BEIJING — Two years ago, when Gus Kenworthy decided to capitalize on his dual citizenship and join Team Great Britain, the freestyle skier figured that the switch would offer a much easier path to the 2022 Beijing Games than if he had stuck with the United States. He looked forward to pouring himself into practice, to focusing on his runs, to ditching the stressors that defined the leadups to his past two Winter Olympics appearances in Sochi and PyeongChang.
“I was super excited,” the 30-year-old says. “It has ended up being so much more of a bumpy road than I could’ve even imagined. It’s not been smooth sailing for even a second.”
The first obstacle arose in summer 2020, when Kenworthy suffered a “pretty bad” concussion during a training session. A broken femur came soon after, requiring arthroscopic surgery, followed by another concussion in October 2021 and later a three-month bout with COVID-19. He developed migraines and dizziness. He suffered a hematoma on his hip and tore several abdomen muscles, resulting in “horrible swelling that drained into my private parts.” He broke down in front of his coach, sobbing and pleading, “When am I going to catch a break?"
