Sommer withdraws at Hyrox Maastricht due to asthma attack

Svenja Sommer suffered her first DNF in Hyrox competition on Saturday in Maastricht. She wrote on Instagram that she could barely breathe early in the race, and that her breathing deteriorated so severely during the second run that she became nauseous and was at risk of losing her balance.

The cause was a persistent cold she had picked up during Hyrox Athens. Sommer emphasizes that she had no active symptoms at the start, but that colds can trigger her asthma. That is exactly what happened today.

With 305 points in the overall standings, only an outright victory in Maastricht would have changed her position. Together with her doubles partner Linda, they decided to stop the race, a decision Sommer describes as difficult but deliberate, made as a team.

Sommer is now focused on recovery and hopes to be at the start line in Rome next week. She refers to her original Instagram post for the full story.