“There Were Times I Could Not Walk" Szabina Gercsak’s Road To Recovery

Hungarian judoka Szabina Gercsak has had many successes throughout her career. She was a former World Junior Champion and double European Junior Champion. At senior level lived up this year and was

 most recently winning gold at the 2023 Sofia European Open. However, far from being easy, Gercsak’s journey has been interspersed with periods of injury and recovery. Channeling the true spirit of a fighter, Gercsak hasn’t let her challenges hold her back. By prioritizing rest and rehabilitation, she’s successfully healed her injuries and returned to fighting form.

Spine issues

Gercsak had her first operation in 2019. “I had problems with my spine cartilage, and they needed to screw together the vertebra of the spine. After the operation I was first on bedrest and then it took 8 months of rehabilitation to be able to do judo again. Prior to the operation, there were times I was struggling to walk and needed to sit down even after a few steps”. Although, following her operation, Gercsak went onto win gold at the European Open in Luxembourg, her back continued to bother her. “It hit me there and then, the year was over. It was at this point I questioned whether I want to continue or not. At times, I was in a very dark place in my head. Yet, I was desperate to go to Tokyo and that is what kept me alive”.

Prioritizing physical and mental recovery

Gercsak dedicated the first six months of 2020 to training and recovery, including mentally and emotionally. Although she spent another three months healing from a torn muscle, by the time the Budapest Grand Slam rolled around, Gercsak was ready to perform. In addition to plenty of rest and good nutrition, massage guns played a key role in Gercsak’s recovery. By providing deep tissue massage, massage guns stimulate blood flow and tissue metabolism to relieve tension in the muscles.

Silver win

In 2021, Gercsak planned on excelling at the World Championships in order to qualify for the Olympic Games also that year. However, she ended up falling and needing knee surgery. “To be honest, looking back, it was the better of the worst as I missed out on qualifying. At least, I was focusing on recovery and not on the emotional pain. I was finally able to compete in Portugal last year, where I won silver. I thought, this is it. I am ready for Paris. Of course, I was too ambitious and ended up having another knee surgery”.

Fortunately, Gercsak’s now pain-free and planning on returning to Portugal shortly. “The goal is Paris, however, I was so desperate for Tokyo, I learned my lesson. This time around, I will take it step by step, day by day and appreciate the journey with an open mind”.