After an Injury, the Mind Matters: Stefania Belmondo and the Return to Sport

Stefania Belmondo was born in Vinadio, in the province of Cuneo, on 13 January 1969, and started skiing at the age of three. In 1992, in Albertville, she wins her first Olympic gold in the 30 kilometres. Then come a foot injury and two operations, and in Lillehammer 1994 she stops at two bronze medals: not the Olympics she had dreamed of.

But she keeps going, patiently. In Nagano, in 1998, Italy is ninth at the last exchange of the relay: she skis the fastest leg of all and brings the team onto the podium. In Salt Lake City 2002, at thirty-three, she wins gold in the 15 kilometres. In total, ten Olympic medals.

What does research say about people returning to sport after a serious injury? In 2013 Clare Ardern and colleagues, in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, followed 187 recreational and competitive athletes who had undergone anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Twelve months after surgery only 56 of them (31%) had returned to their preinjury level of sport. Psychological factors measured before surgery and at four months, such as psychological readiness to return, fear of reinjury, the sense of control over one’s own recovery and the number of months the athlete expected it would take, were associated with returning to the preinjury level. The authors conclude that, alongside physical recovery, attention to psychological recovery may be warranted.

A few cautions. This is an observational study, carried out on athletes of one private clinic and on a single type of injury, the anterior cruciate ligament: Belmondo had injured a foot, so the link with her story is ours. “Associated” does not mean “caused”. I read the abstract and not the full paper.

What can we do with it? These are our own common-sense ideas, not findings of the study. Returning to activity should always be agreed with your doctor or physiotherapist, who decide timing and loads. Within those limits, it can help to put a name to your fears instead of keeping them to yourself, and to break the path into small, measurable steps, as Belmondo did by starting again from the smallest step.

And you, when you felt “behind”, what was the first small step that got you moving again? Tell us in the comments: your story may help someone else.

Sources

• Ardern, C. L., Taylor, N. F., Feller, J. A., Whitehead, T. S., Webster, K. E. (2013), “Psychological Responses Matter in Returning to Preinjury Level of Sport After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Surgery”, The American Journal of Sports Medicine 41(7), 1549-1558. DOI 10.1177/0363546513489284
• “Stefania Belmondo”, Italian Wikipedia entry (accessed 2 November 2026)