Photo: Bildbyrån
There were no Olympics for long-distance runner Andreas Almgren. He was forced to withdraw shortly before the first race.
Now he is trying something completely new – the 29-year-old is trying another sport.
A successful spring turned into a gloomy summer. Andreas Almgren29, set several new personal and Swedish records in the first half of 2024. Therefore, it was no wonder that he had high expectations for himself before the Olympics in Paris.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned in France. After the athletics EC in Rome in June, Almgren suffered a stress fracture in his right tibia. Something that got worse before the Olympics. Tragically, he was forced to leave the championship without even competing. He had to withdraw his offer at short notice.
This is how Andreas Almgren rehab trains
Now the athletics star tells how he manages his rehab training after the nightmare in the Olympics. He participates in SVT’s “Sportspegeln” and is then seen busying himself with another form of long-distance sport, namely cycling.
Although he is now pain-free, he does not dare to start running training properly yet. He doesn’t want to risk aggravating the stress fracture in the leg. Almgren thus gets to test life as a road cyclist. Some sessions are 5-6 hours long.
– I’ve had one of the funnest springs I’ve ever had, but one of the heavier summers. The road to the Olympics hasn’t been the most fun, but I feel like I’ve come back pretty good now. I’m busy training, I’m motivated about everything for the future. So right now it feels pretty okay, he says in “Sportspegeln”.
When asked how he finds motivation to already look towards a new season after being injured during such an important stage of this championship year, he hardly knows the answer himself.
– I wonder that too. When you are injured and do the alternative training, you get back into running shape faster if you do it well. I just feel motivated to not be complete crap when I start running again, he says.
Trained too little this year
In previous years, Andreas Almgren has suffered injuries when he trained too hard during certain periods. Now this year, the stress fracture may have occurred because he simply did not train enough in spiked shoes.
READ MORE: Andreas Almgren’s incredible tribute to Armand Duplantis goes straight to the heart of all Swedes: “He is so…”
– This year it was perhaps that they took it to exaggeration to be careful on that front. Not to drive a lot of preparatory sessions on the track at all. When I ran the races last spring and got a real soreness the day after, it shows that the body is not used to that intensity and that load. You should have managed that part before you start training, because the day after the competition you shouldn’t feel broken, he says.
Almgren is looking forward to a period with fewer competitions and with longer time between races. He aims to be back in top form at the World Cup in Japan next summer.
Hope for a speedy recovery for you, Andreas. Best of luck for next season. Go hard with your rehab training now so you’ll be stronger and faster than ever.
Sign up for our newsletter
Share