Jakob Herrmann

He went to the operating table instead of the European Championships

Will have to forgo his start at the European Mountain Running Championships: Jakob Herrmann.

(Bild: ZVG)

Jakob Herrmann mastered the 24-hour record, the Pyrenees project, the Grossglockner Ultra Trail and much more with a hernia, as it turned out. Now the man from Werfenweng hopes to be able to pursue his passion again in the future without pain.

For more than a year, ski mountaineer and mountain runner Jakob Herrmann was plagued by pain in his hip. However, numerous doctors were unable to make a diagnosis. As a result, he had to bite through it and hope that the problems would not deter him too much from his sporting goals. It took a bike ride with a friend to find out where the Werfenweng native's problem lay.

"A good friend is a surgeon and he looked at it very carefully," explains the 36-year-old. It turned out that he had a hernia in his groin and a hernia in his thigh. He was in a lot of pain, especially when running, which is why the past summer of ultra-runs was sometimes torture. "I didn't feel it as much on ski tours and cycling," says the 24-hour record holder in ski mountaineering. It was only at the end of March that he announced that he would no longer be taking part in ski mountaineering races.

Last Wednesday, he underwent surgery at the Schwarzenberg Clinic - the tireless athlete is facing a week without sport. As a result, he also has to cancel his start at the European Mountain Running Championships in Annecy (Fra). "There are more important things, I can still take part in many competitions," he hopes to be able to run pain-free again in the future.

Manuel Innerhofer celebrates comeback
Manuel Innerhofer has achieved this. The man from Pinzgau struggled with injuries all spring and is celebrating his comeback at the European Championships on Friday. His brother Hans-Peter is also taking part. "We are fully fit and well prepared," says "HP". The goal? "The top 20 would be cool. For more, the competition has to weaken and everything has to go right for us." The duo will be competing in the vertical (Friday) and up & down (Sunday).