European Athletics – (EAA) – News – Friedrich on course for indoor return

Germany’s 2009 European Athletics Indoor Championships high jump gold medallist Ariane Friedrich is still on course to return to competition in the next indoor season.

The 27-year-old suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in her left leg during training on 22 December and will miss the whole of the summer, including the World Championships in South Korea.

"Regarding my convalescence, I’ve deleted all the events of this year from my calendar but it's (rehabilitation) is going well for me to compete in the next indoor season. I see my desire to return from this injury as a sign of how much I love this sport and high jumping,” said Friedrich last week.

“I’m walking normally again, until the middle of March I had to wear a special orthopaedic shoe to protect the tendon. I’m glad to get rid of it, I would have happily run over it with my car but I had to return it,” she added, clearly having not lost her sense of humour.

"Everything is going surprisingly well, but if there's a hitch now, (her participation in) the London Olympics will be compromised," said her coach Gunter Eisinger.

Eisinger added that he expects her back to jumping in training as early as June this year. At the moment, Friedrich is keeping up her fitness with aqua jogging and weight training.

Friedrich is the German outdoor record holder with 2.06m, which she jumped in Berlin in 2009, and she is equal sixth on the European and world all-time list for her event.

She also won the bronze medal at the last World Championships on home soil in 2009.

“The main goal now is the Olympic Games but we will sit down in November and December, see how things are, and perhaps plan some competitions,” added Eisinger.

EAA – European Athletics