Autumn started wonderfully for rower Marloes Oldenburg with two silver medals at the World Championships, but the euphoria ended quickly.

On holiday in Austria, Oldenburg had an unfortunate fall while mountain biking. She broke a cervical vertebra and had to go under the knife.

“Everything Will Come Back”

The 34-year-old from Oldenburg finished second at the World Cup in the Czech Republic at the end of September with the coxless four, a brilliant surprise, and the women’s eight. A well-deserved and relaxing vacation followed, until the crash about two weeks ago.

“I ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s just bad luck,” Oldenburg said in a statement from the Dutch Rowing Association. “I’m extremely happy that I’m still alive and everything will come back.”

“I was away for a while. I was taken to the hospital and pictures were taken there,” she says of the accident. Conclusion: Oldenburg had to be operated on in the Salzburg hospital. To make matters worse, she also fell ill with Corona and went into isolation. After a visit to the intensive care and recovery ward, she has been back in the Netherlands since last Tuesday.

“I don’t have any stability in my neck at all. I can’t move my head and it’s difficult to drink and eat,” said Oldenburg. “I can chew, but the control isn’t right yet.”

Watch an interview with Oldenburg after winning World Championships silver below:

What the exact consequences will be for her career path is unclear, but Oldenburg still has the same point on the horizon. “My goal is to come back and go to Paris (Olympic Games 2024, editor’s note)”

“I’ve set myself a goal of twelve weeks to get back to basics and I’ll do my best for that in the coming period. After that we’ll see. The advantage is that I’m super fit.”