Gus Kenworthy Opens Up About Recent Health Issues
Last week, Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy revealed that he is suffering from the after-effects of a breakthrough COVID-19 infection that forced him to withdraw from a recent competition.
The silver medalist is trying to stay positive, since the Winter Olympics are less than two months away, but to make matters worse, he got sick with the infection not long after suffering a head injury that forced him to take time off from training early.
“Six weeks ago, I got a pretty bad concussion while at a training camp in Switzerland,” Kenworthy posted to Instagram, noting his added concern about the injury because he has suffered from “a few serious TBI’s (traumatic brain injuries) in recent years.” He took the next two weeks off to recover.
However, a couple days after returning to the slopes, Kenworthy got sick with a fever and chills. He took a COVID-19 test which came back positive for a breakthrough case.
“Despite being fully vaccinated, I had caught a breakthrough case,” he said. “I checked into a hotel and did a 10-day, self-isolated quarantine until I tested negative and was cleared to fly home.”
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Kenworthy might have been cleared to return to the slopes, but he noted that he has been experiencing ongoing issues with his head. He initially thought it had to do with the concussion, but now, after consulting with specialists, he believes his current symptoms might be “residual effects” from his case.
“Any time I’ve tried to work out or gotten my heart rate up, I’ve become very light-headed, disoriented, and nauseous,” he wrote.
Hoping to compete in the season’s first World Cup competition the other week, Kenworthy revealed that he felt dizzy and disoriented after the warm-up before the elimination round. When it was his turn to compete, he says he “felt completely lost in the air.” He decided to withdraw from the event.
Kenworthy also expressed concern about his ability to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
“With the Olympics less than two months away, I’m incredibly frustrated but trying to stay positive and hopeful that this will pass,” he wrote. “Not sure what else I can do but wait.”
Photos courtesy of social media
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