Former NCAA champion Yanis David pushed her luck to the brink for the European Athletics Championships. However, what the athlete and her team assumed was standard leg soreness ended up with her on an operating table. French Olympic track and field competitor David has now opened up about her immediate surgery and why she competed at the major championships despite a health risk.
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In her recent Instagram post, David shared the details of her injury and why it was necessary for surgery mid-season. “Prior to the European Championships, we initially thought I was dealing with a muscular injury that would eventually heal with treatment and rest. Despite the discomfort, and uncertainty, I still went out there and competed at the European Championships like I know how to (because who wouldn’t) and made it to the final, without fully knowing what was going on,” she wrote.
However, after the competition, the athlete finally understood the severity of her injury through medical scans. “After Euros and an MRI later, we finally had our answer: I had ruptured my left gluteus medius tendon. Part of the tendon had completely detached from the bone on the outside of my hip. So, a few days ago, I underwent surgery to reattach the tendon back to the bone,” David further revealed.
For David, injury is not an unknown concern. Back in 2024, the long jump star had opened up about dealing with back pain before the French Championships. During an interview, she revealed being mentally and physically weakened due to a back injury that had halted her career back then. However, she easily overcame the temporary barriers the following year.
The Olympian confirmed that the surgery was successful and that she is recovering well. However, the major step is rehabilitation. For David, LA 2028 is definitely her next big goal moving forward.
A Long Road to LA 2028
David has set the bar high for herself ever since her peak collegiate career days with the Florida Gators. During her time in the USA, she won NCAA titles in both the long jump and triple jump. Besides, she also claimed the 2019 Honda Sport Award as the nation’s premier female track competitor.
Way before the NCAA limelight, David was already a known name in the track and field community, thanks to her early career wins. In 2014, the Olympian won a gold medal at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in China. Despite all the early success, the 28-year-old is yet to win an Olympic medal – the biggest title for any athlete.
While David represented France during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she failed to qualify for the Games in Paris, her home field. Hence, her big step toward Los Angeles would require a proper reset and comeback from this injury.
However, Yanis David is no stranger to new challenges or taking a huge leap in her career. When she left her home country for her NCAA career in the US, the athlete barely spoke any English. In fact, she admitted feeling lonely and missing her family. Talking to Gators Sports, she confessed, “The first couple of months were really hard,” she said. “It was my first time being away from family, and I did cry a lot.” But months later, David overcame her struggles to become one of the most prominent names in the circuit.
David is considered one of the most dominant horizontal jumpers in Florida Gators history. She went on to win the NCAA Championships in the indoor triple jump and outdoor long jump. Additionally, she concluded her NCAA career as the only woman to land on the top 10 all-time list in outdoor long jump and triple jump.
However, overcoming a serious injury requires strong mental power and belief.
In her post, the French Olympian also mentioned the timeline for her rehabilitation and possible return to the field. “The surgery went well, and now begins the other side of being injured: six weeks of.. NOTHING (or almost, wouldn’t be funny if otherwise), followed by rehab.”
Neither the injury nor the surgery has broken David’s mindset, as one can clearly see. While her comeback journey to the Olympics has faced a hurdle, fans believe she will return stronger.