Lee Walburn’s resilience, mental toughness and grit paid off at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last month as he finished eighth in a field of the top 16 decathletes in the nation, just one year after tearing his Achilles tendon.

Going into the meet, the former Bulldog athlete and his coach hoped Walburn would be able to complete all 10 events without incident. The competition would be a gauge of his strength and determine if his dream of competing in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles was still viable.  

“My goal was to PR in all three throws, and then just be in the realm of closeness of things I've done before,” Walburn said, “I was super shocked with a lot of things, honestly.” 

That element of surprise extended to his fellow competitors, who were amazed Walburn was competing so soon after a major injury.  

“I was 100% confident,” he said. “I had done enough work. It (the tendon) should be strong enough to do anything, but we didn't have the time to set up three months of training before a big meet and have everything go perfect.” 

With enough training to regain strength but not enough time to work on all the intricacies of the decathlon, Walburn said it felt like he was winging it. Yet, he crushed several events and succeeded in throwing for two personal records. 

“I had only jumped off my foot twice on the long jump, off of a four step, which means a short approach, before this meet,” he said. “Then, to go to a meet and ... move back to a seven, and my first time jumping off the ground, not a box, it was terrifying.” 

He reached 5.94 meters, or almost 20 feet, in the long jump, despite his fear, and flew 1.84 meters in the high jump, a tad over 6 feet. 

Though he didn’t have high expectations for events requiring lower leg explosive power, he was thrilled with his performance in the hurdles. 

“I had never gone over the full height through 10 yet,” he said of his training. “They were pulled closer, and they were always shorter than the height you would normally hurdle at.” 

Despite the lack of full distance training, Walburn ran his first hurdle race of the year in 15.14, just three tenths off his personal record of 14.80. 

“That's crazy,” he said shaking his head and donning a huge grin. “That was just nuts.” 

While the jumping events were challenging, Walburn turned it up for the throwing events and even used a different technique for the shot put, which he sent sailing 15.28 meters for a PR. He threw the javelin 56.90 meters, and his discus passed the 50-meter mark, too, landing at 50.71 meters for another PR. 

“All I thought about the whole year was getting to this place and doing this and having this feeling,” Walburn said. “I just wanted to go back to the place where it happened and get over all the fear of everything. It was meant to be.”

JUST ONE YEAR ago, Walburn, who was born and raised in Whitefish, tore his Achilles tendon while competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials at Hayward Stadium. About a week later, he had surgery to repair the tendon and began his long journey back to competing. 

The first 6-8 weeks post-surgery were non weight bearing, a difficult state for most people but excruciating for a high-level athlete.  

“It literally took six months to do a true single leg calf raise.” he said, standing, then rising to his toes to demonstrate the simple motion. “It's the most frustrating thing ever, because I'm an athlete. I tell my body to do something, and I work on it -- I can get it to do it. 

“I can't tell you how many times I had to start a workout and just stop it. We couldn't finish -- something feels funky, you don't mess with it,” he said. “I wanted to continue, and you want to push through, but now I have to be a smarter athlete than I was before.” 

Returning to normal life after a major injury can feel like a Herculean task because other parts of the body are affected and one’s spirit and mental state can suffer.  

“There were so many times when you get devastated, truly, broken down and exhausted and just emotionally ... and I'm around all these athletes, watching them do amazing things and I'm stuck,” he said. “I'm working on just trying to walk normally.” 

Walburn documented his return to competition via social media, mainly so his family could follow his workouts, but he found it had another benefit. He said when he had tough days, he’d often look back on previous videos because seeing his progress provided some comfort and reassurance. 

ALTHOUGH HE graduated from Washington State University a month before the injury, his work as a coach gave him access to the WSU physical therapist, Bob Bashaw, with whom he worked, three days a week, for eight months. Then, he returned to his coach for event work. 

“My coach is the one who helped me the most and advocated and fought for me,” Walburn said. “I’m just super grateful to have met him and his family and I think it's cool to have someone who believes in you, even after something like that happened.” 

His college coach, Derick Hinch, stuck with Walburn and continues to coach the nearly 6-foot 4-inch athlete, despite a slew of personal challenges that arose throughout the year, including the loss of his job when Washington State University chose to terminate all its field events. 

Later this month, Walburn will join Hinch at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Walburn is excited to live, work and train in Arizona, home of 1996 Olympic gold medal decathlete Dan O’Brien, many great coaches and other high-level athletes. He is hoping to work as a coach at the Phoenix Track Club while he continues to train. 

“I’m a little nervous, just because it's different, a big city, but I think it'll be a really good thing and I'm excited,” he said. “I'll try to spend as much time up here (in Whitefish) and enjoy Montana before I go. 

“Since I've been home, my wonderful mom and dad have been encouraging me to take advantage of this time -- you only get to be an athlete for a certain amount of time,” he said. “In my career, I really haven't asked for help but once.” 

He said people who donated a GoFundMe campaign to get to the Olympic trials were “incredible.” 

WORLD CLASS ATHLETES work full time to attain greatness in their events. Five of the top six finishers at the USATF Championships are sponsored athletes. Walburn is unattached yet still needs support for groceries, gear, travel expenses to competitions, and physical therapy. 

“I have to compete with these guys,” he said. “I have to try to find a way to even out the playing field a little bit. Unfortunately, I have to ask for money.” 

He is trying to get sponsorships, and he’s assembled a packet of biographical information to share his story and rouse support from local people and businesses. He said $500 would buy his food for a month or two, or it could help pay rent. 

“That little stuff adds up,” he said. “If you want to be a big donor, you can but, honestly, anything helps.”  

Any amount of support would be seen as a tremendous gift to Walburn, who has proven his drive and determination to compete at the highest level.  

"You're putting money into someone who is truly going to make the most out of out of the help,” he said. “I'm stubborn. I just have this true belief that I can do things better than anyone else. That sounds cocky, but I just want to prove it.” 

Follow Walburn’s progress on Instagram @leefoxwalburn. 

For more information, email [email protected] or call 406-858-0565. 

To donate, Venmo @Lee-Walburn