Alexandre Despatie looks towards the crowd after competing in the 3 meter open final event at the Canada Cup diving competition in Montreal on May 6 , 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
June 26, 2012 - 1:57 PM
MONTREAL - Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie said he's pleased with his progress since resuming physical activity last week.
Despatie suffered a concussion two weeks ago after hitting his head on the board in Madrid while training for a Grand Prix event.
He was hospitalized and required surgery to close a 10-centimetre wound near his hairline.
On Tuesday, the two-time Olympic silver medallist provided an update on his recovery.
"Things are going great," Despatie said in an audio recording released by Diving Canada. "Obviously it's a process, there are steps to follow which I'm doing.
"But I haven't had a headache in five days even though we're increasing the training, which is a really good sign."
Despatie, from Laval, Que., said the stitches were scheduled to be removed later Tuesday.
He plans to resume regular training soon and is hopeful that he'll be ready in time to compete at the London Olympics next month.
"The biggest test in my rehab I think — mentally and physically — is yet to come and it'll be going back in the pool, starting diving again," he said. "Obviously it's the same idea to go one step at a time and make sure that everything goes the way it should be.
"But in general we're really progressing forward, which is the most important thing."
Despatie, 27, was injured while practising an inward three-and-a-half, during which his head spins back towards the board during rotation.
He won silver in springboard at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens to become the first Canadian male to earn an Olympic medal in diving.
After breaking his foot a few weeks prior to the 2008 Games in Beijing, Despatie won silver again.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012