Athletics: Olympic champion Wlodarczyk missed World Cup after chasing car thief

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Hammer thrower Anita Wlodarczyk at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games

Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

The Polish hammer throw Olympic champion Anita Wlodarczyk had to cancel her participation in the World Championships in Athletics in Eugene/Oregon (July 15th to 24th) for a strange reason.

The four-time world champion suffered a hamstring injury and required surgery while chasing a man who tried to steal her car, shortly after which she announced her end of the season on Instagram.

The 36-year-old had previously reported on her chase on social media.

"A stranger broke into my car," wrote the 36-year-old, who will also miss the European Championships in Munich in August: "I stopped him myself and handed him over to the police." Late on Tuesday evening, she then reported on Instagram about the successful one Operation and the serious injury: The adrenaline was initially so strong that she did not feel the injury.

Wlodarczyk took it - probably also in view of the number of medals she had already won - with a touch of irony: "After my career I'll maybe start with MMA.

The thief suffered.”

The disappointing World Cup is far from being the end of her career.

Wlodarczyk announced the 2024 Summer Games in Paris as her new goal.

“I have always emerged victorious from every injury and now I believe that will be the case.

I have a lot of work to do in rehabilitation.« In two years, she wrote, she wants to be back on the podium in Paris.

Anita Wlodarczyk is an exceptional athlete in her sport.

She has been Olympic champion in London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 as well as world champion in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017.

There are also four European championship titles, silver at the World Championships and bronze at the European Championships.

The Pole also improved the world record in hammer throwing several times.

She set the current one at 82.98 meters in Warsaw in 2016.

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