Latest news with #Craigie
Metro
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Metro
Sam Craigie feared for career after neck surgery but now feels better than ever
Sam Craigie feared he may never return to snooker after recovery from neck surgery did not go as planned, but now feels his game is better than ever. The 31-year-old was enjoying increasingly encouraging results on the table, with a UK Championship quarter-final in 2022 and a German Masters semi in '24. However, a problem in his neck was getting worse and the issue eventually became so bad Craigie was forced into surgery, but only after some impressive results despite the pain. 'I think I've had it for a long time,' Craigie told Metro of the neck injury. 'For a good few years I had stiffness in exactly the same place. But it was only my last season where I just thought it was unbearable. 'The German Masters run was absolutely bonkers. I told the officials before every match that I might have to withdraw because the pain was so bad, but every match I just flew. It didn't make any sense. 'My last match at the [2024] World Championship was similar, I played really well. I had tonsilitis as well, you couldn't write it. 'I played well considering I woke up and sat in the bath with the hot shower on because I was freezing and sweating. I was just trying to warm up before that match. 'I think I had eight 50-pluses and lost 10-8 to Jiang Jun. He's a good player by the way.' As that season ended Craigie moved to solve the ongoing problem, although he didn't know what the issue was for some time. 'I was seeing GPs to start with and they all were telling us different things,' he said. 'One of them told us I had a tear in my shoulder. One of them thought it was the muscles in my back. 'Finally they said I need to see a specialist and they said there's nothing wrong with my shoulder. I wasted like six months not knowing what was going on.' Anterior cervical disc replacement surgery was the answer, but the hope was that he would be back playing in a matter of weeks, which was not the case. 'The surgery was a no-brainer for me because the pain was unbearable, but he obviously expected the recovery to go a lot smoother than it has been,' Craigie explained. 'The Championship League was a week or two after the surgery and I tried my best to play but I could only get my chin a foot or two off my cue.' Asked if he thought his career could be over at this stage he said: 'Aye, definitely. 'Only in January I could really play again. I tried to play before that, but I couldn't do it. After half an hour I was just in pain. Then in January it got a bit better. I could manage a couple of hours.' The pain has not gone away entirely, but he is in a vastly better situation to a year ago. From January, with the game available to him again, Craigie hit the practice table hard to try and get back to where he was. 'I started doing 8-10 hour days, maybe 12 hours, because obviously I'm playing catch up,' he said. 'Obviously it causes pain, but I had to do it.' The hard work is paying off as, despite feeling like he had hit a peak before the surgery, Craigie is even more confident in his game now. 'I had a few really good results the last year I played,' he said. 'Good performances, where I started to think that I'm actually quite good, you know, because I never always believed that. 'Now, in practise, I've said to my dad and my brother that I actually feel better than I was. In practise I play a frame against myself and just clear up, just keep clearing up. You can't really lose can you? You can't really do much more than that.' The Newcastle cueist reached a career high of number 33 in the world in 2023, but after years of being touted as a player who could go further, he now finally believes in himself that he will do just that. 'A million percent, absolutely a million percent,' he said of his ability to do more than he has done in the game to date. 'A good few years ago I didn't believe what everyone used to see. I've heard it since I was 13 years old, that I'm going to be this and I'm going to be that. 'Then it took us a long time to get up the I did, my neck got cut open. It was unfortunate timing. 'I know one thing for certain, I'm practising more than everyone else. That is a fact. If I heard somebody who was doing more than us then I would have to up it, because they aren't playing catch-up.' Craigie actually lost his place on the professional tour as he could not play for a year, but was granted a new tour card due to it being injury keeping him out of the game. One unexpected bonus of his absence was how much he started watching the sport, which has helped him in his new, extremely long practice schedule. 'The best thing about it actually was that I've started watching snooker,' he said. 'My practise routine is completely different to what it's ever of the routines and shots that I'm doing I've never done before in my life. 'I'm watching some of the best players, watching games between them, picking out shots that most people struggle with and practising them relentlessly. 'I hate it, I absolutely despise it, but I've got it all written down in my phone what I'm doing every single day and there's no ifs, buts or maybes, I just do it until it's done. Sometimes it takes longer than other days, but I still get it finished. 'I'm actually learning, which I haven't really put much thought into in the past.' Craigie has begun his long road to climb back up the world rankings and continues it on Friday in British Open qualifying against Yao Pengcheng. MORE: Chang Bingyu returns from match-fixing ban with back-to-back wins MORE: Snooker chiefs reveal fines for Ding Junhui and Seniors champ for disciplinary issues MORE: Luca Brecel pulls out of British Open in bizarre start to his snooker season
The Irish Sun
16-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘I wasn't sure I'd play again' – Snooker star Sam Craigie reveals year-long battle with horror neck injury
SNOOKER star Sam Craigie has revealed his year-long battle with a horror neck injury, admitting: 'I wasn't sure I'd play again.' Craigie, 31, is one of snooker's top players after turning professional in 2011. Advertisement 6 Sam Craigie admits he almost gave up snooker after a major health battle Credit: Getty 6 The ace has spent almost a year recovering from a slipped disc in his neck Credit: Instagram @samcraigie_147 6 He was forced to undergo surgery after suffering serious shoulder pain Credit: Instagram @samcraigie_147 He boasts 101 century breaks after recording a best ranking finish of third at the 2021 WST Pro Series. But Craigie is currently listed at just 84th in the world after playing his last match in September 2024. The ace vanished from sight following his English Open qualifying defeat to Michael Holt, leading to questions from fans over his future. However, Craigie has now posted a lengthy statement online revealing that he has been dealing with serious health issues. Advertisement READ MORE IN SNOOKER Posting several pictures of himself in hospital with scarring around his neck, the ace revealed that intense shoulder pain and a slipped disc left him unable to play. Craigie admits the setback was so bad that he even considered giving up snooker. However, he is well on the road to recovery and even got his tour card confirmed earlier this month. Craigie is now in line to compete at the Wuhan Open qualifiers on June 23 against Aaron Hill. Advertisement Most read in Snooker And he is also scheduled for a British Open qualifier just days later against Yao Pengcheng. Cragie told fans on Instagram: 'Some of you might have been wondering where I have been on the World Snooker Tour. 'Not fit for purpose' - Barry Hearn slams Crucible with World Snooker Championship tipped to 'travel around world' 6 Craigie shared his X-rays on social media Credit: Instagram @samcraigie_147 6 The disc in his neck left the star in agony Credit: Instagram @samcraigie_147 Advertisement 6 He has now got his tour card back and is set to return to snooker later this month Credit: Instagram @samcraigie_147 'Well, it's been a bit of a tough time of late. For around a year, I had been in & out of the GP for shoulder pain. In June 2024, I was sent for an x-ray & MRI where I found I had a tear. 'From around then the pain became almost permanent, I nearly had to withdraw from most tournaments during that time but somehow had my best result in getting to the Semi finals of the German Masters despite the pain I was in. 'Once the season finished, I decided to see a orthopaedic surgeon who informed me the pain in my shoulder was most likely coming from my neck, which was confirmed by an MRI, showing I had a slipped disc. Advertisement 'I then decided to go forward with the surgery (C5/6 anterior cervical disc replacement) in July as the pain was unbearable. Thankfully, all went well, and I was discharged the following day, thinking I would be back to full health a few weeks after the surgery. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. 'The first few tournaments were only a week or 2 away at the time, but I simply couldn't get down to play a shot when I tried. I informed world snooker about the situation after withdrawing from multiple events. 'The following months, I couldn't do much at all. I wasn't sure if I'd even play snooker again. Around January 2025, I started thinking about snooker seriously again and slowly started having a few hours of practice. 'It was hard to commit to it due to still being in some pain while playing. A couple of months ago I started taking it seriously again. On Friday 6th June 2025 my tour card was confirmed so now I can get my head down and look forward to what the future holds.' Advertisement Fans were quick to praise Craigie, with one saying: 'It's great you're back in the game.' Another declared: 'Wish you the best.' One noted: 'Speedy recovery brother.' Another added: 'Glad you're back on your feet.' Advertisement
The Courier
09-06-2025
- General
- The Courier
Dundee PE teacher has taught at Craigie High for 36 years - now she's saying goodbye to closing school
Few people know Craigie High School better than Mary Johnstone. The principal PE teacher has taught at the Dundee secondary for 36 years. So its closure at the end of this month will really be the end of an era for her. She was joined by pupils Ava Hamilton and Eden Rihoy as she shared her memories of the school in its final days and spoke of the move to Greenfield Academy. Mrs J, as she is known, will go with pupils and fellow staff to the new school at Drumgeith Community Campus with Braeview Academy in August. And she says the reality of Craigie High closure is beginning to dawn on staff and pupils as they start packing up for the big move. She says: 'It's a great school to work in, it always has been. I think that's why I've been here so long!' 'The kids are great, the staff are great; you couldn't ask for more to be honest. 'We'll miss it because it's a very small school and you know everyone. 'But Craigie has had its day as you would say.' The building is now in poor condition. But Craigie High School's opening in 1970 was an exciting moment. Built at a cost of £935,000 – a fraction of the £100 million spent on Greenfield Academy and Drumgeith Community Campus – it was Dundee's first purpose-built comprehensive. Mary, 67, joined 19 years later. 'It was challenging then,' she says. 'We've come a long way from those days; the ethos in the school has really changed. 'We're very close. We look after one another, year groups look after year groups. 'We're a really nurturing school now.' As PE teacher, Mary has led sporting success over the years, including at Dundee schools athletic championships and in volleyball and water polo. She has also enjoyed school trips including to Austria and France. And she's onto her third generation of pupils. 'I have grannies coming to parents night now who came here!' She enjoys meeting former pupils out and about. 'You see lots of them in the town. I'll always get a call from someone saying 'Hi, Mrs Johnstone, or Mrs J' 'It's good to see how they've grown, and that they've got families.' There will be plenty of new pupils to meet at Greenfield Academy with Craigie and Braeview merging. And, having seen part of the new building and grounds, Mary is excited about the new environment. 'It is absolutely fantastic,' she says. 'The PE facilities are out of this world. 'It will be fantastic for the pupils.' Eden is also excited about the school – particularly its dance studio. 'That's part of the reason I stayed onto sixth year,' she says. Eden is Craigie's dance captain, having joined the team in S2. She has competed in the Dundee schools dance competition. She particularly enjoyed doing a burlesque number and this year's performance to One Night Only from the Dreamgirls musical. A highlight of fellow new S6 pupil Ava's time at Craigie has been the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme. She is trained to mentor her younger peers to challenge gender-based violence, bullying and other abuse. This, she reckons, will help pupils as they move into the bigger, new school. 'It was a good way for a lot of people to be more confident,' she says, 'and it was a good opportunity for the seniors to build close bonds with the younger years. 'I think it will help them going up knowing they have that friendly face in S6. 'There's a team of us that they all know that they can go to if they are struggling or lost, and I think that will put people more at ease going into such a big school.' The reality of Craigie High closure in the summer holidays will, Ava reckons, hit her fellow pupils in the coming days. 'I think it will be a good opportunity to make new friends,' she says. Eden has enjoyed her five years at Craigie. 'I actually really like this school,' she says. 'Some people have different opinions on it but I've had so many opportunities to do things I would never thought I'd be able to. 'It's quite a small school and the teachers know us.' 'It is a real community, ' adds Mary.
The Courier
07-06-2025
- General
- The Courier
Husband's moving tribute to Dundee journalist wife Terry MacCallum who died with ‘heart full of love'
Warm tributes have been paid to retired DC Thomson & Co Ltd journalist and 'lovely person' Terry MacCallum, who has died aged 65 after a long and brave fight against cancer. The much-loved mum and doting granny, who was a journalist on the People's Journal and then The Courier for many years, died peacefully in Ninewells Hospital on May 22. She ended her long career at DC Thomson in charge of the Craigie column at The Courier. It was a role she loved, before ill health forced her to take early retirement. She met her future husband Ross when she was transferred to The Courier production team as a sub-editor in 1990. Terry confessed later to him that she used to watch him as he arrived for work from the neighbouring Journal office at Bank Street. Ross and Terry were married in 1992. First child Andrew arrived a year later. He was followed by Katharine and then James. Terry gave up work to look after the children, returning to work when they were older. She initially worked on a project to design the compact sized Courier which relaunched in 2012 before moving to the features department and then becoming 'Mrs Craigie'. Leading the many tributes to a woman who 'made the world a better place', husband Ross said: 'A few days before she died, Terry told me: 'If this is my time, I go with a heart filled with love'. 'She was such a loving person and a lovely person. I feel so lucky and proud to have been able to call her my wife for nearly 33 years. She leaves a huge hole in our lives. 'She loved being Mrs Craigie and always went the extra mile with the readers, many of whom were older, often visiting them for long chats and cups of tea.' Terry was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. The cancer returned four years ago and the diagnosis was terminal. But Terry fought so hard with lengthy treatments of chemotherapy. The initial prognosis was bleak, but Terry was able to see many family milestones. Andrew and Nathalie's wedding was a particularly joyful day for the family. 'I thought Terry would burst with pride that day,' said Ross. And then granddaughter Eva came along in 2023. Terry loved being a granny and loved the two years she had to get to know Eva. Another milestone came last year at Glasgow Green when Terry, Ross, sister Gillian and brother-in-law Joe watched James win the grade 1 Piping World Championships with Inveraray. 'Such a special day,' said Ross. 'Terry hadn't been well in the lead-up to the event, but was determined to be there. She was quite breathless and tired, but so proud.' Unfortunately, the long rounds of chemotherapy treatment eventually took their toll when doctors discovered her heart had been damaged. She passed away very peacefully in Ninewells Hospital on Thursday May 22. Former Courier features editor Gillian Lord, who was Terry's line manager before ill health forced her to retire early, described Terry as a 'wonderful skilled journalist and editor' who 'made the world a better place'. Gillian said: 'She ran Craigie, one of The Courier's most popular sections, with a gentle strength that characterised everything she did. The readers loved her, and we loved her. She was kind, generous and quietly funny, and she was also a friend. She made the world a better place, always.' Courier journalist and former features editor Morag Lindsay added: 'She was honestly very likely the nicest person I've ever known. Just the kindest, gentlest, calmest soul who never said a bad word about anyone.' Tribute was also paid by DC Thomson & Co Ltd managing editor Graham Huband who said: 'I remember Ross once described Terry as the 'best of me' and that phrase stuck with me. 'As a colleague, Terry was never one to hog the limelight. But when it came to providing support for those around her – something as simple as a kind word for someone having a tough day – Terry was centre stage. She was the best of all of us in that regard'. Graham said that Terry's love for language and her dedication to her readers through her stewardship of Craigie was clear for all to see. He added: 'No-one who worked alongside Terry will forget her generosity of time and spirit and her passing leaves a hole in our newsroom that can never be filled. 'Our condolences and thoughts are with Ross and the family at this difficult and sad time.' Terry is survived by husband Ross, children Andrew, Katharine and James, and granddaughter Eva. Her funeral is on Monday June 9 at Dundee Crematorium at 11.30am.
The Guardian
04-04-2025
- The Guardian
Mark Haines coronial inquiry: police would have ‘turned that train over' if the teen had been non-Indigenous, uncle says
The uncle of a teenager found dead on train tracks 37 years ago believes racism hindered the police investigation and recalls a senior officer saying 'you never know what a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy would do'. Don Craigie, whose nephew Mark Haines was found on the tracks outside Tamworth in regional New South Wales, said police didn't take the family's suspicions about foul play seriously. Haines's body was discovered on the tracks in the early morning of 16 January 1988 after a train passed over it. 'That train would still be there if it was a white boy,' Craigie told an inquest re-examining Haines's death in Sydney on Friday. 'They would have turned that train over.' The initial police investigation ruled Haines lay on the tracks either deliberately or in a dazed state after a car crash. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter A stolen white Holden Torana was found near the rail line with the windscreen smashed on the ground, leading police to believe it had rolled. Haines's family and many friends told the inquest earlier this week that they maintained the teenager would never have driven or been a passenger in a stolen car. They also believed he was not alone when he died and have pursued rumours about Tamworth locals either being involved or knowing more about his death. Craigie told the inquest police didn't pursue all the information he gave them. A senior police officer, Ch Supt Alan Donnelly, openly dismissed him when they saw each other in a Tamworth betting shop, Craigie said. 'He said to me 'Don, you never know what a 17-year-old boy would do, you never know what a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy would do',' he said. Donnelly died in 2023. Matthew Varley, the barrister representing NSW police, asked Craigie whether that sentiment was something the force should denounce. 'It's not for me to form that opinion whether they should denounce it or not, that's for them,' Craigie replied. Varley showed Craigie a series of newspaper articles in which investigators appealed for more information in the years after Haines's death. Police also interviewed several people over the following decade, pursuing leads Craigie gave them, according to statements and affidavits before the NSW coroner's court. But Craigie insisted police did not adequately follow up his investigations and have treated deaths of non-Indigenous people very differently. 'I've seen a few deaths around Tamworth and they've pulled out all the stops,' Craigie said. 'And then there was others they did not pay too much attention to.' He added: 'We want to know how our boy died.' The inquest, which opened in April 2024, was due to conclude on Friday, but further hearings have been scheduled before the deputy state coroner, Harriet Grahame. For information and support in Australia call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for a crisis support line for Indigenous Australians; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 and Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
