The world’s top athletes are all preparing hard to bring the ultimate glory to their respective countries in Paris. However, for some, the road to Paris looks to be filled with potholes. British swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Freya Anderson was catapulted to stardom after the 2020 Tokyo Games, despite confessing that she lacked the confidence to do so. And yet, her dreams of following up on her grand feat look to be under the question mark.

The British Championships, slated to kick off on April 2, will serve as a qualifying event for the Olympics for the nation’s top swimmers. However, Anderson might not be a part of that.

Freya Anderson’s dreams looking to be pulling away

In a recent post on Instagram by Freya Anderson, she updated her current condition. “I just wanted to share a little update“, wrote Anderson in the post, before highlighting how her spot on the national team looks to be shaky at the moment, and proceeding to detail the situation further.

“At the start of this year, after repetitive bouts of illness, I was diagnosed with glandular fever“, wrote Freya in her post. The disease is caused by the Epstein-Barr (EB) virus.

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She went on to note how things haven’t been easy for her to decide to step away for the time being, given how the Olympics are looming overhead. “This was not how I envisioned the start of the Olympic year, but I had to listen to my body and put my health and recovery first“, mentioned the young swimming Turk.

While the Brit acknowledged that the support she received from her team made her grateful, she also stated that “As a swimmer, one of the toughest things you can hear is that you can’t be in the pool“. Anderson stated that while her participation in the British Championships remains a last-minute call, she will be cheering for her teammates. But she isn’t the only victim of EB virus in recent times.

She has walkers of a similar path to look up to

Singapore’s breaststroke specialist Nicholas Mahabir’s Olympic dreams were shattered for the same reason. While Mahabir did his best to overcome the adversities by setting the waters on fire at last year’s TYR Pro Championships in California, his condition continued to deteriorate. The Olympics qualifying window for swimming events closes on June 23, and Nicholas’ chances of getting through remain doubtful.

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The 2016 Rio Olympics gold medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy faced a major hurdle ahead of the Tokyo Games after he was diagnosed with mononucleosis. His condition made it impossible for him to defend his 1,500m gold medal at the Asian capital, and he finished fourth at the event. Despite that, Paltrinieri won two medals in the Summer Olympics (silver in 800m free, and bronze in 10km open water). Under the circumstances, do you think Freya Anderson will also be able to rise up to the occasion?

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