Giulia Steingruber injured her knee in July and is missing the rest of the season because of it. She gave an interview to Aargauezeitung about dealing with the injury and her goals and dreams.
The translation from German was done by Emma Bateman.
Sunday, July 8th 2018, Saint Etienne. Giulia feels a pop in her left knee as she finishes a tumbling run. It’s an ACL tear and meniscus damage, meaning at least six months out for the Olympic bronze medallist on vault. She says that she had just begun to feel fully fit again since undergoing minor surgery on her foot at the end of 2016. But Giulia Steingruber plans on carrying on despite a difficult few months.
Q: How are you today?
A: Really good. My physiotherapists, doctors, and the entire team are all satisfied, so I am too. I’m doing a lot. I go to the gym once a day so I can be with the rest of the team as well as doing upper body conditioning. I’m on the right tracks.
Q: You’re still training in Magglingen with your teammates. Why is that?
A: It’s important for me to be here so I can support the team when that’s what they need. It’s good for me to be in my normal environment. It’s also important to me that the team and coaches know that I’m here. I spent one week at home for everything to settle down and so that I could recuperate after my surgery. But now I’m back in Magglingen and it feels good.
Q: What were the weeks after your diagnosis like for you?
A: I was still doing conditioning, even when I was going around on crutches. That wasn’t so easy, but I learnt to accept it quickly. It’s a case of taking one step at a time. Everything was clearer because I had a date for the surgery, and it’s easier to stay relaxed when you know you’re moving forwards. Of course, it’s a difficult setback, but it can’t be changed. The hardest time was right after my surgery, when I had to spend six weeks on crutches.
Q: Were there times when you couldn’t deal with what had happened?
A: Of course. A lot came to the surface while I was in the hospital, since that’s where I had a lot of time just to sit and think. I think that’s totally normal though. It would be strange if that didn’t happen. But gymnastics is still my passion and I have my set goals. It doesn’t do any good to keep asking myself why it happened.
Q: Did you consider retiring?
A: Well, the thought crossed my mind. But I quickly realised that I still can’t leave gymnastics, so I shut that thought out straight away. I definitely don’t want to end my career on a negative note. I would regret it so much if I didn’t give it another shot.
Q: How did you deal with the negative thoughts?
A: It was extremely important for me to begin committing time to mental training right away. It’s important not to forget how it feels to compete. That really helps me.
Q: How do you do that?
A: I lie down, close my eyes and imagine myself doing well at a competition. I do my routines. I need an external and internal understanding of what’s going on. For the external understanding, I’ll watch a video of myself competing. For the internal, I think about how I set my hands on the vault, and what I see. That’s when it’s just me, without music.
Q: You won’t be able to compete for a year. How are you finding that?
A: It’s really hard. I still have to keep up my motivation somehow, especially now I’m seeing everyone else compete while I just stand at the sidelines. But I have to take it one step at a time. The more I’m allowed to do, the easier it is to be patient. What’s really important is that I keep moving forwards.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I have a check-up with my surgeon in two weeks, when I hope I’ll get the green light to be able to do some things on the apparatus again- like walking along the beam or swinging on bars. I have to start slow and be patient. I should be allowed to start vaulting again in January, and then go back to full training again in April. Those are my short-term goals. I want to be able to compete at world championships at the same level I was at before my injury. The long-term goal is still the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Q: Do you worry about not being able to reach your old level?
A: First of all, I need to get back to doing gymnastics. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to reach that level again. I have to be very careful with landings, even though I know my knee will be able to withstand them. But I know I’m not a young gymnast anymore. I have to be more and more cautious. I still have time, though.
Q: Your life is so different at the moment. Can you still find the positives?
A: I have more time to focus on school (laughs). That’s not a bad thing at all as I have my final exams in February. I have the time to knuckle down now. I think it’s been good to give my body a chance to relax, too. Right now I’m trying my best to pick out the positives and to focus on them.
Q: You’ve had bad luck with injuries since the last Olympics. Do you think this is as a result of the strain put on your body over the years, or it’s just a fluke?
A: I knew that I’d need surgery on my foot at some point. When I had two falls on floor in Rio, it became clear that it was the right time, because I couldn’t go on like that. But I’d say that what’s happening with my knee right now is just bad luck. On the other hand, my workload has been very heavy over the last few months- I was giving one hundred percent both in my studies and in training. I was working pretty much at full capacity. Sometimes your body can react to that. But I could equally just have fallen down the stairs. It’s just one of those things.
Q: You were at the Swiss Championships last weekend as a spectator. How was that for you?
A: It wasn’t easy. A lot of people don’t understand how long it can take to come back to gymnastics following a serious injury. It’s not immediately obvious that I’m still injured, so I find it exhausting when I keep getting asked why I’m not back yet. That can be irritating.
Q: Basel is the host city for the 2021 European Championships. Would that be a long-term goal for you?
A: That’s still so far away. I think in four year cycles. It would be great to be there, but it’s too early to say.
