![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/aSara-Kempner-Panorama-seeding-6.jpg\")
<\/a>Bailey Goldstone on track at a Canada Cup in Panorama in 2023. Photo: Sarah Kempner\nA cumulative effect experienced over a year<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s crash wasn\u2019t Goldstone\u2019s first concussion. \u00a0She says her first major one was probably around age eight and has had several since. This one, she says, was different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last one in 2025, if felt like the big one,\u201d Goldstone says. \u201cAll of the symptoms were unleashed from all of my concussions, if that made sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
The list of symptoms Goldstone that came with last year\u2019s crash is harrowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was fatigued all the time. I needed to sleep all the time. Headaches. I\u2019ve been having a lot of vision problems, with my vestibular system. So when I\u2019m out biking and there\u2019s shifting light, it takes my eyes a really long time to readjust. That one\u2019s kind of freaky because I can\u2019t see for a second or two. I get quite bad vertigo and I have no depth perception.\u201d<\/p>\n
While she says some have improved, it\u2019s still requiring a serious shift in her day-to-day life a year on.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy headaches are a lot better. I only get them sometimes now whereas before it was kind of like 24\/7 that I had a pretty bad migraine. I\u2019m less fatigued, but I\u2019m still definitely more fatigued than a should be. I\u2019ve been working on my focus, just how to manage a lot of the symptoms. That\u2019s made them better. But I think a lot of these symptoms are going to be long term, if not permanent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several of the symptoms are already requiring significant changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve slowly developed a speech impediment over the years as well, which seems to be related to the concussions. I\u2019m still noticing headaches quite often, say after I\u2019ve had a big day. I have a hard time concentrating if there\u2019s noise around me. So I have a hard time going out to restaurants if there\u2019s other conversations happening. I\u2019m back at university and staying focuses is quite hard to do, as are screens. Screens give me quite bad headaches. Since the last concussion I\u2019ve actually had to get glasses.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of that means that, while Goldstone\u2019s been able to do some activity, she hasn\u2019t raced since the last crash.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made the decision to stop racing quite easy, because I just kind of was able to look at how I\u2019m feeling and my symptoms and how they\u2019re not getting better, or like they are getting better, but they\u2019re not completely going away,\u201d Goldstone says. \u201cAll but one of my concussions, except for one were in some form of race. The other one was in competition. Regular biking and skiing, even walking down the street, I\u2019m at risk for a concussion. But definitely I think taking away racing will put my risk way down so I can still enjoy doing some sports, \u00a0hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
A warning to younger riders<\/p>\n Goldstone says that, while she knows a lot more about concussions now, and how to treat them, she wishes she\u2019d had that knowledge when she was younger and dealing with her earlier injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cHindsight is 2020, but I just wish I took them seriously, because I really didn\u2019t\u201d Goldstone says. \u201cConcussions are hard because everybody\u2019s different. For me, I find that I actually feel okay after the crash, but then the next week I can look back and see that I was not ok. So I definitely didn\u2019t take them very seriously because in the moment they didn\u2019t feel as serious.\u201d<\/p>\n Goldstone admits that she could have been better informed but also a consequence of a collective changing understanding about concussions and recovery protocols. She adds that the conversation around head injuries in mountain biking, especially in downhill, could still be better.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m trying to spread the message. So people, hopefully, will take them more seriously and not end up in my position.\u201d<\/p>\n Wear a mouth guard<\/p>\n Goldstone\u2019s adamant that prevention is as important as recovery. One important step to help prevent, or at least minimise the impact of a concussion is a mouth guard.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t do any sports without a mouth guard. I always wear it biking or skiing. It\u2019s a requirement for me,\u201d Goldstone shares. \u201cI think more people should know that. I think a lot of my concussions could have been way worse if I wasn\u2019t wearing one.\u201d<\/p>\n While Goldstone wears a custom fitted guard from a dentist, even a basic guard could have some benefits.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of concussions happen when your jaw snaps together and your teeth snap shut when you hit your head,\u201d she explains. \u201cThat can have a bit impact on how heavy a concussion is. So a mouthguard can significantly reduct that part of the impact.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re reading this and thinking, \u201cDon\u2019t they have concussion protocols now?\u201d Well, sort of. First, those protocols didn\u2019t exist 15 years ago when Goldstone started racing (thinking back to my own, single concussion, the advice I was given was nearly the opposite of what is recommended today).<\/p>\n But there\u2019s also a disparity in how those protocols are applied, or enforced. Some riders have teams with enough support staff to notice a crash, and resulting changes, and support a rider in deciding not to race. But if you\u2019re on a smaller team or on your own, there might not be anyone but your friends telling you to sit a race out. That pressure can be different if, say, you\u2019ve invested significant savings to get to just a couple World Cup\u2019s hoping to make an impression.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I definitely think that some riders who have coaches or physicians who can tell them to step down, I definitely think they\u2019re at a bit of an advantage,\u201d Goldstone agrees. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of my friends who worked so hard to get to a race, they just push through it. I definitely notice that when I don\u2019t have someone around me whose able to notice my symptoms and tell me to back off, I\u2019m just going to push through them.\u201d<\/p>\n Goldstone adds that there is an effort at the top level to make that kind of support available outside of the team structure, so any rider would have access.<\/p>\n While Goldstone\u2019s step back from racing isn\u2019t by choice, she says she\u2019s proud of what she accomplished and \u201cready for the next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really really, really proud of myself for everything I did,\u201d Goldstone says, adding \u201cEspecially considering I was working a full time job the whole time. I think a lot of people don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite carrying full time work along with training, the Canadian accomplished quite a lot during her career. The two national titles stand out the most.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I won nationals in 2022, it was a bit of a surprise to myself. I was coming off a six-month-long recovery, where I had a concussion and two broken arms. I had actually kind of written off my career at that point. I raced for fun and ended up doing really well,\u201d Goldstone shares. \u201cIt was a huge surprise to me. I was not the most suited for the Kicking Horse track.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Godlstone earning her first elite title in 2022. Photo: Sara Kempner
\nAren\u2019t there protocols for this?<\/p>\n<\/a>Bailey Goldstone drops towards the finish area in Fernie. Photo: Andrea Heath
\nLooking back at a career to be proud of<\/p>\n