Track rider Matthew Gilmore, of Chocolade Jacques-Topsport Vlaanderen, has had to retire at the age of 34 due to continued knee problems. Along with partner Etienne De Wilde, he won the 1998 World Championship and an Olympic silver medal in Sydney 2000 in the Madison. He also won a total of 17 Six Day races.
In July 2006, Gilmore crashed in a race in Ninove, Belgium, breaking his femur. However, the worst damage was done to his right knee.
The tendon was torn entirely through and there was a complex crack in the knee cap. He has had two operations on the knee, the last being in February of this year. His attempts to return to racing were cut short by chronic tendonitis and pain, and at last the doctors recommended that he retire rather than risk further damage. "This was a heavy blow for Gilmore, to have to end his career at this point,” said Team Manager Christophe Sercu to HLN. "He still wanted to go the 2008 Olympics in Peking."
Gilmore, who was born in Gent, was the son of Australian track and Six Day rider Graeme Gilmore, rode with the Australian Institute of Sport track team in the early 1990s, before moving back to Belgium. He suffered another serious crash in 1998, shortly after wining the Worlds. A mechanic standing too close to the track in the Herning Six Day race in Denmark brought him down, leaving him with a broken shoulder, punctured lung, and internal bleeding. However, he was able to make a successful comeback.
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