In mid-September 2006 Talmadge tripped on the front porch at home and broke a bone in his right hand. The timing was unfortunate because there were two triathlons later in the month in which he had planned to compete. There was also the half-Ironman swim in November for Challenged Athletes Foundation. Talmadge couldn’t afford to forfeit training for that swim.

Julie Swail mentioned waterproof casts that water polo players would wear when they had broken bones, but she said they were heavy. There were no orthopaedists in town that had heard of waterproof casts. Dana Burns, one of Talmadge’s newest team volunteers, suggested an orthopaedist in her area. Although her orthopaedist’s office said Talmadge could be fitted with a waterproof cast, the office administrator said, “But you can’t swim in it!”

However, Talmadge did indeed swim in his purple waterproof cast. He was able to maintain his swim training during the 3 weeks he wore it. Unfortunately, he forfeited the September triathlons because the cast was too heavy to allow Talmadge to move easily through the water, and cycling with his cast would have thrown off his balance due to extra weight on one side. Due to his consistent training, however, he was fit for swimming 1.2 miles in La Jolla Cove for Challenged Athletes in November.