Translation from German by Emma Bateman
Tabea Alt, the bronze World medalist on beam from 2017, has spent the past year trying to recover from a shoulder injury. She underwent surgery in October and talked to SWR.de about the tough physical and emotional journey that preceded the surgery. She tried multiple doctors that couldn’t find a solution. Only the 16th (!) doctor she went to, on advice from Fabian Hambüchen, properly diagnosed her and recommended the surgery.
“I just wanted to get out of this situation. I couldn’t keep going. I wanted to know what was wrong with my shoulder. What had been bothering me for more than a year? What was blocking me from being happy and back to how I was before? There have been a lot of points over the last year where I’ve had to be built back up and re-energized. I was at a point where, from my perspective, I couldn’t keep going.”
She could hardly even lift her bag or take a glass out of the cupboard by herself. She wasn’t sleeping properly for a whole year, because the pain in her shoulder was so severe. This period was especially
Dr. Ulrich Brunner, a specialist doctor at the Agatharied hospital, explains that Tabea Alt came in at a very low point:
“She could hardly do anything anymore. She was suffering from chronic pain but is now on the road to recovery.”
The surgery went well, and Alt is now recovering. She hopes to compete at the World Championships at her home country in October. She is still doing daily physical therapy sessions with Tobias Gienger, Eberhard Gienger’s son.
“I hope that my hard work and my determination are going to pay off. I know what I want and what has become important to me. So I can achieve so much, not necessarily just in gymnastics. I’ve learned to be grateful.”
Photo: SWR.de
