Though most people who contract COVID-19 do survive the virus, contracting the respiratory disease could have lasting effect on those infected going forward. A new report from The New York Times caught up with athletes who had contracted the coronavirus to see how they were holding up in the aftermath.
The Times spoke to a variety of athletes across sports, as well as doctors, to see how the virus could have lingering side effects on training and performance. Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonary physician at John Hopkins, described some of the potential complications following coronavirus, including a higher risk for lung issues, weakness from ICU stays, and blood clots:
Another complication that Galiatsatos considered particularly concerning to athletes, and one that experts were still trying to wrap their heads around, was the high incidence of blood clots that doctors were seeing in coronavirus patients. People diagnosed with blood clots, and prescribed blood thinners, are typically discouraged from participating in contact sports.
Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller described his experience with the virus to the Times, and shared his experience, particularly as an athlete who already dealt with asthma:
My biggest takeaway from this experience is that no matter how great of shape you are in physically, no matter what your age is, that you’re not immune from things like this.
Athletes are some of the fittest people in the world, particularly those who play at the highest levels, like Miller or Juventus striker Paulo Dybala, who spoke to the Argentinian Football Association about the virus:
I would try to train and was short of breath after five or 10 minutes, and we realized something was not right.
However, no amount of training can make you immune to COVID-19, and as the Times report found, contracting the coronavirus could have long-lasting repercussions for the world of sports.
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