Sarah Mehlau from TSG Backnang is missing something that means a lot to her. “I couldn’t imagine life without judo,” says the 20-year-old Winnender. She grew into the sport of judo, it belongs to her and makes her special. A life without judo is currently a reality again for the third place in the U-21 European Championship 2022. Mehlau injured himself.
Injured again. Before the U-18 European Championship, Mehlau tore his left inner ligament. “Then I was fit again, was under 18 last year and thought: Yes, everything is fine.” It wasn’t good for long. In February 2019, the left kneecap jumped out, and Mehlau had to have an operation. “I didn’t think the time for the return was as good as everyone said, I would have liked to have switched seamlessly to the seniors,” said Mehlau. The return was successful, however, and the native of Winnenden established herself in the TSG Bundesliga team.
Fifth place at the U-21 World Cup was a big disappointment for Mehlau
In 2022, Mehlau finally took the next step and drew international attention. Mehlau finished fifth at the U-21 World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Mehlau had fought its way to the semi-finals, where it was defeated by the Turkish player Fidan Ogel. However, the big disappointment was the bronze match against Idelannis Gomez Feria from Cuba. “My fight for third place was very long and exhausting and I was in front for a long time. It was a very special fight.” She did not agree with some of the judges’ decisions.
She doesn’t want to use that as an excuse. “I was very, very sad and disappointed in myself.” Which was certainly also due to the great importance of the competition. “It’s a huge chance that the senior national coach will see you.” There were also points for the senior world rankings up for grabs. With some distance, however, the 20-year-old saw the positive sides of the tournament. “In retrospect, I was somehow proud of myself and knew that things were going in the right direction.” Before the World Championships, she didn’t expect to fight for a medal at all.
A month later, Mehlau underlined their good form at the U-21 European Championships in Prague. In the fight for bronze, Mehlau’s Slovenian opponent Nika Koren found herself in a hold after just 42 seconds and gave up. “These are moments that you won’t forget, that you look back on with pleasure and that also motivate me,” says Mehlau. She would have liked to build on the medal. It turned out differently.
In December 2022, Mehlau suffered a tear in the right cruciate ligament. “We decided to treat it conservatively.” That worked out well. In the training camp in Japan, however, an unfavorable movement led to things getting worse again.
Sarah Mehlau took the decision about surgery
“Then I thought about what I’d do, whether I’d have an operation, because it’s just not fun,” says Mehlau. She always had in the back of her mind that the knee does not withstand what it should withstand. “The decision was made for me when I was doing an exercise in strength training and my knee completely lost stability.” The cruciate ligament was almost completely worn out.
At the end of July, Mehlau underwent surgery on the cruciate ligament and meniscus. The surgery went as planned, but patience is required. According to Mehlau, a nine to twelve month break from competition is normal after a cruciate ligament tear. First the threads have to be pulled, then she can start upper body training again. After about four weeks with crutches, the legs can be trained again. Light technique training can probably start after six or seven months.
The woman from Winnenden completes her rehabilitation with judoka Lea Schmid from JZ Heubach. “We’ve been training together for a long time,” says Mehlau. Being a couple makes rehab easier. Your full focus is on coming back healthy. The state police of Baden-Württemberg gave her the chance to extend her training and even interrupt it for six months. Mehlau has now used this chance to interrupt.
“The last few months have been mentally very, very exhausting and difficult”
Mehlau emphasizes the great support she received from her environment. Which doesn’t mean the past few months have been easy for her. On the sportathleten.de platform, Mehlau writes that “the last few months have been mentally very, very exhausting and difficult” for her. “The difficult thing is that you see that other people can go to training camps, competitions and carry on as normal, and you kind of disappear from the scene,” says the 20-year-old Winnenderin.
Mehlau wants to take the positives with him and use the time to work on himself physically and mentally. “If you can’t do what you love to do, then you know exactly what you’re doing, what you’ve been working for all this time. In the end, you appreciate all that much more.”
2023-08-10 14:15:31
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