Bad scene at the Olympic Games: an athlete was seriously injured in a decathlon.
It is not the first setback for Thomas van der Plaetsen.
Tokyo - It's one of those stories that deserves a happy ending.
In 2014, the decathlete Thomas van der Plaetsen tested positive for the hormone HCG during a doping control.
The Belgian hadn't doped, but of course the result caused a stir.
So he let himself be examined.
The shock diagnosis: the high HCG content was caused by testicular cancer.
Van der Plaetsen fought.
Surgery and chemotherapy were required.
But he persevered, recovered, felt better.
In 2015, the athlete finally decided to continue his career.
Which brings us close to that happy ending: Just a year later, van der Plaetsen became European champion in the decathlon.
Thomas van der Plaetsen: Horror injury in the Olympic decathlete
Unfortunately, that's not the end of the story.
In 2016 van der Plaetsen also took part in the Olympic Games * in Rio, there shouldn't be a medal.
Well, in 2021, he tried his luck again.
The next setback occurred in Japan on Wednesday.
He ran, then a crack, a short scream and the rough landing in the sand: Van der Plaetsen was seriously injured in the long jump *.
Olympia: Thomas van der Plaetsen has to be transported in a wheelchair
The ARD experts feared the worst: "That was definitely a torn Achilles tendon" or at least a serious "ankle injury".
The doctors immediately recognized that the 30-year-old needed help quickly.
They put him in a wheelchair and took him out of the stadium.
Feel for Belgium's Thomas van der Plaetsen as he suffers an injury on the run up in the decathlon long jump # athletics # tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/4ut934mzlr
- Matt WS 🔑🟤 (@Yakcall) August 4, 2021
The terrible injury quickly made the rounds on social media, and the fans wished Van der Plaetsen a lot of strength and a good recovery. According to the first unconfirmed diagnoses, it is apparently a knee and / or thigh injury.
(akl) * tz.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA