Biathlon | One year to the day since her physical problems began, Anaëlle Bondoux tells Nordic Magazine: “It’s been a long time coming and it’s a daily battle to get back to health”

Biathlon: Anaëlle Bondoux guest of Nordic Magazine

• First of all, how are you?

Inevitably, there are days when things go well and others when they don’t, because that’s what happens when you’re injured. There are painful days when you tell yourself that it’s going to be a very long time, and other days when things are going very well and you’re more hopeful. Your morale adapts to the pain associated with the injury. Generally speaking, at the moment, morale is good and there’s been quite a lot of progress with the injury.

• We’ve heard very little from you since the end of last season. In particular, you’ve been absent from social networks. Can you explain what happened to you?

First of all, the end of last season was premature for me after the world junior championships. It was a physically gruelling winter. From a distance, if you only look at the results, you can almost say that the balance isn’t so bad, even if there aren’t many races with a European junior champion title and a world junior silver medal. The reality is that it’s been a really tough season, both physically and mentally. It was marked by repeated illnesses… There was also the thumb injury just before the World Juniors, when we had to fight for three weeks to try and keep up a decent physical level with one hand missing. It’s been the hardest season for me so far and I finished it very worn out.

• What did you do after this premature end to the season?

I took a complete break from the world of skiing until the end of April. I thought I’d get a lot out of it, but I realised that I was still physically tired at the end of that period. It was also a time when I asked myself a lot of questions about this season and the future. The last few months have been quite complicated.

• Since the start of the summer preparations, you’ve had very little involvement in the French B team’s training camps. Why is that?

In May, I resumed as usual and, after a few weeks, my knees started to ache and the pain only got worse, despite rapid treatment by physiotherapists and a reduction in training. The pain only got worse until August. It was really very difficult. There were times when I could barely walk 500 metres without feeling pain. I went to the first course in May, but it was already very adapted with very few ski-wheels. It was complicated for me to be out of step with the group at the start of the season. I then did a stint on the second course, but I had to leave on the third day because of an appointment for some infiltrations. After that, the coaches and I decided to switch to a completely different preparation because we realised that I couldn’t keep up the pace with the injury.

• In August, you were in Bessans (Savoie) with your team-mates for a training camp. Was it important for you to keep in touch with the group?

I did spend a few days in Bessans to see my coaches Baptiste [Desthieux] and Julien [Robert] and the team. Not being able to enjoy the group is complicated when you’re injured. These are people I like and enjoy spending time with. It’s quite hard to be away from this second family. After the Bessans course, I didn’t go back to any other courses. I’m planning to go to the Summer Tour at La Féclaz, perhaps on Saturday, because I need to see the group and my coaches.

• Today, Thursday 9 October, marks one year to the day since you crashed while training on skis, suffering concussion. Was this event the starting point of your physical problems?

It’s actually a year to the day since I crashed downhill on ski-wheels when I lost a wheel. It was very violent because I fell at 40 km/h! Since that fall, I’ve never been able to feel like I used to. I had a concussion, which wasn’t diagnosed and so wasn’t treated quickly enough. After that, I had a month of headaches and nausea. After that, I had a winter of pain and illness. For me, that was clearly one of the triggers for this dark period. A concussion can have very serious repercussions. It all happened to a body that was tired from the last few seasons and several very intensive preparations. I realise that I’ve been struggling for a year now. That’s a long time and it’s a daily battle to get back to health.

• In early autumn, from 8 September to 4 October, you visited the Centre Jacques Calvé in Berck, in the north of France. How did it go?

The doctor from the French Ski Federation advised me to go to a rehabilitation centre in Berck, in the north of France, the opposite of where I live! The month I spent there was very positive. I was fully looked after, with physiotherapy sessions twice a day, muscle strengthening, swimming, balneotherapy… and even surfing at the weekends! This stay was very important for me because it helped me turn things around. Before I left, I hadn’t made any progress in over four months, with pain that changed but remained at the same intensity. I couldn’t see the end of it despite three infiltrations in each knee and all sorts of treatments tried. I made a lot of progress during the month I spent in Berck. I’ve regained hope and confidence in the healing process. It also did me a lot of good to be away so far, in a different environment. It was important for my mental health to have this clear break. I took it as a spiritual retreat because I was often alone and I took some time to think about my future and my ambitions.

• What are your plans for a return to biathlon at a high level?

For the moment, I don’t have any selection or race objectives. It’s far too early. I’ve been injured for six months now and it’s been a very complicated year. I don’t want to return to competition too quickly. My aim is to be pain-free and then to be reathletised and re-trained. You can’t do all that in two months between now and December. It takes time. With the coaches, we have very little visibility of how my pain is progressing, so we can’t project a precise date. You can’t run out of time by doing things too quickly. We’re thinking about the future. I’d love to be able to get back on the skis at Bessans for some training and why not get back into the race at the end of the season. Finally, I’m getting back into shape for the coming seasons.

• Is patience the key word in this situation?

It’s true that it’s been very complicated to accept, but patience is really the key word. I have to remain confident in the process. It was a period that put my patience and resilience to the test, but it also helped me understand that the way I’d been operating for the last few years wasn’t necessarily the best. The priority is to be in good health so that I can stay in the sport for as long as possible and not come back as quickly as possible, jeopardising the good years to come.

• In concrete terms, what are you currently able to do?

Even though I don’t do any ordinary training at all, my days are packed! Every day, I have physiotherapy sessions as well as muscle strengthening to build an athletic body that will support me and be solid when I start training again. I do a bit of cycling, but it’s limited because I’m in pain. What I do not do badly, however, is swimming! I used to swim very badly, but now I swim a lot better and I enjoy it a lot more. It’s become a regular thing for me now, I go at least three times a week. I think it can give me a lot, particularly in terms of breathing.

• Have you continued shooting since your health problems began?

I never stopped shooting during that period. I made a point of maintaining at least two shooting training sessions a week, apart from, of course, when I was at Berck. I think it’s important to keep that continuity in shooting and to take advantage of it to make progress in that area.

• More generally, how are you coping with this ordeal which is slowing down your progress?

As I’ve already said, this injury is a real ordeal. It’s a short-term, temporary setback, but I don’t think it’s a setback for my career. It can only make me better. I’ve learnt a lot from this past year, particularly about how I operate personally. I’ve made a lot of mistakes that I won’t make again. Having discussed this with people who have watched me over the last few years, I think it was something necessary.

• Why do you say that?

I was operating in a harmful way and in a rather negative spiral. I’m someone who trains a lot. I’m also very perfectionist and hard on myself. I haven’t listened to myself very much in recent years, so this will teach me to listen to myself better in my training. That can only be positive for the future. I’ve questioned myself and I now have a much clearer vision of what I want to do and how I want to do it, above all. It’s not all negative. You always have to try to see the positive side of things so that you can live your life as happily as possible. This period isn’t over yet. I have no idea when I’ll be back, but I’ve always been very well supported by the medical staff and my coaches, who are still there for me during this period.

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