AN ATHLETE and daughter of an Olympic star has been BANNED from competing by doctors after an illness.
Anna Gandler, 24, declared “my entire body is poisoned” after being hospitalised last month.
The Austrian is a top biathlon star, with athletes needing to excel in both cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
Gandler’s father is former Austrian cross-country skier Markus, who was a silver medallist at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.
And Gandler was hoping to make a splash at February’s World Championship in Switzerland.
However, she fell drastically ill during the tournament and was rushed to hospital.
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Medical checks discovered that her “entire organic system” was “overwhelmed.”
A bout of flu put extra pressure on her internal system.
But its lack of ability to “regenerate” meant that she ended up in a bad way.
And Gandler may now need to miss the rest of the season to heal, putting her biathlon dream on ice.
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She revealed: “One of the biggest problems was sleeping, as my body was never able to properly recover. I’ve been struggling with that since June.
“I still have to wait for some results, but it looks like my entire organic system isn’t functioning as it should, my liver, for example.
“My entire body is essentially poisoned because it can no longer regenerate itself. It can’t keep up and is overwhelmed.
“The main reason was flu. It can take up to three weeks to recover. I quickly felt completely fit, fitter than I’ve been all winter.
“Only after an intensive training sesssion, things went completely downhill.
“I shed a few tears because it wasn’t a good time. But I’ve been able to come to terms with this inactivity in the last few days.
“I have to give myself some rest, drink plenty of fluids, eat little sugar and eat a gluten-free diet.
“Other athletes have already cancelled their seasons and had mega seasons the following year. Perhaps this is the miracle cure.”
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
