FULL FOCUS ON RECOVERY

After my fall on Sunday, which was only a week ago, I hit an emotional low. I was lying in the snow, was in great pain, I felt sick. At first, I was terrified of having broken my thigh. During the ambulance ride and then at the hospital I was feeling anxious and hopeful.

The situation had already reminded me of my previous serious injury and the operation. There are automatically negative thoughts. "Not again", "Why?" or "Why now?"…Yes, why now? In the past weeks, my form had been so consistent; I had been more comfortable and felt great.

I was so relieved when I got the all-clear that nothing was broken or torn. It took a load off my mind!

Meanwhile, I'm feeling alright again. My body is still hurting, every step is a challenge and I’m feeling every fiber of my body. That is obvious after a fall head first into the snow at 120 km/h. What is hurting the most right now is my thigh. It is full of bruises, still bleeding slightly, all quite painful.

However, I am on the mend and focus on my recovery as much as I can. Step by step. Of course, we also try to work it out, why it happened, what went wrong. A thorough analysis is just a part of such a fall. Then - close the chapter.

Primarily, my focus is on the future. Mentally, I already have a roadmap for the next few days and weeks in my mind as to how it could work. However, my body has to cooperate. My body just needs some time now. Lymph drainage, physiotherapy and passive movements are on the agenda for the time being.

I believe that there is something positive in every injury. The situation is another big challenge and I want to face it. Falling down and getting up. I will row back a little, then take a running start and see where it is leading.

Let’s hope it leads to the World Championships. The World Championships in Lahti is definitely on my mind, I admit that. However, I will not force anything with the crowbar, try and stay humble and patient. I will only participate if I feel 100 percent ready in both, my mind and body and I feel that I can deliver a brilliant performance.

In the past few days, I have been thinking of Hermann Maier and his fall in Nagano a few times. He must have been in such pain. He was lucky despite having such bad luck and it actually wasn’t so bad in the end. Such stories fill me with confidence!