Christopher Fiola, sidelined since April with a knee injury, missed the Canadian Championships currently underway in Calgary and his season could be in jeopardy.
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Fiola was annoyed by the tendinopathy that bothered him last year and began a period of rehabilitation last April that did not bring the expected results.
His treatments have been changed and he has seen great improvement over the last four weeks.
“If I have to quit completely for a year and take a step back to come back stronger next year, I will,” he said. Ultimately, the most important thing is to qualify for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina.
“However, I think I can come back for this winter’s World Cup stages in Salt Lake City and Quebec, as well as the World Championships in Calgary,” Fiola continued. These are the three main events that I identified.”
Fiola is aware that continuing to skate last winter aggravated his injury, but he would do the same thing again. “I had a good season and wanted to continue my momentum,” explained the World Championship team sprint gold medalist. During the winter, I trained even harder in strength training, which made the situation worse. A scar formed on my tendon and it became less flexible.
“Like an old man”
Fiola struggled to finish the season. “I was like an old man and had difficulty getting up from my chair. It really hurt and this injury affected my performance. I had really sore muscles at the two World Championships in Poland and at the World Championships in the Netherlands. I told myself that I would never progress if I had to stop at every little injury.”
Fiola’s injury is similar to the injury suffered by Laurent Dubreuil in July. “It’s the same thing, but Laurent reacted quickly. He saw what was wrong with me and didn’t take any chances.”
Fiola, like the other figure skaters who will not receive their pass for the first four World Cups of the season in Asia and Europe, will be able to recover during the Canada Cup 1, which will be held in January at the Ice Center in Quebec, will serve as selection for the final two Stages of the calendar.