Joana Heidrich was moments away from a World Championship medal when it happened. She dislocated her shoulder. The dream was over. See how Joana is fighting to get her dream back, and what she was most afraid of.
Joana and Anouk Vergé-Dépré are amongst the most successful Swiss beach volleyball players in history. But in June 2022, Joana suffered one of the most devastating moments of her career. She severely injured her shoulder and needed surgery.
«If she keeps working as hard as she has been, she’ll make a comeback. And I couldn’t have said that at every stage of her rehabilitation.» Nicolai Loboda, Joana’s physiotherapist, is guiding her through her recovery and has a positive outlook.
«And then I had a moment when I said, you know what? It’s OK if I can’t play volleyball anymore. If I can just use my hand again for everyday things, I’ll actually be incredibly happy.»
Athletics coach Andreas Lanz sometimes had to shout a little at Joana to push her to her limit.
Joana’s determination shows that she wants to make a comeback. Her trainer, Spiros Karachalios, agrees: «If she sets herself a goal, she is completely determined to achieve it, and then there is no limit to how hard she will work. She is prepared to put the effort in to achieve that goal.»
Lanz, too, believes that Joana is making real strides forwards: «I too am surprised how quickly she is now starting to progress.»
The hard work is paying off for the beach volleyball star. Who knows how long (or soon) it will be before she’s back? Things are definitely looking positive, which is also great news for Joana’s teammate Anouk.
During her rehab, Joana trained on the Luna Fitness. She found the equipment ideal for the smaller muscle groups in particular. «I totally underestimated it at first, of course, went into it thinking it would be a piece of cake and then almost threw up in the end. I now think it’s a fantastic all-round device.»
«Now it’s time to go through the individual phases of recovery, step by step, and not to lose focus. Time to say, this is where we want to get back to; we know what we want. And we will fight to the bitter end to get there.»
