Vannerson Returns to Elite Racing Six Weeks After Collarbone Break

Six weeks after breaking his collarbone in a bike crash, USA TRI National Team athlete Reese Vannerson stepped back onto a World Triathlon start line — and finished.

Vannerson made his triumphant return to racing at the World Triathlon Cup Chengdu on May 9 on the same course where he claimed his first-ever World Cup victory a year earlier. He finished 29th — not the result he was built for, but a result that came six weeks after a crash in Haikou, China, left him in an ambulance, wondering when he would race again. 

"I have never really had to deal with something like this before," Vannerson said ahead of his race in Chengdu. "My whole career, from youth to elite, has always been go, go, go. Being sidelined in the middle of the first year of Olympic qualification gave me time to sit with my thoughts and emotions — and to practice patience and fortitude." 

Vannerson followed his May 9 race at Chengdu a week later by racing on May 16 at the World Triathlon Championship Series Yokohama — the highest level of World Triathlon racing — where he placed 31st. Again, not up to his usual standards, but Vannerson showed a toughness and grit to even work himself back into shape following the first significant injury of his career.  

The recovery was not straightforward. Collarbone injuries pose a particular burden for triathletes. Running returned first. Cycling followed. The pool came last, with overhead swimming movements taking the longest to rebuild comfortably. For nearly two weeks, Vannerson did almost nothing. Then came physical therapy, three times a week, until his body remembered what it already knew. 

His coach, Parker Spencer, watched it happen up close. 

"Reese making it back to the World Cup start line just six weeks after breaking his collarbone is nothing short of incredible," Spencer wrote after Vannerson’s race in Chengdu. "I watched him beat the odds over the past month and a half to get healthy and ready to test himself again. While it wasn't the fairytale result, we hoped for, I couldn't be prouder of him — and I know a podium finish is coming in the near future." 

Vannerson crossed the finish line in Chengdu, the same city, one year later. Different circumstances — and, in some ways, a harder version of the same challenge: showing up when the outcome is uncertain. 

"My mind is in a great place," he said before the race. "Thanks to the many people who helped over the last six weeks, my body is ready to compete again. I look forward to fighting for more wins and podiums." 

That fight continues. The race results in Chengdu and Yokohama are merely data points — not the destination — of the just-budding career for the future star.