Fourth cruciate ligament tear, but no end.
Snowboarder Silvia Mittermüller (37) lives for her sport.
So that she can get back on the board, she had a dead man's tendon inserted.
Fourth cruciate ligament tear after 2007 (right), 2008 (right) and 2009 (left)
Mittermüller had the tendons of a dead man inserted as a replacement for the band
The 37-year-old finished with the Olympics
Boring, conservative, straightforward - not with Silvia Mittermüller.
The life of the Munich snowboarder always has surprising twists and turns.
The youngest chapter of the Olympian: her fourth cruciate ligament tear.
This time it hit the right knee, including damage to the meniscus.
In 2007 (right), 2008 (right) and 2009 (left), the World Cup winner had already smashed her knee, and in 2016 she tore the currently broken cruciate ligament.
In an interview with tz, the 37-year-old explains why she is not thinking of quitting three weeks ago despite the unfortunate skateboard accident and what sports life is like with a dead man's tendon.
What does the lively “Sili” do when she's actually condemned to idleness? Mittermüller: I go swimming, without kicks, of course, and I've been to the gym.
But the physical scope of activity is small, with my other scope that is sobering. Is it an advantage or disadvantage that you already know the procedure? Mittermüller: Definitely an advantage.
I know what I can do and don't have to keep asking the doctor.
A cruciate ligament tear alone wouldn't be so bad either, but since it hit the meniscus too, I use crutches for six weeks and lose almost all of my muscle.
"I have Superwoman cruciate ligaments ten millimeters thick"
Your cruciate ligament was not replaced by your own tissue material, but by the so-called allograft method, right? Mittermüller: That's right, I got a tibia tendon from a dead person again, like in 2008 and 2009. I have superwoman cruciate ligaments, so to speak, which are ten millimeters slightly thicker than the normal seven-millimeter tapes.
The right knee lasted for twelve years.
But I'm not keen on experiencing it all the time, I hope it was the last time. You could put the snowboard aside… Mittermüller: No, I know myself too well.
Even if I didn't mentally grasp the tricks of driving in the park, ... (ponders), no, I can't even pronounce that, I know that it won't be like that.
I'm not crazy, but I'll snowboard forever.
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Snowboarder Silvia Mittermüller in action
© private
What is it that fascinates you? Mittermüller: There are an infinite number of tricks, I can constantly challenge myself.
The rail game is never played out, it's almost like an addiction to me.
When I try new things, I am still tense and my heart beats faster.
If the trick succeeds, the happiness hormone shower comes right afterwards.
I finished with the Olympics
Do you want to start again in the World Cup?
Mittermüller: I made sure that my FIS points were frozen due to the injury status, which the association failed to do when I injured my knee two years ago.
But I leave that open to me and look for the events that I feel like attending.
I would have liked to have driven the World Cup in March in the Czech Republic, it fell victim to Corona.
But another start at the Olympics is no longer a goal, is it?
Mittermüller: No, I'm proud that I made it to Pyeongchang in 2018 because I was missing that.
But the conditions that we had to start there with gusts of wind of up to 50 km / h were brutal.
I don't feel like going to icy big-air events in metropolises either, that's not the snowboarding I love.
When do you think you'll be back on the board?
Mittermüller: So far I've been driving again after six months, after seven the shape was fine.
Now, for the first time, I've come to a point where I'm not counting the weeks or setting a specific date.
Since the meniscus and cartilage were also affected, DSV doctor Peter Brucker said that I should expect a year, but I secretly hope that it will be faster.
Until then, I'll be thinking in small steps.
How great it is to be able to carry a cup from A to B again without help is only known to those who have been through it themselves.
Gypsy life instead of luxury life
How did those around you react, are there warning voices? Mittermüller: My parents used to react that way, but the injuries were a price I swallowed.
Today nobody says anything anymore, my friends are sometimes even wilder than me. 37 years old, injured for a year, no bandage in the back - if I may ask, how do you finance such a life? Mittermüller: Through a large network all over the world World, a new door always opens somewhere.
In the summer, for example, we shot a five-part television series that will probably come on ZDFneo in early 2021.
I also have a place to sleep everywhere and do not value luxury.
A nine-to-five job is not on the horizon for me "
Silvia Mittermüller
So you are far from settling down? Mittermüller: The thought of calming down scares me. I live quite a gypsy life, but I love it. In the meantime I have been thinking about what I want to do with my life, whether I can think of something else that makes sense, but a nine-to-five job is not emerging for me. My next destination could be Mexico City. Why is that? Mittermüller: I recently got out my Spanish book. I know someone in Mexico City. If my knee is okay again, I could imagine going there for a few weeks, right in the center, and only speaking Spanish. It's just a pipe dream, but I want to live.