Achilles' heel saves arm of strongman

But after a pioneering operation in which a dead man's Achilles' tendon was grafted into his arm, he has become a Scottish champion in his chosen sport.

McCarroll's unlikely success is down to groundbreaking medical techniques, allied to a remarkable capacity for physical recovery that has amazed and inspired his peers.

His battle began two years ago when he was flipping tractor tyres in preparation for a "strongman contest".

He felt his left arm give way as he grappled with a 420kg wheel and collapsed to the floor. The powerlifter from Dumbarton, who weighs 18st 5lb and has biceps measuring 18.5 inches, recalls a sickening "snapping" sensation.

"I'd compare it to someone cutting the strings on a guitar with a pair of scissors," he said. "I just fell to the floor and curled up. I was rolling about for around a minute in complete agony, and my whole arm went black and blue. After that, I couldn't feel a thing. I'd severed all the nerves."

McCarroll, a train driver for ScotRail, had sustained a rare injury known as a distal biceps tendon rupture.

The large muscle to the front of his upper arm, usually attached at the top to the shoulder and to the radius bone below the elbow, had snapped.

Rather than simply tearing, the entire tendon had separated from the bone altogether, retreating up his arm "like a roller blind." The prominent bump left by the rolled-up muscle has lent the injury the nickname "Popeye" in weightlifting and powerlifting circles.

McCarroll was told his powerlifting future was uncertain. He said: "There was no guarantee that I would be able to compete again."

It was suggested that tendon from his hamstring could be used, but McCarroll had his doubts. Such a procedure would only weaken the power in his legs, a vital asset in his sport. And so, in July 2008, he underwent a five-hour tendon allograft operation at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in which the donor's Achilles was grafted into his arm.

Dr George Galea, director of tissue services at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), said: "It is a pretty rare operation. The vast majority of tendon donors are used for knee operations, but to use it in the biceps is quite a pioneering thing."

Improved medical techniques have led to the increasing use of Achilles donors. Figures from the SNBTS show five tendon transplant operations were carried out in 2004/5 compared with 42 last year.

Within a week of the operation, he was back working out at Dumbarton's Marinecraft Gym, home of Dumbarton Amateur Weightlifting Club, where he has trained since 1986, building up his legs and shoulders.

It took two months until he was able to fully straighten his left arm, but last month, his recovery was clear for all to see.

At a sports centre in nearby Clydebank, he performed a bench press of 160kg, a 242.5kg deadlift, and squatted with 272.5kg pressing down on his back.

In what is his first ever powerlifting event, he was announced the winner of the 125kg category of the British Powerlifting Organisation's Scottish Open Championships.

Hamish Duncan, Scottish representative of the BPO, said: "I've been in the powerlifting scene for 40 years, and I've never heard of anyone go through the kind of operation Darren did. It's a pretty amazing development."

Duncan, a qualified powerlifting referee who witnessed McCarroll's triumph, said: "It was brilliant. Darren made a remarkable recovery. He must be a very quick healer to have got to this level so quickly. That type of injury can end careers."

McCarroll is now concentrating on training for the British Championships in Bath in April, and hoping to take part in the European equivalent in Iceland the following month. "I'm just pleased to get to a good standard and I'll give it a bash," he said.