‘I still cry’: Genevieve Gregson’s emotional update ahead of surgery

Australian’s Genevieve Gregson will undergo surgery later today after returning home from a devastating Olympic campaign.

Australian Olympian Genevieve Gregson has provided an update on her physical and mental wellbeing from hotel quarantine in Melbourne after returning home from the Tokyo Games.

Gregson fell on the last water jump of the women’s 3000m steeplechase final in Tokyo and was quickly picked up by the medical staff, leaving the stadium in a wheelchair.

It was later revealed the 32-year-old had injured her right Achilles, a devastating outcome considering she had experienced issues with her left Achilles since the Rio Games.

Since the steeplechase final, Gregson has been tasked with injecting herself to thin her blood and avoid a clot from the injury.

On Thursday morning, Gregson revealed on Instagram that she would undergo surgery later that day, accompanying the post with an emotional message to her followers.

“Today is the first step to recovery,” she wrote.

“Mentally I have been healing every day and finding peace in each night I go to sleep. I still wake up anxious and a bit worried of the uncertainty ahead. I still cry time to time, I do often wish this journey looked much different, and I constantly day dream about being able to walk out the door for a run.

“Yet amongst these negative thoughts, my day is outweighed by all the wonderful, supportive and loving messages and gestures I have received. I have infinite thank you’s still to send out to all the people that have made it their job to check in. Thanks to everyone, this next step is less daunting than when I faced it a week ago.

“So in saying this, I’m as ready as I ever will be. Let’s get this Achilles reattached!”

Speaking to Channel 7 in Tokyo last week, Gregson vowed to return to competitive athletics despite the horror setback.

“It’s raw, it’s hard. I’m not okay yet but I will be,” she said.

“I haven’t spoken to many people so that’s why I’m a bit vulnerable right now but I’ll be happy soon. Just getting through it.

“It’s looking like I’m not just going to get one Achilles fixed I’m going to try and go for both which means the next year ahead of me is pretty brutal.

“I’ll be wheelchair-bound for a while but (her husband) Ryan is on his way home and I’ll meet him in Singapore and we’ll work out a plan from there and it will be a good one because we’re a good team and I wouldn’t have come this far without him.

“I’m just ready to find a plan for the next year or so because I don’t feel like I’m done yet. I love the roads. I think I’ve got a lot to give in the marathon or just in road running in general and I’m such a proud Australian athlete. I just couldn’t imagine a setback like this tearing me away from the sport. I don’t see it that way.”

Genevieve Gregson after her injury.