Amelie Kretz fights for another Olympics

There are precious few people on the planet who have competed at the Olympic Games in triathlon a couple of times. Amelie Kretz is hoping to become the first Canadian woman to make it to a third Games in Paris next year, a feat no other Canadian woman has achieved. So far, her quest has been quite a bit easier than her last two qualifying runs, but things have got complicated once again – the 30-year-old from Ste-Therese, Que. has just been diagnosed with a stress fracture in her femur.

Kretz’s three-continent, four-country tour nails Canada a second Olympic spot

In 2016 Kretz managed to eke her way in with a great performance at the last qualifying opportunity, nailing her Rio spot. In 2021 Kretz embarked on a six-week around the world tour to get herself enough points to make it to Tokyo (see story below). Her efforts were rewarded with a 15th-place finish.

Until her injury, things seemed to be going much better on the qualifying front for Paris.

“The approach for this Olympic qualification was not to do what I did before Tokyo – not having to do a trip around the world trying to get points last minute,” she said in an interview after a 26th-place finish at WTCS Cagliari in May.

That doesn’t mean Kretz hasn’t had a busy 2023. After starting the year in Colorado, she was off to Arizona for a training camp, then to Abu Dhabi for the WTCS event, New Zealand for three weeks to train and race, Boulder for another five-week training block, Yokohama for the WTCS race for a week, two weeks in Cagliari to prepare for that race, and then back to Montreal for a few weeks. After that, though, things came to a grinding halt.

We caught up with Kretz for some insight on where she’s at as she aims for a third Olympics:

We’re sorry to hear about your injury – can you tell us what has happened?

I’m still trying to figure out what happened. And this is probably the most frustrating part. One day I was running, and I was fine, the next day I tried to run and was in a lot of pain. This was a tricky injury to diagnose just cause my symptoms were not typical, I had pain in my knee, so I got an MRI of that, and nothing showed up. I was getting nervy symptoms down my leg, so we thought it was coming from my back so got an MRI of that and nothing showed up. So, after 5 weeks of trying different treatment approach things were not getting better so got another MRI, this time of my full leg and found a big stress fracture in my femur.

How will the injury affect the rest of this race season and you’re qualifying plans for Paris next year?

Honestly, I’m not sure what the rest of the year will look like. Right now, I’m focused on recovering and getting healthy so I can line up as soon as I can. This is definitely not something I can or want to rush, so I’ll take as much time as I need to make sure I’m healthy and fit next time I’m on the start line. Obviously, the timing of this injury is not great for Olympic qualification, but one thing I learned from Rio and Tokyo games qualifications is that it’s not over until it’s over.

You’ve been based in Boulder for much of this year – are you down there now or back home in Quebec? (Most important question, though – wherever you are – if you’re on crutches, who is walking your dog?)

I’m currently in Boulder and will be based here for most of my recovery and return to training. When I got the diagnosis, I went home for a week to see my dog who is in Quebec with my parents right now. As soon as I’m off the crutches she’ll come join me in Boulder. She’ll be a big part of my emotional support team for this comeback. It’s hard not having her with me right now.

This is not the first time you’ve had to deal with an injury. How do you stay positive through the challenge of not being able to train and race? Any tips for those dealing with an injury for the first time?

This one hit hard. It came out of nowhere. I felt like my training was going well and was just waiting for everything to click in racing. So, it was a big shock and honestly, I wasn’t very positive the first week. I gave myself some time to process, be sad and do what makes me happy (on crutches obviously). This sport has broken my heart too many times in the past, especially in the last 2 years. And it’s ok not to always be positive. But right now, I’m just taking it one step at a time and trying not to worry about what I can’t control. I am focusing on staying in the moment and make the most of what I can do. I can only swim right now with some restrictions with kicking and pushing off the walls, so I’m taking this as an opportunity to improve my swimming.

So, my advice for someone going through a major setback is to give yourself some time to process, don’t have to be a hero every day. When the motivation comes back, staying in the moment and focusing on what training you can do and little things you can improve on while rehabbing the injury.

What will “success” look like for you next year? Getting to Paris? 15th or better?

Success next year will look like getting myself healthy and ready to Paris. I know if I’m healthy and happy I’ll be able to improve on that 15th place. I know I have a lot more to give in the sport and I want to show that next year at the games. Sport is full of high and lows. Highest high are usually right after the lowest low. So, I’m holding on to that to keep me positive and motivated in this comeback. The Paris games will be a special one for me and my family. My Grand-Father, who passed away recently, was my biggest fan and grew up in France. I know how excited he was for me to compete at a “home” game. So, I’ll try to make him proud there.