On Saturday, between twenty and twelve o’clock, a shot will be fired in Talens, a suburb of Bordeaux. Claudia Conte will get up and run towards the first fence. He just wanted to arrive safely, pass this level, and go to the next level. Then, for another piece. And so on until the end. It took thirteen seconds to summarize the past thirteen months. The Castellón Beach athlete will be back in action this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, at one of the most important all-around events in the world, Di Casta. “Last week I was very scared, but this week I’m calmer,” she explained days before leaving for France.
Conte retired after competing in three events at the European Championships heptathlon in Munich. He didn’t forget the date: August 17, 2022. He also remembers stopping during the shot put competition because his back hurt so much that he couldn’t continue, when despite all the medication he took, it became unbearable. , he went to the hotel, where he spent the rest of the day crying, out of sheer frustration. A few weeks ago in Eugene, I had noticed that this problem was getting worse. The woman from Castellon is a great competitor and she came to his rescue: she finished ninth at the World Cup, setting a new personal best (6,194 points). But the second day was worse than the first because of the discomfort.
He believes the problem came during a heptathlon he competed in in Arona in early June, when he felt a strong puncture on the javelin, forcing him to put on his belt for the first time. I had noticed something before, at the Spanish University Championships in May. After Arona, he returned to Castellón and found the pain increasing. Every time I lift weights, I can’t stand it. So he put work in the gym on hold until the Spanish Championships in Nerja. After that weekend, at the end of June, his coach Manoli Alonso told him that they would only go to the World Cup if he could set a personal record. With the help of physical therapist Rubén Mateu (who had worked with Serena Williams for a while), they were able to lift weights again and returned to Oregon State.
They were there, but that way. At the time, Conti was taking three ibuprofen tablets a day. “My left side has been injured since the Arona Rally, but two days before the World Cup my right side started to hurt. I felt strange. I had been taking anti-inflammatories for a long time and they were not allowed on the day of the javelin. I wasn’t given Voltaren. I couldn’t throw. He definitely had swelling in his vertebrae, but he covered it up. A lot of people told me it was normal. No one took it seriously.”
Before traveling to Munich, he took a prescription for diazepam. She wanted to compete in the European Championships and ultimately pushed herself to the limit. After the game, she was exhausted and asked the national team doctor for painkillers. Christopher Ramirez told him no, it was over and he couldn’t keep abusing all those drugs. He must grit his teeth and persevere. “It’s been a horrific few days of agony.”
A month later, he had an MRI. For example, there he already had serious problems getting up from a chair. Then, a CT scan is performed. He was forced to wear a corset 24 hours a day. You can only remove it while showering. In addition, magnetic therapy is performed at night. This lasted for three months. From October to December. His problem is his L5 vertebrae. “In addition to the vertebrae in our heads, the vertebrae also have some lower legs that can cause spondylolysis. The thing is, it’s not as severe as the stress fracture I had on the other side of my vertebrae, where the edema was pretty severe.”
For three months she was unable to move part of her back, which left her very weak. It’s time for core work – the central area of the body – and abdominal exercises. Then, the first big break was running with a buoy in the pool. This will give way to stationary bikes and some assistive strength machines. Keep your back still at all times. During those months, she used her holidays to do an internship in Zaragoza – she studied design and only had to pass one subject and take the TFG – at Mondo. He designed the cushions for the World Cup in Budapest.
The athlete from Benicassim qualified for the World Cup, but she wasn’t ready yet. After returning to the training ground, she was alone for many days, her rhythm was much slower than that of her teammates, she was depressed, and she developed new discomfort in her calves and feet. He had to make some templates and a few weeks later, after making progress, it was time to go back. Just like the 100-meter hurdles, one obstacle after another. Thirteen months of pain. Sometimes her back hurts if she has her period or has a fever. Fear and doubt are back. “I was nervous because I thought it would come back to compete. But no”.
In the summer, he traveled to Budapest with several teammates during the World Cup. as an audience. Only at the end of the day, when they left the stadium, everyone would go have dinner and then party, and she would go to bed and train the next morning. Strict discipline, a strong desire to once again become one of the best Spanish athletes of the moment. Claudia Conte thought she could still play at the World Cup in September, only to have her new goal lowered and postponed. The last one is De Casta of Tarrance. “And here I am, about to re-emerge. The only thing is, the level is so high this year, I’m afraid I’m not up to par. I’m still not good. Now I’m like May in a normal season. I noticed that I Lack of confidence and doing more tricks. I was really doubtful and afraid of hurting myself again, but we have to take this step.”
The athletes trained by Manoli Alonso did not want to end the year without competing in the heptathlon. The test also adds points to qualifying for the Paris Olympics, which is now a real and ambitious goal. It’s time to resurface. She has been seeing a physical therapist regularly in recent weeks, and in Talens she will travel with her best friend Claudia, Sara Gil, who is studying a double major in nutrition and physical therapy . They were the two most effective variables during these thirteen months. His nutritionist, Jesús Lavanda, adapted his diet to his new needs. Weight gain may be another problem Conte doesn’t want to face himself. It is also recommended to avoid inflammatory foods. It has to be fine-tuned. Yes, he ruled out psychological help. “I’ve had a lot of people support me these past few months. Everyone faces things in their own way, and that’s my way. Maybe I want to push it myself. There have been bad moments, but I have to get through them time. I didn’t feel like I needed expert help, I felt like I had to get out of it. And I paddled a lot.”
She preferred people’s shoulders, thunderous tapping in her ears, inconsequential reading, and conversations with her friend Maria Vicente, another recovering heptathlete. They understand each other, they know what the other is saying, their shared sorrow… The two are now ready, Paris is coming. Claudia strikes first. Tarrance had fired a shot before, with ten fences and seven Tests ahead.