World Leader Leme Recovers from Broken Ribs
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – World leader Jose Vitor Leme is trying his best to stay in prime riding shape, and the 2017 World Finals event winner has now ridden three practice bulls at his ranch in Decatur, Texas, as he recovers from broken ribs.
Leme rode a simple practice bull away from his hand on Tuesday night, and he believes he is now 100% after breaking three ribs in Kansas City, Missouri, on Feb. 29 when The Right Stuff slammed him into a steel pole at the bottom of the bucking chutes at the Sprint Center.
Leme said at the end of last week that he is ready to resume his pursuit of a $1 million World Championship.
“It is my first practice after my injury, and I feel very good and I feel strong again, and I am ready for the next event in the PBR,” Leme said Friday evening.
When that event will happen, though, remains in question with the PBR on hiatus for the time being as COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to spread throughout the United States and the world.
“You can’t do much to treat broken ribs, only rest and rest. I just continued at home, doing work here on the ranch and taking care to recover soon,” Leme said with the help of Miriaham Garcia translating. “This coming week I will return to practice as I normally do to get back into shape.”
The PBR has not held an event at any level of competition since hosting the Gwinnett Invitational on March 14-15 in Duluth, Georgia, in a closed, non-public setting.
“I’m really looking forward to riding again, but I’m feeling good,” Leme said. “This week I’m going to practice again to get back to PBR at 100%. I think that this situation that we are going through is difficult for everyone, but life cannot stop. We have to continue working to live.”
Leme said he had just recently bought his latest practice bull from Clay Taylor of Rafter C Cattle, and that he was grateful to have another good bull in his pen at home.
Leme missed the last two Unleash The Beast events because of his broken ribs, but he still holds a 72.5-point lead on injured two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood.
Lockwood expects to be out of competition until mid-September as he continues to recover from reconstructive surgery on his left hamstring.
The 22-year-old has been keeping fans up to date with his recovery via his Instagram.
Meanwhile, No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira is 93.75 points behind Leme in the world standings. Vieira gained 56 points on Leme with his third-place finish in Little Rock, Arkansas, on March 6. The 35-year-old returned home to Brazil for the time being, though, to make sure he is closer to his family amidst the coronavirus following the Gwinnett invitational.
Leme is most of all thankful for the efforts taken by brave healthcare professionals and first responders, and he is hopeful a vaccine comes to fruition for COVID-19 in the near future. He understands just how serious a threat the virus poses to people’s lives, and not just the economy.
“I think this was already expected, with everything that is happening in the world, scientists already feared it, but nobody thought it would be now, and the virus came at a time that took everyone by surprise,” Leme said. “I believe that soon the solution to this problem will arrive. There are very intelligent people in this world who must already be close to a vaccine for this virus.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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