By Dylan Nazareth

The weeks leading up to nationals are stressful enough for any skater.

For 2024 national bronze medalist Hetty Shi, it was more like a nightmare when she hurt her foot just ahead of this weekend’s competition.

“I was really worried,” said Shi, speaking after practice Friday morning. “When I first injured it, I was like, oh my god, I only have two weeks left, this can’t be happening.”

She says the injury came off a bad landing in training, causing a tendon issue in her left foot.

“It was a jump, and it was like my foot kind of collapsed in a way,” she said. “From then on, I wasn’t really able to skate with it.”

It was an unfortunate setback in what has been a tough season for her, affecting her ability to practice with nationals on the horizon.

“I wasn’t really training normally going into this,” she said. “For the first week [after the injury], whatever was hurting, I just didn’t do.”

Miraculously, she was able to give it proper attention and put herself in a position to be able to compete.

“I had a lot of physio, a lot of therapy for my foot, so I was able to resume training normally last week,” she shared. “We have a really good support system close to my rink at the CSIO, so they helped me a lot.”

After surviving this last minute hiccup, Shi’s continuing to show her resilience in the face of tough situations. And headed into today’s short program, it’s all about keeping the right attitude.

“I feel very excited and very happy to be here,” she said. “I want to stay positive and have fun, and that’ll get me through it.”