Making Comeback After Lung Surgery, US Track and Field Athlete Expresses Gratitude: “Was Just a Celebration”

While every athlete chases victories and achievements, sometimes circumstances do not let them. These incidents may prove to be career-threatening, or, if not, give an unfavorable break. US track and field athlete Elly Henes’ career came to a temporary halt when she had to undergo lung surgery. Overcoming that, she has staged an inspiring comeback lately.

The 25-year-old was met with a lung bleb last year that ruptured on a run. She had to go through surgery for that on October 13th, which cost her months of absence from the running field. Finally, the runner seems to get back on her journey, setting a shining example for all, as she announces her participation in the Boston Marathon. 

A better-than-ever Elly Henes is back on track and field 

Recently an interview was shared by CITIUS Mag through their X account, where the runner seemed to be happy with her performance and her return to the track-field, as she said, “Today was just a celebration of how much I fought to get back here and that race kind of felt like a big fight, so I felt like I celebrated it well.” Elly’s determination was evident as she completed the 10,000m race in an impressive 31:07.23 at The Ten event hosted by @sound_running and secured an 8th position in the table. A few days back, she also ran 3000m at the BU Valentine Invitational after undergoing lung surgery and finished off nicely at 8:49.93. Henes was visibly happy with the run in a post-match conversation.

Although she missed the Olympic qualification time for The TEN event, she still expressed her happiness at finishing the race, “I had a lot of back cramps like coming back from it and um yeah.. just been very aware of that but also like trying to focus in…and just push myself as much as I can without overdoing it or trying to come back too fast, I’m just taking it how it comes.” But what was it that almost threatened her career on the tracks? 

Elly Henes’ resilient comeback defeating ailment 

In February, Elly took to her Instagram to pen down a lengthy post regarding her illness. It all started with a back cramp, which kept on increasing during her race in Flagstaff. Post-race, she got her X-rays and came to know that she was having a twenty percent collapse of her lungs, which she described as “a spontaneous pneumothorax”. Initially, she got a tube in her chest to inflate the lung. It worked temporarily. But the pneumothorax condition came back after two weeks. 

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To ensure that the situation does not come back again, the only option was to go under the knives. Therefore, went through her surgery on October 13th. According to the runner, it was difficult to start running again. She constantly had to pay attention to her breathing and ensure she didn’t push too hard. After her BU Valentine Invitational run, reflecting on it, she said, “I did not think I’d be lining up to race this soon, let alone coming off the race feeling strong and confident and so so happy.” It remains to be seen how she attains more triumphs with slow but steady steps.

Also Read: British Track and Field Star Hails Boston University’s Program for ‘Being Super Fast’