Michelle Gisin, the desire to restart and the awareness of "not being able to do anything. It's hard to accept"

The Swiss champion, who was diagnosed with mononucleosis, interviewed by "Blick" about the prospects for a damn complicated Olympic season. "I had Covid in the spring, it could have affected my immune defenses".

Friday 30 July 2021 4 minutes reading time

A sporting and human drama, for a totally unexpected situation that risks compromising a year, that of 2021/22, in which the will is clearly to play for the World Cup, after having climbed the podium for the first time general a few months ago, and defend the combined Olympic title in Beijing. Michelle Gisin is going through some very difficult weeks after being diagnosed with Pfeiffer's glandular fever. A form of mononucleosis that forced her to stop training, with absolutely uncertain recovery times and the certainty of not being able to do anything. The journalist Mathias Germann of the “Blick” interviewed the Engelberg class of '93, who told with an open heart what they are experiencing. “There are times when I feel good, then worse again, it's a daily swing and as an athlete it's bitter to have to live with a state of health that leads me to pant after a few steps. It's hard to accept, because I can't help it ”. Michelle explained that there could also be a correlation with the Covid she contracted in the spring. “I got over it pretty well, with cough, fever and headache quickly passed, but I think my immune system may have been more vulnerable since then. I can't say for sure if mononucleosis was a consequence, but there may have been an impact, even though I was really fine up to four weeks ago. Then the muscle pains began, even without training ”. The Swiss champion is aware of "just having to be patient, thinking about next winter I can say that I will probably not be at the top for Soelden and maybe I will have to review the plans, but we will elaborate the plan only when I can go back to skiing and we understand my conditions" . Gisin is enjoying the Tokyo Olympic Games ("it's nice to enjoy the victories of my country, at least I spend my time like this"), while the phone calls with her colleagues were not lacking, starting with the one with her teammate Camille Rast, who has suffered from Pfeiffer's glandular fever in the past. “We talked for a long time, even Alexander Schmid (German gigantist) gave me advice. There are friends and above all my family and Luca (the boyfriend De Aliprandini, with whom he lives in Riva del Garda). This situation is not easy for him too ”.

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