Unlucky Laurin Böhler again heavily injured

Austrian judoka Laurin Böhler should have made his World Tour comeback in Antalya (TUR) on April 3rd. But nothing will come of it! The 26-year-old tore a cruciate ligament in his right knee during training. The Vorarlberg resident will be operated on on Sunday - it is already his third cruciate ligament operation. The judo year 2021 - with EM, World Cup and Olympics - is already over for him before it has really started.

It happened during Randori training in Linz. Laurin Böhler falls and grabs his knee. “It was immediately clear to me that something was going on. When the pain subsided after a few minutes, I regained hope. I was able to leave the hall as normal without outside help. Then came the shock in the hospital: diagnosis of a cruciate ligament tear. The first thing you think about is quitting. After all, it is my third cruciate ligament injury. Later you wonder whether you should try it without surgery ..."

In spite of his long injury breaks, Laurin Böhler still had good chances in the fight for the Olympic starting places for Tokyo. In Antalya he wanted to return to the world tour, at the latest at the European Championships in Lisbon in April to collect important points for the Olympic qualification. “If I start at the Olympics, then I want a realistic chance of fighting for a medal. But to be honest, that's not possible under these circumstances. "

On Sunday, Laurin Böhler will have an operation on his right knee in the sanatorium. “When I think about what to expect, I'm obviously devastated. Hard months are waiting. I have to start all over again. On the other hand: Now I definitely have no time pressure. "

The man from Vorarlberg found his fighting spirit again after a brief period of shock: “I have to write off the Olympic Games in 2021 with the knee operation. My new goal is now: Paris 2024. I want to be strong enough there to be able to fight for a medal. That's my big drive. "

ÖJV head coach Yvonne Bönisch also trusts him to make a new comeback: “We will do everything we can to give Laurin the best possible support on his way back. We believe in his Olympic chance in 2024! "

Boehler published on his social media: “If you gamble, you have to be ready to loose. Unfortunately I lost too often and I have to give up my biggest career goal, fighting at the Tokyo Olympics.

In a training camp I injured my knee again and it will be operated immediately.

Since the qualification period for the Tokyo Olympics started in 2018 I had 5 operations, today will be the 6th. On top of that I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis last year, which caused me also a big setback.

With all of that I still managed to be just outside the qualification and I believe with only a bit less bad luck I can qualify easy and fight for the big medals.

Now I will do a rehab without any time pressure to bring myself back stronger and fitter than ever before. #paris2024