METELLA Mehdy

General
PASSION REIGNITED
He regained motivation for swimming in the early part of 2019 after struggling in late 2018. "I was feeling lost. I wasn't feeling good in my skin. I woke up one night crying and in a mess. Since 2016 I wasn't really appreciating the medals that I had won. Since September [2018] I was going to training but I had lost the spark. The flame had gone out, so to speak. I needed to know where I was, not just with swimming but also in my private life, and to find my motivation again. When we were in Cape Town [South Africa] for a training camp in February [2019] I had a moment of realisation. The response was right there in front of me - the answer was simply to keep working and enjoying the people around me. The next day I started feeling better, and since Cape Town the weight has gradually lifted off my shoulders. I feel lighter, freer. Sometimes now I get home from training, and all I can think about is getting back in the pool." (lemonde.fr, 19 Apr 2019)

TOKYO POSTPONEMENT RELIEF
In December 2019 he announced he would be unable to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as he required a shoulder operation in January 2020. However, the postponement of the Games until 2021 gave him time to recover from the surgery. "I considered it destiny, it's crazy. But at the same time, with all that is happening around the world, it's hard to feel happy. After the surgery I kept on going. I had accepted I would not compete at the Games, the year [2020] was lost so I focused on the world championships [originally scheduled for 2021]. Those would have been my Games. It also allowed me to take a rest. But if my motivation was at 500% then, it is at 1000% since the Games were postponed." (beinsports.com, 28 Mar 2020)