For months, long jumper Mikaelle Assani’s daily routine consisted of rehab instead of competitions. After a severe injury, the 23-year-old has now fought her way back onto the track.
Everything was going according to plan for Mikaelle Assani. The long jumper was competing at the top internationally and, at just 22, was considered one of Germany’s biggest hopes in athletics. Then came the setback in March 2025: a partial and complete tear of the thigh tendon. A year after her serious injury, she is back on the track. Still cautious, still without full throttle, but for the German athlete, that step is a move forward.
“I can feel that I’m burning for this,” the 23-year-old said in an interview with SWR Sport. After months of rehab, doubts, and pain, Assani has gradually worked her way back toward competition. Her big goal: to one day step onto the big stage again, perhaps even the 2028 Olympics.
The moment that changed everything happened at the 2025 Indoor European Championships in Apeldoorn, during her last attempt. Running at full speed, the young athlete injured her left thigh. The result was a tear and partial tear of two tendons, followed by surgery. She was forced to take months off. “That was naturally like a punch in the face,” Assani recalls.
What made it especially bitter was that the injury came at a time when the then-22-year-old felt stronger than ever. “Before the competition, my mother said, ‘You look as strong as never before,’” explains the long jumper. Shortly after, she fell on the runway.
“It was a difficult time, but also very educational,” Assani says. She had to learn to handle setbacks and be patient.
Now Assani is training on the track again. Still cautiously, but the 23-year-old feels her body is gradually cooperating. “I trust my body a lot,” she says. Her pain or tightness is now minimal. However, fear remains a constant companion because every new training step and increase in intensity requires rebuilding trust. “With every new milestone, there is a certain fear,” Assani admits. But with each session, the feeling improves.
Her coach, Udo Metzer, sometimes has to slow her down. “If she wanted, she would already be giving full throttle again,” Metzer says. “But we’re not taking any risks.”
Her comeback is planned for June — likely at a small village competition, far from the big spotlight. But just being back in competition mode is what Assani is most looking forward to: “Simply doing again what I love.” The road is still long, but Mikaelle Assani is jumping again, and that gives both her and her coach hope.