The mono blog

Australia’s Olympic swimmer Grant Hackett, a former Epstein Barr sufferer, was beaten by less than a second in the Mens 1500m Final at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China in 2008. This dashed his hopes of claiming a third consecutive Olympic title.

Hackett had been confined to his bed for a day prior to the competition with a chest complaint that affected his breathing. It is well established that physical performance can be reduced during infection.

Hackett originally suffered from glandular fever, caused by Epstein Barr, when he raced in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Four years later he climbed from his sick bed again to win in Athens. Only later was it revealed that he had swum with a partially collapsed lung which reduced his lung capacity by a quarter.

For the 2008 Olympics, Hackett had taken extraordinary precautions to avoid infection. These included wearing face masks on the plane, avoiding handrails and other public surfaces, and even refraining from kissing his wife in the lead up to his events. He also decided not to march in the opening ceremony.

Hackett is not alone in suffering the long term effects of Epstein Barr. Another Australian swimming champion Ian Thorpe resigned from his elite swimming career in 2006, citing health complications due to having glandular fever.

There are many cases of athletes and sportsmen and women world wide whose careers have been destroyed by the Epstein Barr virus. The best approach may be to rest in the early stages of the disease and to avoid overtraining till the body has fully recovered. The natural treatments in my e-book can also strengthen the immune system to help the body recover and to keep the Epstein Barr virus at bay for life.