“Injuries Are an Occupational Hazard”: Ballon d’Or Winner Megan Rapinoe Once Weighed In on How She Turned Her Biggest Setbacks Into Opportunities

Megan Rapinoe is one of the most famous and elite soccer players. The two-time Olympic gold medalist is known for her bold and fearless personality.

Rapinoe is known for her support and activism for the LGBTQ+ community, gender equality rights, and others. On the field, the USWNT star has inspired a lot of youngsters with her style of play and hard work.

Megan Rapinoe believes injuries in sports are unavoidable

In an interview with the Harvard Business Review in 2020, Rapinoe talked about the highs and lows of playing professional soccer. Rapinoe feels players should be in the moment while playing the game.

Since her debut, Rapinoe has had numerous injuries and surgeries throughout her career. But these injuries never let her down. “Injuries are an occupational hazard. You can dwell and be grumpy or just get on with rehab and find other things to fill your time,” said the veteran USWNT player.

She also explained how sports are unpredictable, as one can never know what will happen next. “It’s sports. You don’t always win or have the best performance,” she said. Expanding on this, Rapinoe gave the example of the 2011 World Cup finals. The USWNT was beaten by Japan, even after having a one-goal lead two minutes before full-time. The unpredictable nature of sports stuck again when the US national women’s team went on to beat Japan in the Tokyo Olympics, at the latter’s home ground.

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Known as one of the best penalty shooters in the game, Rapinoe has always inspired the younger generation to bounce back from injuries. According to Rapinoe, setbacks should not be taken seriously. Athletes should rather fight against them and move forward. “We athletes struggle like everybody else. But you can’t take it too seriously,” concluded Rapinoe.

Does Rapinoe plan on retiring soon?

Rapinoe debuted for the USWNT in the year 2006. The soccer star is still going strong, even today.

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However, Rapinoe fans fear that her soccer career might be coming to an end soon. However, the soccer star revealed that she would like to play one more World Cup and participate in another Olympics for her country before retiring. But, she is also unsure about her plans and may change them as per her feelings in the future.

Although one thing is for sure, Rapinoe still loves the game and would always put in her best performance for her fans and team.