when he first took his boot off, he didn’t know what to expect. (Photo/Blair Shier)
The COVID shutdown affected everyone differently. For Pearson, as soon as the team was back full time on the field in the summer of 2020, he was basically ready to go. He said those first sessions, he was still thinking about the injury, but as he got more comfortable, it started to fade away. Now, the only lingering effects are more to do with what role he plays on the field.
“I still feel like I’m not quite the player I once was, physically. In these last few months, it’s stated to come together. I feel like I’ve lost a step and I have to slightly change how I play the game,” he said. “The nice thing is that we have younger guys, who are stepping into that attacking role.”
Mark Pearson notes that the Tokyo Olympic cycle will likely be his final Olympic push for Team Canada. (Photos/Yan Huckendubler)
For Pearson, suiting up in an Olympic Games is one of the biggest honours a Canadian athlete can have. He said he feels fortunate to have another chance at it this year and is honoured to be included for a third time. He joins captain Scott Tupper as the only other three-time Olympian on the roster. The two of them lead a diverse Canadian team looking to upset one of the European powerhouses in their group and go for the championship bracket.
“I love the group of guys we have here. We have some amazing athletes,” he said, of the Olympic roster. “The nice thing with our team is we aren’t the same size puzzle pieces; we’re a bunch of different sized pieces that fit together nicely. We have different attributes and different skill sets.”
Canada will need to rely on those puzzle pieces slotting perfectly together for the rest of their pool-play games. They are currently 0-2 and will need at minimum a win and a draw somewhere along the line to have a chance to qualify for the bracket round.
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