Rio de Janeiro: Her Olympics campaign was shattered, she faces more rehabilitation and she's never felt worse pain, but Kim Mickle says she wouldn't change following her dramatic exit from javelin qualifying on Tuesday night.
Mickle, 31, popped her shoulder out while making her third throw in javelin qualifying at the Esatdio Olimpico – her first competition since having surgery 11 months ago following the world championships in Beijing.
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Rio 2016: Injured Mickle 'wouldn't change a thing'
Despite dislocating her shoulder in the javelin, Kim Mickle has no regrets about her time at the Games, and besides the painful injury "it was actually a good throw!"
The West Australian wandered around the stadium seeking help before being taken into the care of Australian team doctor Adam Castricum.
But the worst wasn't over. Her shoulder was unable to be put back in by doctors at a Rio hospital, and she needed to be sedated.
![Mickle is assisted by medical staff after dislocating her shoulder at the Rio Olympics.](/web/20161023031236im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/v/4/u/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqv4sv.png/1473813902803.jpg)
Speaking on Wednesday, Mickle wore a smile that belied her experience the previous night.
"[I'm] better now. The shoulder's in place. Last night was pretty horrible for the fact that it didn't go in for about three hours," Mickle said.
"Unfortunately I think I rehabbed it too well, because normally a shoulder can slot back in pretty easily but they said, 'your muscles are so tight and strong around it that it's not going to come back in'.
"They had two goes at it, and then they had to take me to hospital, and unfortunately they had to knock me out to get it in. It was a bit of an ordeal but now I'm feeling so much better.
"It was about the two-minute mark when I don't think many nice words were coming out of my mouth where I said, 'this is game over, you've got to stop. I need to either to be put under here, or chop it off'."
She also explained why it had taken a prolonged time to receive assistance.
"Unfortunately our medical staff aren't allowed on the field of play. Our team doctor Adam Castricum was sitting behind the javelin, and unfortunately there's a bit of a ramp or some cameras between the stadium and the track. I think he would have illegally jumped over and tried to get to me but he couldn't do that, so he had to do the big run around the stadium to try and find me.
"I was just trying to get under the stadium because I knew he would be doing the same thing.
"I think unfortunately there was a hurdles race at the same time as I was trying to get out, and not a lot of people knew what was going on in terms of my shoulder. My my main thing was to try and get to him and once I got to him everything was fine."
Mickle played down concerns about the length of time it took for her to receive assistance on the track, suggesting that officials couldn't have known the seriousness of her injury.
The world championship silver medallist maintained she was happy with the management of her injury leading into the Games, and her decision to compete.
"I definitely would have liked a better outcome, or a different outcome," Mickle said.
"I always said I was going to give it 110 per cent, leading in I proved the fitness. The scans [showed] the shoulder was in great shape. I threw at 100 per cent before I left, but everyone knows that the Olympic Games – that's where you throw 110 per cent.
"I think it's like rolling your ankle. Once you do it once in life you're probably doomed for the rest of your life to be a little bit susceptible to it."
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