Physician Wilhelm Bloch in an interview

“SARS-CoV-2 has a few peculiarities that can be very uncomfortable for top athletes,” says Wilhelm Bloch. (Symbolic image of an athlete) Image: picture alliance / Zoonar

The consequences of Covid often lead to a drop in performance or even to the end of a career for athletes. Wilhelm Bloch explains who is particularly at risk and what can be done about the “post-Covid misery”.

Hardly anyone is still talking about the pandemic and its consequences. You deal intensively with the question of what effects a Covid disease has on top athletes. What results did you come to?

Most athletes get through Covid disease well because this group usually has a good immune system. She is good at dealing with a viral disease. But SARS-CoV-2 has a few quirks that can be very uncomfortable for top athletes. The virus changes the red blood cells, for example. This is a problem because it changes parameters relevant to performance, such as the binding of oxygen to the blood cells. This has a negative impact on performance, especially for athletes in endurance disciplines.