An athlete in limbo: Marlen Reusser
Long Covid patients are often invisible, as the illness forces them out of an everyday life, disappearing from the public. Media coverage is similarly sparse. However, one case was recently covered in depth in the Swiss Media: cyclist Marlen Reusser, European champion and Olympic medalist, has been forced to withdraw from both the Olympics and the World Championships this year due to Long Covid.
A documentary was aired, in which you see her grapple with the new reality of being ill, having to avoid too much strain (such as a long interview) as otherwise she would pay for it the following days by being ill (the classical symptom of post-exertional malaise or PEM), and not knowing whether she’ll ever be able to compete again (sadly, I’d guess the outlook is not good, with a diagnosis of ME/CFS).
You can view the documentary here in German, some quotes:
- “We could have fun here, today, it’s not always the same, we could have along interview, that’s not the problem, I’d then pay for it in the next days. It’s totally crazy, I’m then sick.”
- “At the moment, I am chronically ill, and there are moments or times when I am better and times when I am worse, but I’m always not well.”
It’s impressive that Reusser is sharing this so openly, you can see how emotionally it is hard to come to terms with her new life. It is also painful to watch, how this humorous person and impressive sportswoman has been ground to a halt. I am grateful for her to share this experience, with so many aspects that I guess are common among long covid / ME/FCS patients, such as learning about PEM the hard way, uncertainty about the future, inability to continue your job or passion.
It’s also sad that even Reusser, who trained as a medical doctor and turned to cycling comparatively late, probably did not learn about post-infectious diseases and was just as surprised, overwhelmed and confused as everyone else, once symptoms didn’t go away.
I wish her all the best and thank her for sharing her story.